The newly-formed Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has four weeks, till the third week of December, to file an affidavit on steps taken to install CCTV cameras in police stations aimed at curbing custodial deaths.
The Bombay High Court’s ultimatum to the government came during a hearing on petitions about custodial deaths. There have been 298 custodial deaths in Maharashtra from 1999 to 2013, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). But there has not been a single conviction of police personnel.
Apart from directing the Director-General of Police to look into the causes of the rise in custodial deaths, the court has spelt out a slew of measures to curb the menace.
Amicus curiae Yug Mohit Chaudhry said it had been four months since the government had been directed by the court to file an affidavit-in-reply.
Pointing out that there had been one more custodial death in these four months in Mumbai, Mr. Chaudhry said the government’s compliance with the High Court’s directives would have at least laid bare the cause of the death.
Four months ago, the court directed the State government to install CCTV cameras in all rooms of all police stations. It had also said that the police should stop night interrogations. The government had been directed to file an affidavit. But the government pleader sought more time on the grounds that a new government had come to power. The court said it was giving a final extension of four weeks to the government.
Maharashtra accounts for 23.48 per cent of the custodial deaths in the country.
