There is no legal definition of “custodial death” or “custodial violence.” The term “custody” connotes protection and supervision. It’s vital to remember that even while custody means confinement, it does not imply imposing terrible behavior while doing so. The definition of “custody” according to Merriam Webster’s dictionary is “immediate charge and control (as over a ward or a suspect) exercised by a person or an authority.” To prevent detainees from being tortured by policemen while in prison, a number of measures under various statutes, including Sections 330, 331 & 348 of the IPC, Sections 25 & 26 of the Indian Evidence Act, Section 76 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and Section 29 of the Police Act, 1861, have been introduced.

It has been almost 10 years since The Prevention of Torture Bill 2010 was launched, which aimed to enact harsher laws against torture and make it a crime punishable by 10 years in jail under Section 4 of the bill. Sadly, the same failed because it was unable to pass in the Rajya Sabha.

The bill primarily emphasized the significance of India’s stance toward the 1975 UN Convention against Torture, which incorporates Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. India was a signatory to the said convention at the time, but had not yet ratified it, making it important to note that the bill was introduced 10 years ago.

But once more, it appeared that the efforts continued. As a result of the 273rd Law Commission report’s suggestions to enact stronger and more stringent restrictions, including life imprisonment and a fine, the Prevention of Torture Bill was prepared in 2017.

The Commission further recommended the addition of Section 114B to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which highlighted the presumption that should be taken in cases where there has been any injury suffered and that the burden of proof lies with the relevant authority to support the same because it is nearly impossible to hear the case when there is absolutely no true evidence because these terrorizing acts only occur in the presence of police without an accomplice.

We all know how this story ends, though. Only 8 states responded to the request for their thoughts on the draft of the Prevention of Torture Bill, which was made because criminal law is covered by the concurrent list. Furthermore, despite objections being made, neither the Central Government nor the Supreme Court followed through on the recommendations, and so we were left with just another tale to tell—one that never came to pass.

It is not just recent cases like the custodial deaths of the father-son pair Jayaraj and Bennix in Tamil Nadu, which broke all humane barriers, that should bring to light the callousness that has been present; rather, this has been a feature of our system for years. We’ve had landmark decisions like DK Basu that gave us a ray of hope to hold onto, but here we are again after 24 years ashamed to be without them. Despite the democratic nature of our nation, where citizens have the freedom and right to express their opinions on such gruesome issues that commit Human Rights violations, the biggest obstacle to the Indian Criminal Justice System is the absence of enforcement of existing solutions.