1. Custodial deaths — Allegations of murder by police officials — High Court quashing of committal orders and discharge of accused based on investigation reports. (Para 4 , 5 )
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2024 Supreme(SC) 1372
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
VIKRAM NATH, PRASANNA B. VARALE, JJ.
Basamsetti Rama Devi – Appellant
Versus
The State of A.P. & Ors. – Respondents
Criminal Appeal No. 1358 of 2024
With
M. Geetha – Appellant
Versus
The State Of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. – Respondents
Criminal Appeal No. 1359 of 2024
Decided On : 07-08-2024
Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant(s) : Ms. Kamini Jaiswal, AOR Ms. Rani Mishra, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AOR Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Yadav, Adv. Mr. Keshav Singh, Adv. Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aman Shukla, Adv. Mr. Rahul G. Tanwani, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv. Ms. Yatika Gupta, Adv. Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv. Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, AOR Mr. Sunny Kumar, Adv. Mr. Prateek Raushan, Adv. Mr. Puneet Aggarwal, Adv.
For the Appellant(s) : Ms. Kamini Jaiswal, AOR Ms. Rani Mishra, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AOR Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Yadav, Adv. Mr. Keshav Singh, Adv. Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aman Shukla, Adv. Mr. Rahul G. Tanwani, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv. Ms. Yatika Gupta, Adv. Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv. Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, AOR Mr. Sunny Kumar, Adv. Mr. Prateek Raushan, Adv. Mr. Puneet Aggarwal, Adv.
Self-defence claims in custodial death cases require thorough trial examination rather than dismissal at preliminary stages, safeguarding justice and accountability.
Headnote:(A) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Sections 190, 200, 197, 224, and 482 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 302, 201, 120B, and 149 - Appeal against High Court's quashing of complaints concerning custodial deaths - The High Court erroneously allowed the accused to discharge based on claims of self-defence without trial. The Supreme Court emphasized the necessity of a full trial, noting the serious allegations arising from police actions in custodial deaths. (Paras 1-12)
(B) Self-Defence - The importance of a comprehensive evaluation of the evidence before accepting claims of self-defence in custodial death cases. The court held that such claims should not overshadow the requirement of a fair trial. (Paras 10-11)
Facts of the case:
Two appellants challenged the High Court's orders allowing the discharge of police officials involved in the custodial deaths of their relatives, arguing that the police actions warranted trial. The High Court previously ruled in favor of the accused based on self-defence claims.
Findings of Court:
The Supreme Court found that the High Court's decision lacked restraint and failed to require a trial, reversing the erroneous order.
Issues: Whether the High Court should quash the complaints against police officials based on preliminary investigations without a trial.
Ratio Decidendi: The Supreme Court determined that the High Court overstepped by accepting self-defence claims without trial, reiterating the urgency and importance of judicial accountability and the need for thorough examination of evidence.
Result: Appeals allowed; High Court's order set aside, and matters remanded for trial.
Legal Category Hierarchy
- crime and sentencing
- practice and procedure
- constitutional law
Table of Contents
2. High Court erroneously conducted a full-fledged trial under Section 482 Cr.P.C. by accepting the plea of self-defence at face value without a trial. (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 )
3. Scope of Section 482 Cr.P.C. is limited to assessing whether a prima facie case is made out; pleas of self-defence must be proven during trial. (Para 10 )
4. Appeals allowed — High Court order set aside — Matters remanded to Trial Courts for expeditious trial to be concluded within one year. (Para 12 , 13 , 14 )
5. What is the scope of the High Court's power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. regarding quashing petitions?
The scope is limited to assessing whether, at a prima facie view of the allegations, a cognizable offence is made out. The court should exercise restraint and not delve into questions that are to be decided during a criminal trial. (Para 10 )
6. Can a plea of self-defence be used to grant discharge at the threshold of a trial?
No. A plea of self-defence is a matter of trial that must be explained and proven in due course of proceedings following strict rules of evidence and criminal procedure; it cannot be accepted at face value during quashing proceedings. (Para 10 )
7. How should courts approach allegations of custodial death in the context of a fair trial?
Given that custodial murder casts a blot on human rights and civil liberties, courts must ensure a fair trial to preserve public conscience and justice, avoiding premature discharge that lets accused persons go scot-free without trial. (Para 10 , 11 )
ORDER :
1.
“…but what happens after a person is arrested or detained? His troubles begin then. When he is detained or arrested and he is in the clutches of the police, he is alone in the world, and the forces of the police, the forces of the Crown and all other forces combine against him and he is helpless.”
The above excerpt is from a Constituent Assembly Debate on 15th September, 1949 wherein Pandit Thakur D. Bhargava was flagging concerns to protect the detained individuals from the tyranny of police while debating amendments to the rights of detained persons. Even though the said concern was expressed almost 76 years ago, the trepidation surrounding police custody and the helplessness that it entails still echo as true as ever. The case at hand unfortunately is a precise example of uncertainty and vagaries that might follow once a person is taken into custody. Even though our Constitution and procedural laws stipulate sufficient safeguards to protect the rights of detainees, there comes every now and then a case such as instant one which leads to a plethora of unanswered questions, unending misery of aggrieved persons for decades and is enough to shake the public confidence in police force. In such a regrettable state of affairs, it becomes the solemn duty of the Courts of law to uncover the truth, take to task every offending individual and ensure that the basic rights of every human are preserved, be it a detainee, an accused or a convict. However, the set of events that unfold here woefully depict how the judiciary also has failed in its commitment to uphold justice and gave a clean chit to the accused persons before a trial could even begin, in an offence as gruesome as custodial death.
2. The present appeals have been preferred by the respective original complainants against the common impugned judgment and order dated 17.10.2014 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Criminal Revision Petitions being Crl. R.C. No. 656 of 2007 and Crl. R.C. No. 1402 of 2009.
3. The two appeals arise from different factual matrix and involve distinct parties but were heard and disposed of together by the High Court since they involved the similar issue relating to quashing of criminal complaint against the police officials in matters of custodial death. For the sake of clarity, the facts giving rise to both the appeals and submissions extended by the parties in each of the matters are narrated distinctively in the following paragraphs:
4. Criminal Appeal No. 1358/2024
4.1 In the instant case, the accused-respondents were working as police officers in the Governorpeta Police Station, Vijayawada. The appellant herein is the original complainant and the paternal aunt of K. Srinivasa Rao @ Budda Santhan (hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’). It was alleged by the complainant that the Accused No. 1, the then Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, without conducting any enquiry, declared before the press that the deceased and another person are responsible for the killing of one Edupuganti Satyanarayana of Telugu Desam Party, which took place on 09.07.2002. The deceased was declared as a rowdy sheeter by the Accused No. 1 and on 13.07.2002, the Accused No. 1, after holding the press conference, paraded the deceased and two other persons as murderers of Satyanarayana. Soon after the press conference, they were produced before the concerned Magistrate who took them in judicial custody and directed the accused persons to produce them before the Magistrate on 15.07.2002. The accused persons kept the deceased and others in police lock-up and at around 8.00 p.m. on 13.07.2002, the Accused No. 5, i.e. the ASI of Governorpeta Police Station, Vijayawada, went to the house of the deceased and obtained the signatures of the mother of the deceased on blank papers.
4.2 Thereafter, on the morning of 14.07.2002, at around 5.30 a.m., the Accused No. 5 came to the house of the deceased and informed hi
