CUSTODIAL TORTURE IN INDIA: THE ROLE OF CCTV SURVEILLANCE AND ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE IN PREVENTING AND PROVING CUSTODIAL ABUSE

Author

Padmapriya Pradhan, Sneha Patidar, Abhishek Rana


Abstract

 Custodial torture occupies a distinctive place in Indian constitutional law because the State controls the victim at the very moment when the victim's ability to document abuse is weakest. The problem is therefore not only the existence of a legal prohibition but the production, preservation and independent assessment of evidence about what occurred in a controlled environment. This paper examines whether CCTV surveillance and electronic evidence can address that deficit. Taking Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh as its principal judicial focus, it places the decision within Articles 20(3), 21 and 22, the safeguards of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the electronic-evidence framework of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and considers why conventional proof rules, as seen in State of M.P. v. Shyamsunder Trivedi and Munshi Singh Gautam v. State of M.P., are difficult to apply to custodial crimes. CCTV may deter abuse and supply objective evidence after it occurs, but neither function is automatic: coverage gaps, malfunction, short retention, manipulation, police control over storage, delayed access and uncertainty about certification all reduce a recording's value. The paper proposes an integrated framework of independent storage, automatic preservation on complaint, court-controlled access, clear rules for missing footage, independent forensic verification, recorded interrogations, privacy safeguards and a dedicated anti-torture statute. Technology is not a substitute for constitutional safeguards; it is a means of making them verifiable.


Keywords

Custodial torture, Custodial abuse, Human rights violations India, Police brutality India, Electronic evidence, CCTV surveillance



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References


Constitution, Statutes and Treaties

  • Constitution of India arts. 20(3), 21, 22, 51(c).
  • Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, No. 46 of 2023 (India).
  • Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, No. 45 of 2023 (India).
  • Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, No. 47 of 2023 (India).
  • Protection of Human Rights Act, No. 10 of 1994 (India).
  • Digital Personal Data Protection Act, No. 22 of 2023 (India).
  • Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, Bill No. 58 of 2010 (India).
  • Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Dec. 10, 1984, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85.
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Dec. 16, 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171.
  • Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, c. 60 (U.K.).

Cases

  • Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer, (2014) 10 S.C.C. 473.
  • Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal, (2020) 7 S.C.C. 1.
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  • Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2017) 10 S.C.C. 1.
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  • Matajog Dobey v. H.C. Bhari, AIR 1956 S.C. 44.
  • Munshi Singh Gautam v. State of M.P., (2005) 9 S.C.C. 631.
  • Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa, (1993) 2 S.C.C. 746.
  • Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh, (2021) 1 S.C.C. 184.
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  • Selvi v. State of Karnataka, (2010) 7 S.C.C. 263.
  • Shafhi Mohammad v. State of Himachal Pradesh, (2018) 2 S.C.C. 801.
  • Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra, (1983) 2 S.C.C. 96.
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  • Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, (1978) 4 S.C.C. 494.
  • Salman v. Turkey, App. No. 21986/93, Eur. Ct. H.R. (June 27, 2000) (Grand Chamber).

Reports and Other Materials

  • Law Commission of India, 113th Report, Injuries in Police Custody and Suggested Amendments to the Evidence Act, 1872 (1985).
  • Law Commission of India, 152nd Report, Custodial Crimes (1994).
  • Law Commission of India, 273rd Report, Implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Through Legislation (2017).
  • National Human Rights Commission, Annual Reports and Guidelines on Intimation of Custodial Deaths.
  • Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Istanbul Protocol: Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Rev. ed. 2022).
  • N. General Assembly, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), G.A. Res. 70/175, annex (Dec. 17, 2015).
  • Suo Motu Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 3 of 2025, Lack of Functional CCTVs in Police Stations (Sup. Ct. Sept. 4, 2025).

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