- Prof Dr Nishant A. Irudayadason
Pontifical Athenaeum Jnana Deepa
Pune 411 014
The relentless wave of lock-up deaths and police encounters in India exposes a deep wound in the nation’s commitment to justice and human dignity. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reported 4,484 custodial deaths between 2020 and 2022, with Uttar Pradesh leading at 952 cases. Tamil Nadu recorded 490 custodial deaths from 2016 to 2022, and Kerala noted 235 in the same period. In Tamil Nadu, the June 2025 death of Ajith Kumar, a 27-year-old temple guard in Sivaganga, revealed 44 injuries, including deep wounds, pointing to brutal torture. In Kerala, the 2019 custodial death of K. Rajkumar in Nedumkandam, beaten over an alleged financial crime, ignited public outrage. Nationwide, 233 encounter killings were logged, with Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir topping the list due to insurgency-related violence. These incidents, often targeting Dalits, Muslims, and Adivasis, raise profound ethical concerns about state violence. Human rights activists argue that many of these deaths are not spontaneous but premeditated, targeting the vulnerable and undermining the justice system.
The Indian Constitution, a beacon of democratic ideals, enshrines rights that should protect every citizen from such atrocities. Article 21 guarantees life and personal liberty, requiring due process before any deprivation. Article 14 ensures equality before the law, and Article 22 safeguards against arbitrary detention. Yet, cases like the 2020 Sathankulam deaths in Tamil Nadu, where P. Jeyaraj and his son Bennicks were tortured to death for a minor curfew violation, or Kerala’s 1986 Konni case, where Jose Sebastian succumbed to brutal interrogation over a theft accusation, show flagrant violations. The Supreme Court’s 1996 D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal ruling condemned custodial violence as a “gross violation” of human rights, mandating guidelines like independent probes into encounter deaths. However, Tamil Nadu saw no convictions for custodial deaths from 2017 to 2022, and Uttar Pradesh routinely ignores the 2014 encounter probe guidelines. This disconnect between constitutional promises and reality mocks justice, leaving families bereft and communities disillusioned.
The targeting of marginalised groups amplifies the crisis, deepening social fractures. In Tamil Nadu, 38% of custodial death victims from 2019 to 2020 were from minority or marginalised communities, despite their smaller population share. The 2023 Ambasamudram case, where Assistant Superintendent Balveer Singh allegedly tortured 10 suspects, including breaking their teeth, underscores this brutality. In Kerala, the 1995 Koothuparamba firing killed five DYFI activists protesting a minister, reflecting excessive force against dissent. The National Campaign Against Torture reported 1,731 custodial deaths in 2019, with Dalits and Adivasis disproportionately affected. In Uttar Pradesh, the 2020 killing of Mukesh Rajbhar, shot in a staged encounter, exposed the targeting of the poor. These acts violate Article 14’s equality principle, alienating communities and fostering resentment against a state that fails to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
This violence erodes public trust in governance, threatening the foundation of democracy. When police, meant to uphold law and order, become perpetrators—as in Uttar Pradesh’s state-endorsed encounters or Tamil Nadu’s unpunished custodial deaths—citizens lose faith in institutions. In Kerala, withheld post-mortem reports, as in the Rajkumar case, and in Tamil Nadu, harassment of families like Ajith Kumar’s, signal state complicity. Zero convictions in Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2022 and lax probes in Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir fuel suspicion. Public frustration with slow judicial processes sometimes fuels support for extrajudicial actions, but this risks normalising violence, blurring the line between governance and oppression across India’s diverse states.
Hope lies in reform and accountability. The Madras High Court’s CBI probe into Ajith Kumar’s case and Kerala’s 2011 Police Act, mandating torture reporting, offer glimmers of change, though enforcement remains weak. Activists like Henri Tiphagne, documenting 31 Tamil Nadu custodial deaths, push for CCTV in stations and adherence to Supreme Court guidelines. India must ratify the UN Convention Against Torture, signed in 1997, and train police in non-lethal methods. Citizens must demand transparency, ensuring the Constitution’s promise of life and liberty holds for all, from Tamil Nadu to Uttar Pradesh. Only through justice can India rebuild trust and honour those lost to state violence.
