Behind Locked Doors: Legal Failures and Police Brutality in Indian Custody

ABSTRACT

Custodial violence in India reflects an annoying failure of criminal and institutional safeguards meant to defend essential human rights. Notwithstanding constitutional protections under Articles 20 and 21 and judicial pointers like those in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, times of torture, unlawful detention, and custodial deaths continue to be rampant. This newsletter critically examines the size and causes of custodial violence, highlighting key case laws, inclusive of Jayaraj and Benicks, Prakash Singh, and Raghbir Singh. It discusses the big way of life of impunity, criminal loopholes, and the kingdom’s reluctance to ratify the UN convention in opposition to Torture. The position of caste, religion, and sophistication in shaping styles of police brutality is likewise explored. Furthermore, it analyses how generation, better education, and structural reforms, including CCTV surveillance and unbiased oversight, can assist in slashing this menace. Unless India adopts urgent, systemic reforms and ensures actual responsibility, its criminal justice system will continue to betray the beliefs of democracy, dignity, and justice it claims to uphold.