A conviction, a reckoning in Tamil Nadu

Among the several tragedies and tales of suffering during the pandemic years, the killing of P Jayaraj and his son Benicks in police custody in Sattankulam, Tamil Nadu, in June 2020, stood out. Their deaths were not a result of the virus but rather a culture of violence and impunity that has been a stain on the state’s police and the country’s criminal justice system as a whole. Six years on, the conviction of nine police officers for the murders by a Madurai court is welcome and will, hopefully, provide a measure of closure to the victims’ families. It should also be the beginning of a deeper reckoning.

Jayaraj was picked up outside his shop for allegedly violating Covid curfew rules (the CBI later found this charge to be false). Benicks went to inquire about his father a day later, and he, too, was detained. Both men were severely tortured and succumbed to their injuries. The case, handed over to the CBI, became a test for the justice system vis-à-vis police impunity. Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of custodial deaths (judicial and police custody) among the southern states (490 between 2016 and 2022). Several other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, also have an inglorious record in this respect. Jayaraj and Benicks’ deaths, abhorrent in themselves, are a particularly chilling example of a rot that runs deep.

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The Constitution, laws and several committee reports address the rights of the individual and the importance of due process. The rights under Article 22 — an arrested person must be informed of their alleged crime, presented before a magistrate and provided with legal counsel — were expanded by the Supreme Court in D K Basu v State of West Bengal (1997). It laid down mandatory procedures to prevent custodial torture. Judicial magistrates are the first and arguably the most important line of defence. The National Human Rights Commission and state human rights commissions can also take up rights issues. In the Sattankulam killings, as with many others, these guardrails fell short. This chasm between the best intentions and rules and the reality of the police station must be bridged. That, in the long run, can turn a policing system into one that serves the cause of justice.