On custodial violence

The term 'custodial violence' includes all types of physical and mental torture inflicted upon a person in police custody.  It is a crime against humanity and a naked violation of human rights. The Indian Supreme Court held it as “….nothing is more cowardly and unconscionable than a person in police custody being beaten up and nothing inflicts a deeper wound on our constitutional culture than a State official running berserk regardless of human rights'[Kishor Singh Ravinder Dev Etc v State Of Rajasthan (1980)].”
Custodial torture and violence are clear violation of fundamental rights within the meaning of our constitution. The Eight Amendment of American Constitution provides a prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments. Likewise, the Constitution of Bangladesh also prohibits torture and other forms of cruel and degrading treatment under Article 35(5). Some provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 call for judicial scrutiny by magistrates in the event of granting detentions and remand with a view to reducing if not eliminating custodial torture. The Penal Code, 1860 of Bangladesh also provides that causing hurt to a person in order to extract confession, wrongful confinement voluntarily, causing grievous hurt, rape and murder are punishable offences. Again, Article 35(4) of the constitution provides protection against self-incrimination that a person shall not be compelled to be witness against himself and an arrested person should not be coerced and intimidation to answer self-incriminating questions under section 25 of the Evidence Act. But these provisions are being neglected by law enforcers over years.
Custodial violence has become an open secret in our country. In this situation, we congratulate our recent enactment by parliament namely the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013. It has been made to comply with UN Convention against torture and inhumane, cruel or degrading treatment.
The newly passed law defined custodial death as any death in custody of any public servant, death in custody in illegal detention, death during arrest by law enforcers, and death during interrogation. It defines torture as any act or omission that causes physical or mental pain to any individual for obtaining from that individual or some other individual, information or a confession, or for punishing that individual for any act or omission, for intimidating or coercing that person or some other person. It also said causing physical or mental pain to an individual through discrimination at instigation of someone or at the individual capacity or government capacity would also be considered as torture. Again it stipulates that the police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Customs, Immigration, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), intelligence agencies, Ansar & VDP, Coast Guard and other public servants cannot extract confessional statement through torture.
The act also provides punishment for custodial deaths. Within the meaning of this law if anyone dies from torture in custody, the convicted individual would be sentenced to maximum life-term jail or minimum taka 100,000 as fine or both. In addition, the convicted individual would have to pay compensation of Tk 200,000 to the family of the victim.
The law addresses delays in investigation and adjudication of the cases of custodial violence for the first time in Bangladesh as it mandates that any investigation into cases of torture will have to be completed within 90 days of registration of a complaint, and the trial will have to be completed within 180 days. It also mandates suspension of the accused from service during investigation.
Finally, it can be resanobaly  said that this Act  is a great achievement in criminal justice mainframes in Bangladesh.

The writer is a Research Assistant at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA)