Custodial torture cannot be considered police duty: Kerala High Court

The court also said that custodial torture by police is the 'worst kind of crime in any society governed by the rule of law

The Kerala High Court recently ruled that police officers accused of custodial torture cannot be exonerated solely due to the absence of government sanction, reported Bar and Bench.

 

Justice Kauser Edappagath made these remarks while hearing a revision petition filed by a woman named Sudha, who had previously worked as a housemaid. She was accused by her employers of stealing gold sovereigns and was subsequently taken to the police station, where she alleged she was subjected to custodial torture, the report added.

 

She was beaten and tortured by police officers for over three hours before her employers admitted the missing gold had been found at home. Sudha later filed a private complaint before a Magistrate Court, which found enough grounds to proceed against both the employers and the police under various provisions of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

 

 

However, a sessions court discharged all the accused—citing lack of prima facie evidence against the employers and absence of prior sanction to prosecute the police—prompting Sudha to challenge the decision in the High Court through a revision petition.

 

Custodial torture not protected under CrPC

 

The High Court noted that custodial torture cannot be considered part of the official duties of the police. Therefore, it should not be shielded by legal provisions requiring prior government sanction for prosecution.

 

“The act of custodial torture inflicted by a police officer without justification on an arrestee cannot be shielded under the protective mantle of Section 197 of CrPC,” the judgment stated. “It can never be said that a police officer acts or purports to act in discharge of his official duty when he inflicts custodial torture on an arrestee.”

 

Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) mandates prior government approval before prosecuting public servants for actions committed in the course of their official duties.

 

'Worst kind of violence'

 

The court also noted that custodial torture represents a grave violation in any society governed by the rule of law. Highlighting the broader implications, the judgment stated:

 

"The courts must not lose sight of the fact that custodial torture is perhaps one of the worst kinds of crime in a civilised society, governed by the rule of law and poses a serious threat to an orderly civilised society. Police excesses and the maltreatment of detainees/undertrial prisoners or suspects tarnish the image of any civilised nation and encourage the men in ‘Khaki’ to consider themselves to be above the law and sometimes even to become law unto themselves," as quoted by Bar and Bench.

 

It further urged the court to deal with such in a realistic manner and with the sensitivity that they deserve. "Otherwise, the common man may lose faith in the judiciary itself," it noted.

 

Normalisation of torture within police forces

 

A recent study revealed that a significant proportion of police personnel in India view the use of physical force during interrogation as justified. According to the Status of Policing in India Report 2025 by Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS, over half of police personnel surveyed believe it is important to use tough methods, including violence, to instil fear among criminals. Around 30 per cent justify the use of third-degree torture in serious cases. It also highlighted that 22 per cent of police personnel believe that killing “dangerous criminals” is better than giving them a legal trial.

 

Many officers surveyed held the view that methods such as beatings were effective in extracting confessions or maintaining order. The study also indicated that a considerable number of officers did not see the use of torture as a violation of human rights.