The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a petition that sought a legislative framework to prevent torture and custodial violence. The Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar also sought a response from the National Human Rights Commission after petitioner and former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar argued that the commission should be given the powers to enforce its orders.

Kumar cited the case of the alleged torture of Delhi University professor GN Saibaba in Nagpur Jail to buttress his arguments. He said that a statutory regime to curb torture and custodial violence would have ensured a safe stay in prison. He used Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty), Article 51 (promotion of international peace and security), Article 253 (legislation for giving effect to international agreements) to argue that the Central government should be asked to introduce a legislation that curbed torture and custodial violence.

Kumar said the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, which aligns the Indian laws with the United Nations Convention on Torture, should be reintroduced in Parliament so that Indian fulfils its international obligations. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 6, 2010, reported The Indian Express.

He said, “I had failed as a parliamentarian to ensure an effective and purposive legal regime to prevent torture in custody but I don’t want to fail in my duty as a citizen to invoke the constitutional conscience for protecting the right to dignity of those who are routinely subjected to torture while in custody". He added that India should have signed the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1984.

According to the Times of India, the NHRC has registered as many as 2,044 cases of torture in police custody between 2008 and 2011. Kumar said, “The report indicates that unless the NHRC recommends prosecution of the guilty officials, torture is unlikely to end.”