5 months ago
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The Bombay High Court has been urged to summon Maharashtra’s Home Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, to explicate wherefore the authorities has failed to framework binding guidelines for custodial decease investigations, contempt repeated judicial directions. The petition, filed by Vijayabai Vyankat Suryawanshi, parent of Somnath Suryawanshi, who died successful Parbhani District Prison connected December 15, 2024, alleges a “continuing ineligible vacuum” pursuing magisterial inquiries nether Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
Represented by advocates Prakash Ambedkar, Hitendra Gandhi, M.B. Sandanshiv, and Siddharth Y. Shinde, the petitioner states that portion BNSS provides for a magisterial enquiry into deaths successful custody, it is soundless connected mandatory steps aft specified inquiries reason that the decease was “unnatural oregon homicidal”.
“In Somnath’s case, some the adept sheet astatine Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the learned Magistrate person already held that the decease was owed to ‘shock pursuing aggregate injuries’ and was homicidal successful nature; however, successful the lack of wide statutory rules oregon policy, the authorities person oscillated betwixt fact-finding ‘enquiries’, shifting aesculapian opinions and selective reliance connected circulars, alternatively of promptly registering and investigating a lawsuit of custodial murder,” the exertion said.
Earlier, connected September 12, 2025, a Division Bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten S. Venegavkar had expressed beardown reservations astir the State’s approach. The tribunal noted that lone a missive had been issued to the jailhouse authorization for CCTV footage alternatively of contiguous seizure. “In fact, it could person been immediately seized, or CCTV footage could person been collected by visiting the jail,” the Bench observed, directing that the footage beryllium seized wrong 2 days.
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The Judges besides made it wide that interim circulars cannot substitute for law, “Any circular cannot instrumentality the signifier of guidelines. Here we cannot hold for the enactment from Home Department successful infinity.” The Court stayed the effect of the CID circular dated July 16, 2025, and directed the Principal Secretary, Home Department, to file an affidavit specifying erstwhile due guidelines would beryllium framed.
In compliance, Principal Secretary Anup Kumar Singh filed an affidavit on October 3, annexing Government Circular dated September 30, 2025. The State claimed this circular lays down process for custodial decease investigations. However, the petitioner argues that this excessively falls abbreviated of the court’s mandate.
“The Respondent’s affidavit incorrectly asserts ‘compliance’ contempt the Court’s wide pronouncement that a circular cannot instrumentality the spot of instrumentality and cannot cure the statutory vacuum,” the exertion said. It added, “Departmental circulars issued by the imperishable Executive cannot constitutionally substitute for argumentation oregon capable a ineligible vacuum.”
The plea seeks directions declaring some circulars, dated July 16 and September 30, arsenic non-compliance, and calls for a time-bound statutory argumentation framed by the elected Executive. The projected model should mandate contiguous registration of FIR aft a magisterial uncovering of unnatural death, autarkic investigation, preservation of CCTV and forensic material, suspension of delinquent officers, and periodic reporting to the jurisdictional court. It besides urges that the Home Minister personally look earlier the Bench to explicate the State’s presumption and timeline for curing the argumentation gap. Until specified guidelines are notified, the petitioner requests that investigations travel directions issued by the High Court and principles laid down by the Supreme Court successful D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal and Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa.
“Unless this vacuum is addressed astatine the argumentation and legislative level, each aboriginal custodial decease volition stay trapped successful the aforesaid grey portion wherever a Magisterial Inquiry records unnatural death, yet determination is nary clear, binding mandate connected the constabulary astir contiguous registration of FIR, apprehension and suspension of accused officers, preservation of CCTV/forensic material, oregon court-monitored investigation,” the exertion said, adding that the cardinal close to beingness nether Article 21 volition stay “perpetually astatine stake.”
The matter, which earlier saw the enactment of a Special Investigation Team headed by a Special Inspector General of Police, is expected to travel up for further proceeding aboriginal this month.
