Provide documents for probe into jail death: HC to police

Discrepancies in reporting of Manjula Shette’s death: court

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday reprimanded the State government for not following the procedure laid down for custodial deaths in the case of Manjula Shette, an inmate of Byculla Women’s Prison who died on June 23 after allegedly being assaulted by prison guards. The FIR in the case was registered on June 24.

A Division Bench comprising Justices R.M. Savant and Sadhana Jadhav said under CrPC section 176 (1) (a) and (3) and (4), a custodial death has to be referred to the concerned magistrate within 24 hours, with all concerned documents. However, in this case, the Bench said, police termed it an accidental death. It ordered that all documents needed for a magisterial inquiry be provided.

On July 13,

The Hindu had reported 20 days after Shette’s death, the government is yet to order a magisterial probe. Additional DG (Prisons) B.K. Upadhyay had said,“The procedure of magisterial inquiry in such cases is mandatory and we have sent our report to the Collector, who would be ordering an inquiry.” Mumbai Collector Sampada Mehta said she was unaware of the report, and if her office had received it.

The court was hearing a criminal PIL by social worker Pradeep Bhalekar, who had sought for IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) to be invoked against male constables and a vigilance committee be formed to monitor prisons.

The court said it found there has been no compliance with CrPC section 176. It said the State government sending a letter over a week after the incident has made the entire procedure unfruitful. It said this was done deliberately and directed the Mumbai Police Crime Branch to provide all documents to the magistrate to facilitate the inquiry immediately, and adjourned the matter to August 21.

According to the FIR lodged by Shette’s co-inmates, six prison guards had brutally assaulted her. Shette, who was serving a life term for murder, collapsed. She was taken to the government-run JJ Hospital, where she died.

Her death led to a riot by women prisoners, which lasted all night before being quelled in the morning.

While six prison guards have been arrested for the alleged murder, jail authorities said it was a case of accidental death, and Shette died after collapsing suddenly.