Police in India: Protectors against Injustice or Perpetrators of Injustice?

By Gahna Rajani and Himanshu Bhargava Introduction J Jayaraj and Bennix Immanuel were subjected to brutal torture in police custody and later succumbed to death. This was not the first incident. The prisoners in India have been subjected to torture and violence for a long time. The apex court has issued several guidelines in the …

Law Against Police Brutality

By Bhoomika Agarwal Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status.      - David Mamet The events that took place in the last few months have raised a very essential question …

Deconstructing Section 46(3) of the CrPC: A Tacit Approval for Encounters

By Keshab Roy Choudhury Introduction The concept of justice is an ever-elusive one. What exactly does one mean when they say they want justice? In the Indian context, the concept of ‘instant justice’ has entered the discourse again post the rape and murder of a 26-year-old doctor in Hyderabad last year. This ‘instant justice’, in …

Extra-Judicial killings: A solution for preventing crime in Adityanath’s UP?

By Amrashaa Singh The recent killing of the four accused in the Hyderabad veterinary doctor’s rape case created a huge hue and cry across the nation. While some people praised the incident, others pointed out the human rights violations caused by the incident. Many famous personalities, praised it, including Jaya Bachchan, a Rajya Sabha M.P., …

COVID-19 – III: Is Use of Lathi by Police During Lockdown Justified?

By Nishtha Gupta “The safety of the people is the supreme law.” -Markus Tullius, Roman statesman and lawyer The Indian state has recently faced the world’s largest lockdown wherein 1.6 billion people have been subjected to an unprecedented lockdown. This has obviously led to a certain protest in terms of people not following the lockdown …

COVID-19 – II: Lockdown and the Wave of Police Brutality

By Yashwanth J With the onset of nationwide lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus, various photos and videos have surfaced on the internet and the TV news channels portraying the highhandedness by the police officials against the flouters of the impugned curfew. The Government’s Guidelines on the measures to be taken by …