The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government to pay compensation of Rs 18.44 lakh to the father of a 19-year-old youth who suffered an unnatural death while in police custody at Karawal Nagar Police Station, holding that the State bears a heightened constitutional duty to protect the life and dignity of every person in its custody.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Sachin Datta held on Wednesday that an unnatural custodial death, even if resulting from suicide, cannot be treated as a private act divorced from State responsibility. It observed that persons in custody continue to enjoy the protection of Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, and that the State cannot evade its constitutional obligations merely because the death was not directly attributed to custodial violence.
The Court observed that a custodial death is not merely an individual tragedy but a matter of systemic concern that strikes at the very foundation of the rule of law. It held that once a person is deprived of liberty and placed in State custody, the authorities assume a heightened duty of care. Consequently, any death occurring in custody, whether arising from violence, negligence, unexplained circumstances or suicide, warrants strict judicial scrutiny as it implicates both the dignity of the individual and the credibility of the criminal justice system.
The Court further held that the State cannot escape constitutional liability by relying upon statutory compensation schemes or by contending that there was no direct culpability on the part of its officials. It observed that the very fact of an unnatural custodial death attracts public law liability and obliges constitutional courts to grant monetary compensation as a public law remedy for the infringement of fundamental rights.
The observations came while deciding a writ petition filed by Shyam Sunder seeking compensation for the custodial death of his adopted son, Deepak, in January 2018.
According to the petition, Deepak was taken into police custody on January 15, 2018, in connection with an FIR and was detained at Karawal Nagar Police Station.
Shyam Sunder alleged that when he visited the police station to meet his son, he too was unlawfully detained for several hours before being released later the same day. He further alleged that both he and Deepak were assaulted inside the police station and that police personnel demanded money in exchange for Deepak’s release.
On January 16, 2018, Deepak was taken to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Shyam Sunder stated that he subsequently received a telephone call informing him that his son had allegedly died by suicide while in police custody.
The post-mortem examination attributed the cause of death to asphyxia resulting from ante-mortem hanging.
Before the High Court, the petitioner contended that since Deepak had suffered an unnatural death while in police custody, the State was constitutionally and legally bound to compensate his family for the violation of his fundamental rights.
The Delhi government opposed the writ petition and argued that compensation does not automatically follow in every case of custodial death.
Rejecting the contention, the High Court held that an unnatural death in custody attracts public law liability and that the State, being the custodian of life and personal liberty, is under a constitutional obligation to compensate the deceased’s next of kin for the violation of rights guaranteed under Article 21. The Court reiterated that compensation awarded in exercise of writ jurisdiction is an independent constitutional remedy and is not dependent upon the outcome of any criminal prosecution or departmental proceedings.
Applying the multiplier method for determining just compensation, the Court assessed Deepak’s notional monthly income at Rs. 12,000, added 40 per cent towards future prospects, and applied a multiplier of 18 having regard to his age. After adding conventional amounts towards funeral expenses and loss of estate, the Court quantified the total compensation at Rs 18.44 lakh and directed the Delhi government to release the compensation amount to the petitioner within eight weeks.
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