Custodial justice and Human Rights to Women.

women have a unique position in every society. this is due to the various roles played by them in their life time in spite of her contributions in the life of every indivisual human being. she still belongs to a class or group of society which is in a disadvantaged position on account of several social barriers and impediments. she has been the victim of untold miseries, hardships and atrocities caused ans perpetuated by the male dominated society. in india almost half of the indian population are women. the indian constitution prohibits ny discrimination solely based on gender and given statute of fundamentl rights. various laws have been enacted to deal with the personal matter like marriage , divorce and sucession etc of women. unfortunately only a few such laws could be codified and made uniform. the criminal law also contains numerous provisions to deal with the crimes committed against women. there is evidence of of a pattern of the gross Human R ight violations through out india and abroad. there is overwhelming evidence that wide spread torture often leads directly to death in custody. such evidences has emerged from goverenment officials and official institutions , courts, doctors,who have carried out post mortem examinations on prisoners who have died in custody. in january 1985 th4e then chief justice of supreme court of india noted that only rarely was eye wittness testimony of torture leading to death available other than from police officers who tend to be more concerned to conceal than to acknowledgre what has accured. shortly the law commission of india proposed that the evidence act should be amended by creating a new section 114(B) to provide a rebultable presumption that injuries sustained by a person in police custody has been caused by the police officer in charge of his custody " death in custody are not in the rise" said the attorney general of india when the united nations of Humanright committe asked about it in march 1991.the ultimate form of torture is that which results in the victims death. there is evidence of a pattern of this form of gross Human right violation through out india. the majority of those who died in police custody are people tortured in order to extract a confession or further information about a crime. women from dalit and tribal communities are also liable to be subjected to brutal custodial violence.
On receipt of a report from the collector kamaraja district tamilnadu the custodial rape of t. uma by the head constable of Alangulam police station. the national Human rights commission called for a report. the govt of tamilnadu placed the accused under suspension and asnctioned rupees one lakh to t. uma the victim.
sakhi a delhi based ngo draw the attention of the madhya pradesh govt for rape of jain sadvis which was subject to widespread media coverage. one complain was lodged also and they draw the attention of Human rights commision too.
moti barua a 25 yrs old tribal woman died in police custody at the marjhari police station singhbhum district of bihar on 13 december 1988. the two police officers involved were suspended on the ground that they behaved suspiciously and negligently.
the laws guarding against excess but substanial. the indian constitution protects the rights to life and personal liberty ( article 21) and other fundamental rights. although the prohibition of torture in specific terms lacks constitutional authority. rape of a woman in custody carries an enhanced punishment of 10 yrs of inprisonment under section 376 of indian penal code. which also extends the same punishment to public servants and such as me3mber of armed forces. in cases of death in custody, an inquiry by a magistrate is mandatory under section 176 of the code of criminal procedure. the rights to enforce the human rights provided in the constitution is itself constitutionally protected. article 226 empowers the high courts to issue writs for the enforcement of such rights including habious corpus. article 32 of the constitution grants the same power to the supreme court. although a direct approach to the supreme court is guranted the court has often in practice required victims to approach a high court first. a victim can also bring a civil suit for damages under the civil procedure code and to initiate a criminal prosecution. the laws are enforced by a judiciary with a strong tradition of independence. judges especially of the hugher courtd have time to time given for reaching and innovative decisions. supreme court specially instructed in the case of women accused at the time of arrest to inform nearest legal aid committee immidiately after the arrest so that the committee might provide assistance . the police are also to inform relatives immidiately of an arrest womandetainee and a female officer is to be present during the interrogation of woman detainee. the supreme court also directs city and sessions judges check on the treatment of inmates. the national human rights commission formed a policyfor judicial custody to women. article 1 respects genders dignity and habitative concern for womwn must inform all relevant institutions and personell in the criminal justice and correctional system. women shall be shown special treatments . in article 2 the astate shall endeavour as for the possible to set up specialized service and institutions and exclusive jurisdictions for meeting the needs of women. separate prisons and lockups , correctional centers and separate courts interalia shall be setup to exclusive deal with woman. article 4 all substantive and procedure lawa pertaining to custodialization of womwn shall meticulously respect the womwns needs. the state shall respect the rightds and previleges of the children accompanying the womwn in custody. article 9 states taking account of the special role of women in family life the social devlopment and the vulnerability of girls , the state shall endeavour to avoid the arrest and detaintion of females to the contextpossible and without threatening the states in any manner. some in the the rarest of rare cases to be specified, women shall not be arreste4d between the sunset ans to sunrise. like wise the arrest of women by the men of the police force acting alone shall be avoided. article 10 says arreat and serch of womwn including interrogations shall be conduct4ed according to strict standards of decency and in a manner not to violate the modesty and dignity of womanhood.at no stage during and after arrest, will a woamn arrestee be left unguarded by police women or prescribed authorities. article 12 states to usher in humanism where ever woemn are detained in penal or other custody in addition to basic ammenities and privacy, the state shall provide the essential for meeting womens special needs including those promotive of her dignity.
In raising the questions of human rights protection in india the government should ensure that exisating legal safegurds are respected in all circumstances. the legal mechinary to combat torture should be strengthened. the prohibition of torture aqns other cruelity in human or degrading treatment or punishment should be in corporated inthe constitition. the government should draw updetaild guidelines for the interrogation of suspects and publish then after consulting with lawyers , bar associations, civil liberties groups ans medical proffessional groups. it should review these guidelines periodically in consultation with these groups to ensure that they are remain in effectiver mechanism to prevent torture. special rules should should be drawn upto protect particulary vulnerable groups from cusodial violence. female detainee should be kept separate from male detainee and a female3 officer should be always be present during interrogation. the governement should allow independent bodies to regularly inspect all places where detainee are held. the government should order an authoritative investigation into the causes and the pattern of torture in indiaq and the circumstances facilitating its wide spread occurrance. if nessasary special structures and mechanism should be established to receive reports of torture, rape and deaths in custody. there should be independent bodies in various states formed to monitor such complaints ans supervise appropriate follow up,. these bodiesw should be oblised to report periodically to the public and recommend apppropriate action to be taken to eliminate and prevent custodial violence.