On Thursday, the Kerala High Court instructed the Chairman of the Legal Services Authority, Kozhikode, or a designated officer, to investigate and submit a report on claims of jail mistreatment of individuals arrested in the Tanur, Malappuram narcotics case.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan instructed that the Chairman of the Legal Services Authority, Kozhikode, or an assigned officer, should visit the detention facility where the petitioner's son was held, obtain his statement, and submit it with conclusions to the Court within three weeks.
Today, the Court issued these directions in response to a criminal writ petition filed by the father of an accused person in the Tanur drug case. On July 31, five individuals were arrested and reportedly taken to a 'Torture Centre' in Tanur. Tragically, one of the accused, Tamir Jifri, died in police custody at Tanur Police Station in Malappuram the following day. The petitioner claims that when he visited his son in jail, he observed severe injuries inflicted by jail officials on his body.
During today's hearing, the Court reviewed reports from doctors, which revealed multiple injuries on the bodies of the accused individuals detained in jail. The petitioner's counsel presented these reports, indicating injuries and pain in the shoulder, neck, and elbow, among other areas, attributed to the alleged torture in jail.
Previously, the Court had instructed the Deputy Inspector of Prisons to gather statements from the doctors who treated the accused individuals in jail and sought a report from the Director General of Prisons to investigate the claims of torture in the jail. After reviewing the reports from both authorities, the Court determined that an additional independent investigation into the allegations of jail torture involving the petitioner's son and others was required.
The Court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for three weeks from now to receive the report from the Chairman of the Legal Services Authority, Kozhikode.
TAGS: Kerala High Court's Directive Background of the Tanur Drug Case Examination of Medical Reports Previous Court Directives
