Delhi court orders FIR in custodial death case

A Delhi court has ordered an FIR in a custodial death case of man on the complaint filed by his wife.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Vasundhra Chhaunkar heard a plea filed by one Setara Bibi, alleging her husband Sheikh Shadat died on July 22-23, 2023 in the custody of the officials of Subhash Place Police Station.

Despite a considerable delay, she said, no FIR was registered in the case.

In its order on May 28, the court said, “In the present case, the allegations have been levelled upon the police officers of police station Subhash Place that the deceased has been tortured in the custody and has been brutally assaulted in the custody due to which the deceased has expired.”

The court referred to the man’s post mortem report and said the cause of death was neither homicidal nor suicidal.

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However, according to his wife’s allegations and photographs available on record, including the video footage and the pictures of the deceased from the mortuary, the court observed the presence of injury marks on the man’s body.

“Though the inquest report is on record, the same can be considered at the appropriate stage. To dismiss the present application only on the basis of present inquest report will not serve the purpose of justice where the complainant is not in a capacity to record or collect extensive evidence,” the order read.

The judge prima facie found a cognisable offence, requiring a thorough investigation to “unearth the entire scenario” aside from recording of the statements of all possible witnesses.

“Also, an investigation on technical aspect is required qua the availability of CCTV footage, qua the attempts made to preserve the same and qua the other possible inputs,” the court said, directing the station house officer concerned to register an FIR and submit a compliance report by June 26.