Is Tamil Nadu the Most Progressive State in India?

1. 
   In this blogspot, I have written two earlier blogs, one on the Satankulam double murder in  police custody:(https://profmurali.blogspot.com/2020/07/sathankulamtyranny-what-next-theirony.html) and the custodial death of Muthu: (https://profmurali.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-never-ending-turmoils-of-tamils-in_72.html).  Many of you may have seen the movie Jai Bhim.  Actually, this has become a recurring problem in Tamil Nadu. Every time I read something  about custodial torture and consequent deaths, I believe I must document the same for posterity,  particularly for the benefit of human rights lawyers. In fact, this is happening around the world.  In places like China and Korea, it doesn't even come to light. In Pakistan, the present Baluch  movement for independence is essentially a movement for women who have lost their fathers,  brothers, and husbands. In the United States, we witnessed the death of Mr. George Floyd, who  was subjected to excessive force by the arresting officer, which cost Mr. Floyd his life. But the  difference is Mr. Chauvin, who was responsible for the death, has been convicted and is serving his sentence.  

2. Even the deputies who were with Derek Chauvin were convicted for abetting the death of Mr.  Floyd. But then, the United States has obviously a good system of governance where laws are implemented with  utmost diligence. That is why it is the leader of the First World, and countries like India and  Pakistan are considered part of the Third World.  

3. Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on  Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) very clearly state that cruel and unusual punishments should  not be inflicted, even on those people who commit heinous crimes. Police brutality in Third  World countries is a colonial legacy. We all know that Lala Lajpat Rai, one of the greatest souls  of India, marched despite there being a prohibitory order against assemblies, which the imperialists considered unlawful. Now the police manual stipulates that the policeman, while beating up  people as part of their lathi charge responsibilities, has been instructed not to beat on the head or  upper part of the body. In fact, they have been told to beat more particularly on the butt region,  where it is unlikely to cause lasting disabilities. Notwithstanding this, Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten  on his head and he died due to consequent illness from the head injury. Though there was an inquiry against the Police ,they were all duly exonerated.

4. Though the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), also known as the Indian Evidence Act,  prohibits the admissibility of confessions made to a police officer or confessions made during  Police custody, Police in India resort to third-degree methods to compel the accused to make a  confession about involvement in the crime which the accused is suspected of. However, the BSA  permits the admissibility of “Discovery Evidence” of material objects which is obtained pursuant to the  confessions. Because of this, police, instead of doing the hard job of investigation, choose to  obtain such “Discovery Evidence” so that they need not crack their heads conducting an elaborate investigation. Furthermore, investigations are often time-consuming, and, in many crimes, there  may not be culprits but only suspects. The police, who are always under time constraints, choose the  easy way out and resolve through third-degree methods they compel the accused to make a  confession with the hope that the confession will result in “Recovery of material objects”,  which will be enough to link the accused to the commission of the crime.  

5. Recently, in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Ajith Kumar, the temple watchman hailing from some of the  oppressed sections of Indian society, was suspected of having committed the theft of 8  sovereigns of gold. The complainant was a doctorate and a College Teacher. Her father  retired as the Deputy Collector. Naturally, they were well connected with the local bureaucracy.  In the past, they were suspected of abusing their authority and status and had defrauded the  gullible public under the pretext of getting them government jobs. She could get away from the  consequences of her past illegal deeds essentially because her people were well connected in the  state bureaucracy. So, she knew whom to contact and told her contacts in the government that  Mr. Suresh Kumar, in all probability, would have committed the crime. Hence, she contacted an  Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who in turn directed the local police to constitute a  Special Investigation Team (SIT) to bring a closure to this issue. All this was done without even  registering a First Information Report (FIR). This is clearly illegal. It is not clear who authorised  the use of third-degree methods for compelling the accused to make a confession about his  involvement in the crime.  

6. Apparently, Mr. Ajith Kumar was indeed guilty of the alleged theft. The jewellery was recovered from some young girls in a working women's hostel from a person known to the accused. Had Mr. Ajith Kumar survived the act of police brutality; the matter would not even have come to public  knowledge. The complainant would have got back the jewellery.The accused may have faced a trial and possibly a prison sentence (in law as well as in English “MAY” includes “May Not”). As luck would have it, the accused died within a  week of the incident, and the postmortem report found there were 44 injuries on the accused,  including some concussions in the head and lacerations in the heart. The police had also denied  him water when he desperately pleaded for it. In a sad measure, the police fed him with chilli  powder, some of it liberally applied on the private parts as well. Unfortunately for the police, and  fortunately for society, one of the friends of the victim took videos of the incident.  

7. Mr. Henry Tiphagne, one of the human rights lawyers in Tamil Nadu, filed a Public Interest  Litigation (PIL), which mercifully went before the judge who had himself fought against police  brutality during his tenure as a lawyer. So, all the policemen were arrested and suspended. Soon,  the wives of police constables went on an agitation, stating that they were only carrying out the instructions of their senior officers, who in turn were compelled by those in the State Home Ministry to ensure that no stone is left unturned to make recovery of the jewellery.  Whether this instruction could amount to an authorisation to employ third-degree methods and  pursue investigation in a manner not authorised by law. Under the letter and spirit of law , it would .But in reality, it would be anybody’s guess.

8. After the death, the state granted the victim's family a house site. The state gave one of the  family members a government job and an ex-gratia compensation of 10 lakhs. Political parties  also gave the victim's family monetary relief. In another 6 months’ time, everybody will forget  this tragic incident. Dutifully, the state government will file a murder case against the constables,  and, in all probability, they will face a protracted trial. The Deputy Superintendent of Police  (DSP) and IAS officers who authorised the employment of third-degree methods will get their  chargesheet quashed by the High Court (HC) or Supreme Court (SC),  they will in all  probability retire with full pension after having faced the Departmental Proceeding (DP). Even if  these people are convicted and sentenced, they will file appeals and get the sentence suspended.  In many cases, they may not serve that sentence because some of them will die during the  pendency of the cause.  

9. For example, in the Satankulam case (June 2020), and Muthu’s murder (June 2020), the trial is yet  to be completed. Mercifully, the main accused are held in prison as undertrials. It is quite  possible many of these accused will get bail once a chargesheet is framed. Here I would add that  the situation in some of the North Indian states is much worse than in South Indian states. After  the Rajan murder case (March 1976) and the conviction of Mr. Jayaram Padickal(in 2005) in the trial, I  think the incidents of custodial deaths in Kerala have declined. After the death of Rasheed  (1992) and the conviction of Mr. Jallappa, the number of custodial deaths in Karnataka has also  declined. The undivided Andhra Pradesh faced a lot of Naxal problems and custodial deaths were  regularly covered up.  

10. But unfortunately, in Tamil Nadu custodial deaths are a recurring phenomenon. In the last 4  years of the present Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) rule, there have been at least 24 such cases.  What is most disturbing is that a disproportionate number of these victims come from the  oppressed and marginalised sections of society SCs, STs, religious minorities, and the working  poor. These are people who lack access to legal representation, media attention, or political  backing. Their deaths often occur in silence, registered as suicides or death due to natural causes, while the  perpetrators continue to serve in uniform. 

11. This makes me wonder whether Tamil Nadu is indeed one of the progressive states, as many  Tamils love to claim. It is true in terms of social justice, distribution of opportunity, women  empowerment, and welfare measures. Tamil Nadu is still ahead of many states in all these  parameters. But the Tamil Nadu Human Rights Commission (TNHRC) must ensure that the  blot on the reputation of Tamil Nadu must be erased.