Marginal decrease in custodial deaths reported to NHRC 71,685 complaints of human rights violation received in 2000-2001

The Commission has recorded a marginal fall in the total number of custodial deaths reported to it in the period April 2000 to March 2001. In this period, 1,037 deaths in custody were reported to NHRC of which 910 were in judicial custody and 127 in police custody. Two deaths were also reported to have occurred while in custody of Army personnel.

Compared to the figures of 1999-2000, the number of deaths in police custody has gone down by 50, while that in judicial custody has decreased by 6. The total number of deaths in custody in 1999-2000 was 1093.

The highest number of deaths in police custody in 2000-2001 was recorded in Maharashtra. 19 such deaths were reported from there. While Maharashtra reported the highest number of such deaths in 1999-2000, also, the figure then was 30. In the same period, Punjab reported 13 deaths in police custody; Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh reported 11 deaths each; Uttar Pradesh 10 deaths and West Bengal and Delhi reported 9 deaths each in police custody.

Of the 910 deaths in judicial custody in 2000-2001, the highest number was recorded in Bihar. It reported 137 judicial custody deaths, followed by 121 such reports from UP, 104 from Maharashtra, 76 from Andhra Pradesh, 55 from Orissa and 48 from Punjab. In the previous year as well, Bihar had reported the highest number of deaths in judicial custody – 155. Of the total number of deaths in judicial custody reported to NHRC, more than 90 per cent are not attributable to custodial violence.

It may be mentioned here that all custodial deaths should be reported to NHRC within 24 hours of occurrence. This information must be followed up by a report on the postmortem, which must be videographed, and the magisterial inquiry report, both of which should be received within two months of the incident.

In total, the Commission received 71,685 complaints alleging human rights violations in the year 2000-2001, 41,984 of which were from Uttar Pradesh. That State continued to send the highest number of complaints to the Commission each year, a pattern that has been continuous since the inception of the Commission. 4,895 complaints were received from Bihar, 4,081 from Delhi, 3,105 from Madhya Pradesh, 2,604 from Rajasthan, 2,583 from Haryana, 2,541 from Maharashtra, 1,562 from Tamil Nadu. The total number of complaints received showed a significant increase of 41.58 per cent compared to the previous year. Complaints were received from all the States and Union Territories of the country. 39 complaints were also received from persons residing outside India.