Magistrate Orders FIR Into Death Of Man In Delhi Police Custody

A Delhi Magistrate has ordered the registration of FIR in respect of the death of a man in the custody of the Delhi Police.

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rohini Courts, passed the order in an application filed by one Setara Bibi under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking investigation into the death of her husband, Sheikh Shadat, on July 22/23, 2023, while he was under the custody of Delhi Police.

The CJM made a prima facie finding that a cognizable offence has been committed, which requires a thorough investigation. From the photographs and video footage available on record, the Magistrate noted that there were injury marks on the entire upper back and the lower back of the deceased. The CJM further observed that an investigation was necessary into the technical aspects, such as the availability of CCTV footage and the efforts taken to preserve them.

Setara Bibi, in her application, alleged that the deceased Sheikh Saadat, along with four others, were questioned by the Delhi Police for no reason on July 21, 2023, while they were getting out of their car at Netaji Subhash Place. When Sheikh Saadat questioned the police officials, they allegedly got aggressive and forcefully took the five of them to Subhash Place Police Station. The next day, an FIR under the Arms Act was registered against all of them. On July 23, the applicant got information that her husband had been admitted to Ambedkar Hospital. When she reached there, she was taken to the mortuary and was handed over his dead body. It was alleged that the dead body had black and blue marks of beatings all over the back and chest, his hand was swollen, and the legs also had injury marks.

Since the applicant's complaint to the Delhi Commissioner of Police did not result in any FIR, she filed the application before the CJM.

As per the inquest report, the cause of death was neither homicidal nor suicidal. However, the CJM, after noting the photographs and video showing injury marks, said that the application cannot be dismissed solely on the basis of inquest report.

"Though the inquest report is on record, the same can be considered at the appropriate stage. To dismiss the present application only on the basis of present inquest report will not serve the purpose of justice where the complainant is not in a capacity to record or collect extensive evidence. The Court is of the view that prima facie a cognizable offence has been committed and a thorough investigation into the matter is required to unearth the entire scenario as well as to record the statement of all of the possible witnesses. Also, an investigation on technical aspect is required qua the availability of CCTV footages, qua the attempts made to preserve the same and qua the other possible inputs," CJM Vasundhara Chhaunkar observed in the order.  

The SHO concerned was directed to register a FIR into the matter and to send the compliance report to the Court by June 28.

 The complainant was represented by Advocates Dushyant Kumar, Mangla Verma, Sanjana Srikumar, Joicy and Hamza Tariq. The application was argued by Adv Sanjana Srikumar.

Click here to read the order