SC orders CBI probe into Chhattisgarh custodial death

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 12, ordered a CBI probe into the circumstances leading to the 2024 custodial death of a 34-year-old man in Chhattisgarh, and directed the state to pay Rs 25 lakh in compensation to his wife and children.

The court also said the CBI director must ensure a regular criminal case is registered against those responsible for the death of Shravan Suryavanshi.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta sharply criticised state authorities, saying their explanation that no police or disciplinary action had been taken against those responsible because the judicial inquiry report had not been served on police officials was a "cover-up story and an attempt to pull the wool over the court's eyes."

The bench said the facts warranted immediate registration of an FIR and a thorough investigation into Suryavanshi's death, which state authorities had "conveniently and deliberately" tried to cover up.

"In the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the firm opinion that the ends of justice require that the investigation into the circumstances leading to the custodial death of Shravan be entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation and that all officials found responsible for the custodial violence, upon completion of the investigation, be proceeded against and prosecuted in accordance with law," the bench said, adding that the CBI director "shall forthwith ensure registration of a regular criminal case in relation to the custodial death of Shravan."

The bench passed the order on a plea by Suryavanshi's wife and children challenging an October 2024 verdict of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which had held that Suryavanshi was subjected to custodial violence and died as a result. The high court order had come on a plea seeking Rs 50 lakh in compensation and action against officers responsible for the death.

The Supreme Court noted that the high court had granted a "meagre" compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the petitioners and had completely overlooked their prayer for action against the responsible officers.

The bench said Suryavanshi was arrested in connection with an FIR registered in Bilaspur under the Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915, after allegedly being found in possession of three bottles containing six litres of raw 'Mahua' liquor valued at Rs 1,200.

He was lodged at Central Jail, Bilaspur, from where he was referred to hospital on January 21, 2024, after his health deteriorated, and died the following day while undergoing treatment.

As Suryavanshi was in custody at the time of death, the jail superintendent had written to the District and Sessions Judge seeking a judicial inquiry into the death, and an inquiry under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was assigned to a judicial magistrate first class in Bilaspur.

The court noted the magistrate submitted a report dated July 22, 2024, concluding that the death appeared to have been caused by complications arising from a head injury.

Following the Supreme Court's July 28 order, the Director General of Police, the Director General (Prisons) and the Principal Secretary (Home) of Chhattisgarh joined a hearing via video conference on August 4. "Upon pertinent query being made by this court, the Director General of Police took a totally intransigent stance stating that, since the inquiry report under Section 176 CrPC had not been received by the police, there was no occasion for registration of a criminal case so as to investigate the custodial death of Shravan Suryavanshi," the bench said.

The court noted the inquiry report had in fact been submitted in July 2024, and that this was also noted by the high court.

"In this backdrop, the stance of blissful ignorance taken by the senior officers of the state of Chhattisgarh, including the Principal Secretary (Home); the Director General of Police and the Director General (Prisons), is sacrilegious and reflects a disturbing disregard of the statutory procedure governing custodial deaths," the bench said, adding that the police chief's submission that no criminal case could be registered was "patently false and wholly reprehensible."

The bench further noted that the post-mortem report had not been placed before the high court and that relevant material was brought on record only after the top court's directions, calling this further evidence of the "dilatory approach" adopted by state authorities.

The bench ordered that the investigation be entrusted to a senior CBI officer and conducted expeditiously, with the investigating officer's report to be placed before the court at the next hearing on October 13.

"The conduct of the concerned state officials in failing to take appropriate steps pursuant to the submission of the judicial inquiry report shall also be duly examined and made a part of the investigation," it said.

As an interim measure, the bench directed the state to pay Rs 25 lakh in compensation to the petitioners, adding, "The final quantum of compensation payable to the petitioners shall be determined while adjudicating the instant petition."

(Inputs from PTI)