Irrespective of home minister R.R. Patil’s statement that unlike some other states, even natural deaths are considered custodial deaths in Maharashtra, legal experts are of the opinion that irrespective of Mr Patil’s statement an inquiry into these deaths can establish whether they were natural or unnatural.
Eminent criminal lawyer Majid Memon is of the opinion that it must be accepted that if a person dies a natural death in police or judicial custody, it cannot be a custodial death. Even though Mr Memon agreed that any data that includes natural deaths also is unfair and should be removed from the data of total deaths, he told this newspaper, “Only if the police says it is a natural death it cannot be believed. If there are doubts and there are injury or torture marks on the body then in that case an inquiry has to be conducted. If a person dies of old age or sickness then it is a natural death.”
Senior criminal lawyer Ashok Mundargi said that authenticity of data giving the number of custodial deaths had to be checked. “I am not sure whether the data on custodial deaths is factually correct. Who decides on whether it is an unnatural or a natural death? I have my own reservations as far as Mr Patil’s statement is concerned,” Mr Mundargi told The Asian Age.
IPS officer-turned-lawyer and activist Y.P. Singh said, “Custodial deaths are always investigated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) so there’s no question of misuse of power by the police or in the guise of Mr Patil’s proposal they can take advantage in turning custodial deaths into natural ones. Despite some cases of violence in police custody, the number of custodial deaths have come down substantially in Maharashtra in the recent past.”