Threat to human rights is highest in police stations: CJI
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana also flagged the issues of human rights and dignity, saying these are “sacrosanct”.
Updated: August 9, 2021 7:50:57 am
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana. (Express file photo)
Pointing out that custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in society, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana Sunday said the “threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations”.
He flagged the issues of human rights and dignity, saying these are “sacrosanct”.
“The threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations. Custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in our society. In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, the lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons,” the CJI said, addressing an event organised by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
“The decisions taken in these early hours will later determine the ability of the accused to defend himself. Going by the recent reports even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment,” he said.
“To keep police excesses in check, dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary. The installation of display boards and outdoor hoardings in every police station/prison is a step in this direction,” CJI Ramana said, as he called upon NALSA to carry out nationwide sensitisation of police officers.
He said the concept of free legal aid to the needy has its roots in the freedom movement. “Those days, the legal luminaries rendered pro-bono services to freedom fighters, who were targeted by the colonial rulers. This spirit of service found reflection in the Constitution, with those very same legal luminaries serving as members of the Constituent Assembly.”
Stressing the need to work on access to justice for all, irrespective of their socio-economic status, CJI Ramana said this is imperative to ensure that we remain a society governed by rule of law.
“If we want to remain a society governed by the rule of law, it is imperative for us to bridge the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable. For all times to come, we must remember that, the realities of socio-economic diversity which prevail in our nation, cannot ever be a reason for denial of rights,” he said.
Asking not to let the past determine the future, he said that project “Access to Justice” is an unending mission for the country so that it can dream of a future based on legal mobility, a future where equality is a reality. “If, as an institution, the judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice,” the CJI said.
Pointing out that “prevailing obstacles like lengthy, painstaking and expensive formal justice processes add to the woes of realising the goals of Access to Justice”, CJI Ramana said: “As an institution, the toughest challenge before us is to break these barriers first.”
Making it clear that accessing justice in India is not merely an aspirational goal, he said, “We need to work hand in hand with various wings of the government to make it a practical reality.”
Politics Of Arrest Is Violating Human Rights
Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana said on November 22 that rulers should introspect every day whether decisions taken by them were good and also check if they have any bad characteristics. Earlier, on July 15, the CJI had expressed concern over misuse of the “colonial era” penal law on sedition and condemned another manifestation of abuse of authority in India: custodial torture.
The message of the CJI is loud and clear: Human rights must be protected at all costs.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V Ramana 2021. Photo: PTI.
The propensity of rulers to abridge human rights without adequate grounds has of late been an unfortunate trend. A ‘human right’ is the mother of all rights. There is a need to grasp the source and extent of these rights.
India is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, held in Paris. The UDHR is a milestone in the history of human rights with 30 articles. Article 1 of UDHR stipulates that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. In 1948, this was adopted by 48 countries. Today the number has grown and is nearing 200.
In 1776, US founding father Thomas Jefferson said, “All men are created equal.” Much earlier, in 1712 philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said: “Man is born free but everywhere is in chains.” Across the world, therefore, for centuries, human rights have been recognised as the most precious right of mankind.
Article 3 of UDHR stipulates that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. Article 9 mandates that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention and exile. Article 11 states that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
The preamble of UDHR recognises that disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind. Human rights are universal, no matter who they are or where they are. These rights include civil and political rights like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy.
These principles influenced the Constituent Assembly of India exactly 72 years ago on November 26, 1949, while adopting the constitution, which came into force two months later on January 26, 1950. It’s time to revisit these principles, ingrained in the Indian constitution, and see ground realities.
Also read: Custodial Torture Continues Unabated in India Amidst Culture of Impunity: Report
Ground realities
Now, one absconding top cop is protected from arrest by the top court. A top former banker was picked up in Delhi, driven for 16 hours to another state, and was initially denied bail by a magistrate. A 23-year-old boy was arbitrarily arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going hammer and tongs on arrest jurisprudence. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) empowers the ED to arrest while no such power exists under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
How many assets have been confiscated (not attached) by the Union government under PMLA or how much foreign exchange has been repatriated to India under FEMA? The answers to these questions will disclose the ED’s quality of work. And when talking about the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), one cannot forget the “caged parrot” observation made by the former chief justice of India R.M. Lodha.
Actually, a vulnerable CBI is a by-product of a “joint venture” between the Union government and the state government. If the Union government and the state government are not ad-idem, the CBI cannot exist in a state, even for a split second.
The Union government empowering the CBI and the reciprocal consent of the state government are necessary. These follow from Act 25 of 1946 that stipulates CBI is a police force. But police is a state subject as per the constitution. Hence, this tug of war between the Union government and the state government about the CBI. The majesty of the constitution cannot ever be subverted. Monarchy through police force or arrest jurisprudence has to yield to constitutional democracy.
The CBI, ED, police, and the NCB have been disregarding the UDHR, the constitution of India and human rights. Politics of arrest has been on the rampage, ignoring precious human rights. Only the judiciary can dismantle this abuse of power in flagrant disregard for the constitution of India.
Politics Of Arrest Is Violating Human Rights
Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana said on November 22 that rulers should introspect every day whether decisions taken by them were good and also check if they have any bad characteristics. Earlier, on July 15, the CJI had expressed concern over misuse of the “colonial era” penal law on sedition and condemned another manifestation of abuse of authority in India: custodial torture.
The message of the CJI is loud and clear: Human rights must be protected at all costs.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V Ramana 2021. Photo: PTI.
The propensity of rulers to abridge human rights without adequate grounds has of late been an unfortunate trend. A ‘human right’ is the mother of all rights. There is a need to grasp the source and extent of these rights.
India is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, held in Paris. The UDHR is a milestone in the history of human rights with 30 articles. Article 1 of UDHR stipulates that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. In 1948, this was adopted by 48 countries. Today the number has grown and is nearing 200.
In 1776, US founding father Thomas Jefferson said, “All men are created equal.” Much earlier, in 1712 philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said: “Man is born free but everywhere is in chains.” Across the world, therefore, for centuries, human rights have been recognised as the most precious right of mankind.
Article 3 of UDHR stipulates that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. Article 9 mandates that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention and exile. Article 11 states that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
The preamble of UDHR recognises that disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind. Human rights are universal, no matter who they are or where they are. These rights include civil and political rights like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy.
These principles influenced the Constituent Assembly of India exactly 72 years ago on November 26, 1949, while adopting the constitution, which came into force two months later on January 26, 1950. It’s time to revisit these principles, ingrained in the Indian constitution, and see ground realities.
Also read: Custodial Torture Continues Unabated in India Amidst Culture of Impunity: Report
Ground realities
Now, one absconding top cop is protected from arrest by the top court. A top former banker was picked up in Delhi, driven for 16 hours to another state, and was initially denied bail by a magistrate. A 23-year-old boy was arbitrarily arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going hammer and tongs on arrest jurisprudence. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) empowers the ED to arrest while no such power exists under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
How many assets have been confiscated (not attached) by the Union government under PMLA or how much foreign exchange has been repatriated to India under FEMA? The answers to these questions will disclose the ED’s quality of work. And when talking about the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), one cannot forget the “caged parrot” observation made by the former chief justice of India R.M. Lodha.
Actually, a vulnerable CBI is a by-product of a “joint venture” between the Union government and the state government. If the Union government and the state government are not ad-idem, the CBI cannot exist in a state, even for a split second.
The Union government empowering the CBI and the reciprocal consent of the state government are necessary. These follow from Act 25 of 1946 that stipulates CBI is a police force. But police is a state subject as per the constitution. Hence, this tug of war between the Union government and the state government about the CBI. The majesty of the constitution cannot ever be subverted. Monarchy through police force or arrest jurisprudence has to yield to constitutional democracy.
The CBI, ED, police, and the NCB have been disregarding the UDHR, the constitution of India and human rights. Politics of arrest has been on the rampage, ignoring precious human rights. Only the judiciary can dismantle this abuse of power in flagrant disregard for the constitution of India.