Answer:

Introduction:

Custodial deaths in India, which encompass fatalities occurring under both police and judicial custody, remain a critical concern. These deaths raise severe questions about human rights violations and the abuse of power within the law enforcement system.

Body:

Contributing Factors:

• Police Brutality and Torture: Custodial deaths often result from police brutality, where excessive force and torture are used to extract confessions. Such actions not only violate legal norms but also the fundamental rights of detainees​.
• Medical Negligence: In many cases, the lack of proper medical care for pre-existing conditions or injuries sustained during custody leads to fatalities. This is compounded by inadequate initial health screenings and insufficient medical facilities in prisons​​.
• Overcrowding in Prisons: Overcapacity in prisons leads to inadequate care and monitoring of inmates. As of 2015, the number of inmates exceeded the total capacity of jails in India, severely impacting the ability to maintain health and safety standards​​.
• Legal and Systemic Failures: A significant issue is the lack of accountability and effective legal frameworks to address and penalize custodial abuses. Despite existing laws, such as Section 330 of the IPC, which penalizes causing hurt to extort confessions, enforcement is lax, and convictions are rare​​.

Measures to Address Custodial Deaths:

• Strengthening Legal Frameworks: Enforcing stricter penalties for custodial torture and ensuring rigorous prosecution of offenders are essential steps. Implementing existing directives, such as the Supreme Court’s order to install CCTV cameras in all police stations, is also crucial​​.
• Improving Prison Conditions: Enhancing medical facilities, ensuring regular health check-ups, and managing prison capacities will significantly reduce the risk of deaths due to medical issues.
• Training and Sensitization: Regular training and sensitization programs for police and judicial officers on human rights and ethical treatment of detainees can help curb brutal practices.
• Transparency and Accountability: Encouraging transparency in police and judicial processes by maintaining detailed records of detentions and treatments meted out to detainees. Furthermore, an independent body should review all custodial deaths.

Role of Stakeholders:

• Judiciary: Must actively oversee the enforcement of laws against custodial torture and ensure swift and fair trials in cases of custodial deaths.
• Police: Need to adhere strictly to legal procedures and human rights norms, avoiding any form of violence or coercion.
• Civil Society: Plays a crucial role in monitoring custodial practices and advocating for the rights of detainees, besides helping to bring transparency to the system.

Conclusion:

Custodial deaths are a grave violation of human rights and reflect poorly on the rule of law within a democratic setup like India’s. Addressing this issue requires a multi-faceted approach involving legal reforms, better law enforcement practices, enhanced judicial oversight, and robust civil society activism. Together, these measures can help mitigate the issue of custodial deaths and uphold the dignity and rights of all individuals under custody.

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