Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday delivered a significant ruling on a public interest litigation on custodial deaths and rape cases in the state, mandating that a judicial inquiry will now be compulsory in every such instance.
A division bench of Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar directed that any death or rape occurring in police custody or jail custody must be subjected to a judicial inquiry without exception.
The court ruled that such inquiries are mandatory under Section 196(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the corresponding provision contained in Section 176(1A) of the erstwhile Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Earlier, the Jharkhand government had been getting inquiries into custodial deaths and rape cases conducted through Executive Magistrates, and judicial inquiries were not treated as mandatory in the state. The High Court’s order will now bring a complete change in this system.
The bench also directed the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) to frame a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in accordance with the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission to ensure fair, impartial and proper investigation of custodial death and rape cases.
During the hearing, it emerged from records submitted by the state government that nearly 250 cases exist where custodial deaths had occurred, but no judicial inquiry was conducted.
Taking serious note of this, the court directed District Judges to submit detailed reports directly to the High Court, explaining the reasons for the absence of judicial inquiries in these cases.
An affidavit filed earlier by the state Home Secretary had revealed shocking details, with the government admitting that around 500 deaths occurred in police and jail custody in Jharkhand between 2018 and 2025. In nearly half of these cases, judicial inquiries were not conducted.
Following this disclosure, the High Court adopted a tough stance and reserved its verdict after both sides completed their arguments.
The petitioner, Mohammad Mumtaz Ansari, was represented by advocate Shadab Ansari, who presented written submissions along with several Supreme Court judgments and NHRC guidelines before the court. Based on these submissions, the High Court delivered what has been described as a historic ruling.
(IANS)
