Paper: GS – II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Legal issues, Issue: Ensuring criminal justice reform to end Custodial Deaths.
Context:
The custodial death of Ajith Kumar in Tamil Nadu, a 27-year-old who died under suspicious circumstances in Sivaganga highlights a recurring pattern of Custodial Deaths in Tamil Nadu between 2021–2025, including:
Key Highlights:
Issues with the criminal justice system:
- Systemic issue: Custodial deaths are not anomalies; they represent systemic failure and normalisation of force.
- Policing issues: Policing has become more about control than empathy or moral conscience. For instance, Tamil Nadu spends heavily on hardware and arms, but neglects mental health, welfare, and psychological training.
- Limited investment: Lack of investment in mental health and trauma support for police personnel.
- Outdated training: Absence of ethical and empathetic policing due to outdated training curricula.
- Poor working conditions: Officers under stress tend to internalize trauma, which can manifest as brutality.
Reforms needed:
- Budget Reallocation: At least 5% of the budget to be spent on District-level mental health units, Quarterly counselling and Sensitisation programs.
- Mental Wellness as Necessity: Mental health for officers must be institutionalized, not optional which prevents burnout from turning into custodial violence.
- Training Overhaul: Update curriculum to include Ethics, human rights jurisprudence, Trauma-informed investigation and Community policing.
- Technology & Oversight: Enforceable accountability mechanisms beyond symbolic suspensions. CCTV cameras in custodial areas must be operational, tamper-proof and subject to real-time audits.
- Digital surveillance must lead to truth and reform, not passive observation.
Legislative measures: There is a need for a comprehensive anti-custodial violence law guaranteeing time-bound investigations, video documentation of interrogations and Civil society involvement.
New Vision for Policing:
- Redefine the police uniform as a symbol of:
- Service, restraint, and responsibility.
- Power without empathy equals violence by another name.
- Structural, emotional, and ethical reforms are essential to uphold citizens’ rights and public trust.
Conclusion:
Custodial deaths like that of Ajith Kumar must prompt systemic reforms, not symbolic action. The real post-mortem is of state failure and moral governance.
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