Custodial Death Of 26-Yr-Old: Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction, 10 Years Sentence Of Uttar Pradesh Cops In 2006 Case

The Delhi High Court today upheld the conviction and 10 years of sentence awarded to five cops of the Uttar Pradesh Police over custodial torture resulting in death of a young 26-years-old man in 2006. They were convicted and sentenced in the year 2019.

A division bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Anish Dayal dismissed the appeals moved by the five police officials and upheld the trial court order convicting them for the offences punishable under sections 304 (causing death by negligence), 220 (commitment for trial or confinement by person having authority who knows that he is acting contrary to law), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury) and 34 (common intent) of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The court also upheld the conviction and sentence of one Kunwar Pal Singh under Sections 365 and 34 IPC. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment in 2019 by the trial court.

The court however upheld the acquittal of a sub inspector Vinod Kumar Pandey, considering that there was no evidence relating to his presence at the site of abduction of the deceased and Sector-20 Noida police station. Observing that the trial court was correct in having acquitted him for lack of evidence, the bench dismissed the appeal moved by the complainant who was the deceased’s father.

The complainant had also moved two other appeals; first, seeking conviction of one of the convicts Kunwar Pal Singh for the offence of murder and second, for conversion of conviction of the five police officials from Section 304 of IPC to Section 302 of IPC. He also sought proportionate enhancement of their sentence. 

Dismissing the appeals filed by the complainant father seeking conversion of the convictions of the police officials to the charge of murder, the bench said:

“Considering that there is no evidence on record to prove that the accused police officers caused injuries to Sonu with an intention that in all likelihood death will ensure, thereby causing the murder of the deceased, it would be difficult to reach a conclusion that the accused police officers would be guilty of offence punishable under Section 302 IPC.”

It added: “The said sequence of events and evidence on record suggest that the deceased was subjected to custodial torture with the knowledge that it was likely to cause death of the deceased but without any intention to cause the death. Therefore, the act of causing bodily injury, as is likely to cause death, would make the accused guilty of offence punishable under Section 304 IPC Part I and liable for a sentence for RI 10 years.”

The FIR was registered at Noida Sector-20 police station on the complaint of victim's father alleging that the Noida Police, in civil dress, took away his son from the village. He had serious apprehension that his son was murdered by police after being tortured and that his death was given the colour of a suicide.

The trial of the case was transferred in the year 2011 from Noida to Delhi by the Supreme Court. The apex court had observed that the manner in which investigation was conducted "showed that the free and fair trial of the case would not be possible within Uttar Pradesh since accused were members of the Uttar Pradesh Police."

Title: SH.PRADEEP KUMAR v. STATE OF U.P and other connected matters

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 531

Click Here To Read Order