Human rights under threat: Custodial torture, police atrocities still prevail, says CJI

The CJI, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of NALSA, said that to keep police excesses in check, dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary. 

“The installation of display boards and outdoor hoardings in every police station/prison is a step in this direction,” he said, adding that “NALSA must also actively carry out nationwide sensitisation of police officers.” He was speaking at the launch of a legal service mobile application and the vision and mission statement of NALSA at Vigyan Bhawan here. The mobile App will help poor and needy people in applying for legal aid and seek victim compensation. 

NALSA was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. 

Terming the project “Access to Justice” as an “unending mission”, the CJI said that for becoming a society governed by the rule of law, it was necessary to “bridge the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable”. 

If, as an institution, the judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice,” he said. 

The past should not determine the future and all should work to bring equality, Justice Ramana stressed. “The threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations. Custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in our society. In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, the lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons.