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Criminal justice cannot be reduced to a negotiable settlement mechanism in cases involving allegations against public servants exercising coercive state power, the court held. (AI-generated image)The Madras High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against seven Kerala Police personnel accused of illegally detaining a man during a cross-border anti-drug operation in Tamil Nadu, whose handcuffed body was later found in a well, holding that allegations involving custodial misconduct and abuse of official power cannot be wiped away through a settlement with the family. Justice L Victoria Gowri was hearing a petition filed by members of Kerala Police’s Narcotic Special Squad seeking to quash a chargesheet pending before a trial court while facing prosecution over the 2017 death of one Mokkaiyan.“Rule of law demands that police personnel combating crime must themselves remain within the discipline of law. A constitutional democracy cannot tolerate lawlessness either from criminals or from those entrusted to enforce law,” the court said on June 1.

Justice L Victoria Gowri said the police assume constitutional responsibility for the life, dignity, and safety of a person in their custody.Custodial offences stand on distinct footing

Criminal justice cannot be reduced to a negotiable settlement mechanism in cases involving allegations against public servants exercising coercive state power. A person taken into police custody is under the complete control of the state machinery. The police officer assumes constitutional responsibility for the life, dignity, and safety of such a person. Custodial offences stand on a distinct footing. Any allegation concerning illegal custody, wrongful restraint, procedural abuse, or failure to account for custodial safety transcends the realm of a purely personal dispute. The argument of the petitioners that the deceased was a narcotic offender or an accused in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cannot dilute the constitutional obligation imposed upon police officials.

Equally, the plea that the petitioners were engaged in anti-drug operations cannot justify deviation from mandatory safeguards prescribed under law. This court is conscious of the practical difficulties faced by police personnel during anti-narcotic operations. However, operational difficulties cannot become a licence to bypass procedural discipline. The contention that the deceased accidentally fell into the well may ultimately constitute a valid defence during trial. However, the existence or otherwise of criminal liability can only be determined after evidence is adduced. The compromise entered into between the parties also cannot by itself eclipse the institutional interest involved in ensuring police accountability.

Body found in well with handcuffs

The case traces its origins to August 27, 2017, when Mokkaiyan’s body was found inside a well situated on the property of his brother-in-law in Dindigul. According to the prosecution, the body was discovered with handcuffs, leading the police to initially register a case relating to a custodial death. The investigation was later transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) and re-registered in 2018. After completing the probe, the agency filed a chargesheet against the Kerala Police personnel for offences under sections 166A(a) (public servant disobeying law regarding investigation), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 202 (intentional omission to give information of an offence by a person legally bound to inform), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession or information) and 348 (wrongful confinement to extort confession or compel restoration of property) of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution alleged that the officers had entered Tamil Nadu in connection with a narcotics investigation but failed to follow man