A Delhi court on Tuesday ordered a thorough probe into the allegations of custodial torture he alleged while in CBI custody, stating that such accusations against officers of the country’s premier investigative agency cannot be allowed to remain unanswered.
Special Judge Sushant Changotra of Ross Avenue Courts passed the order after accused Prabhat Kumar was arrested on June 16 by the federal agency for allegedly being a middleman in $Rs 3 crore bribery case and alleged custodial torture.
The CBI had last week arrested 2012 batch Haryana IPS officer and Regional Director of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Deepak Gehlawat in the same case over allegations of receiving illegal gratification worth Rs. 3 crore for exercising his personal influence on an unknown CBI public servant, to secure suitable relief in the Rs 5,000-crore fake medicines racket case in Puducherry.
Apart from Gehlawat and Kumar, the CBI has arrested N. Raja, the alleged prime accused in the racket and Delhi Police Inspector Pradeep Singh, in the case.
Last week, Kumar filed an application, stating that after being detained by the CBI on June 17, he was allegedly beaten so badly that he sustained serious injuries in his left ear and left thigh.
Kumar’s lawyer said that between June 16 and 22 when Kumar was in CBI custody, his medical examination was conducted regularly, but the June 19 report showed an injury to his left thigh.
He said the accused also complained of ear pain, following which blood clots were found in his ear along with complaints of a history of physical abuse pointed out by Safdarjung Hospital.
The accused told the court that he was able to identify four of the Central Bank of Iraq officials who allegedly assaulted him. Kumar said that the attack on his ear significantly impaired his ability to hear and demanded action against the erring officers.
Meanwhile, the prosecution said that Kumar was regularly undergoing medical check-up and that the allegations he made were an afterthought.
The court said in its order that the accusations were neither vague nor explicit but were “primarily supported by contemporary medical records prepared by government doctors during the period in police custody.”
The court said that although the accused sustained these injuries while being exclusively in the custody of the CBI, the investigating agency did not provide any explanation at all as to what caused them.
“Even the CBI case the injuries were not self-inflicted or were accidental. The complete absence of any explanation is of great importance, especially when the accused has consistently claimed that the CBI officials took him to Bara Hindu Rao police station and he was subjected to severe physical assault,” the court said.
The judge noted that the defendant’s unexplained injuries, coupled with his admitted transfer to another police station while in police custody and the contemporaneous medical evidence, provided substantial prima facie support for the allegations of custodial violence.
Noting that custodial violence is one of the most serious attacks on the rule of law, the court said that no investigative agency, regardless of the maturity of the allegations being investigated, has any license to use physical violence, coercion or torture during interrogation.
“The legitimacy of a criminal investigation lies in its integrity and legality, not in its ability to extract information through intimidation or physical force. The police or any investigative agency cannot be allowed to assume the dual role of investigator and punisher,” the court said.
The court observed that “it cannot remain a silent spectator when contemporaneous medical evidence reveals injuries sustained by the accused while in the custody of a major investigating agency, and the agency concerned fails to provide even the slightest explanation as to the circumstances under which these injuries occurred.”
It said that if the allegations against the CBI were casually ignored, it would amount to judicial indifference towards a serious violation of constitutional rights and could undermine the administration of criminal justice.
Pointing out that the allegations made by Kumar were serious, and that he suffered injuries that led to his inability to hear from his left ear, he revealed allegations that he was permanently deprived of hearing in his ear, which “amounts to causing serious injury.”
Terming the incident a “disturbing” and “despicable” case, the court ordered the prison superintendent to conduct a medical examination of Kumar from Safdarjung Hospital and conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, which will not only identify the officers at fault, but will also examine the role and responsibility of their superior officers.
The court said that the investigation should be conducted by a senior officer who has nothing to do with the case, and if the investigation reveals that any crime has been committed, appropriate criminal and administrative measures will be taken against the erring officers.
