Srinagar: A landmark judgement by the Supreme Court on July 21 marked the end of nearly 30-month long legal battle for the wife of a Jammu and Kashmir police constable who was allegedly tortured in custody at an interrogation centre in Kupwara in the winter of 2023.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta ordered a 90-day probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident while directing the CBI to arrest the accused police officials within a month.

The court said that the probe by Kupwara district police into the torture allegations under its jurisdiction “reveals a disturbing pattern of systematic cover-up” and “abuse of authority”. The bench ordered the J&K administration to pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation to the victim to be recovered from the salaries of accused officials.

“The unprecedented gravity of this case involving brutal and inhuman custodial torture, characterised by the complete mutilation of the appellant’s genitalia, represents one of the most barbaric instances of police atrocity which the state is trying to defend and cover up with all pervasive power,” the SC said on Monday.

It added: "This is not merely a case of investigative error or overreach; it is a calculated effort to fabricate charges, distort the narrative, and shield the real perpetrators of crime of custodial torture. The use of State machinery to invert the roles of victim and offender represents a grave subversion of the criminal process and compels the intervention of this court to prevent the miscarriage of justice”.

'Suicide'

The case dates back to February 20, 2023 when Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, who was posted as a constable in Baramulla district police lines, reported at the office of the senior superintendent of police (Kupwara) in connection with a narcotics case after being summoned by a deputy superintendent of police.

Chohan’s counsel told the apex court that he was held at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Kupwara and allegedly tortured for six days due to which he slipped into a coma and the Kupwara police, instead of acting against the alleged perpetrators, booked him under section 309 (abetment to suicide) of Indian Penal Code on February 26, 2023.

A First Information Report (FIR) filed on the same day by the Kupwara police stated that Chohan had suffered a self-inflicted wound when he “tried to cut his vein with a blade”.

Despite repeated pleas, authorities refused to share Chohan’s medical examination report with his family, prompting a Right to Information Act (RTI) query by Rubina Akhtar, his wife. This RTI changed the course of the legal battle.

Medical report changes case

Chohan’s medical report, obtained through the RTI, from Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS) in Srinagar where he was treated, revealed significant details about the nature of his injuries.

According to the report, Chohan had suffered “laceration on the scrotum with both testicles surgically removed, bruises on the buttocks extending to the thighs, tenderness on the palms and soles indicative of blunt trauma, the presence of vegetative particles in the rectum and multiple fractures”.

Punching holes in the police FIR, the apex court observed that it was “foolhardy to suggest that a rational person would subject himself to complete genital mutilation and cause injuries at inaccessible body parts so as to avoid questioning in a drug case”.

“The medical evidence conclusively establishes that such injuries are impossible to be self-inflicted. The respondent’s theory of suicide attempt crumbles under scrutiny when examined against the timeline and the medical evidence,” the SC bench observed.

The dismembered genitalia were brought in a plastic bag to SKIMS along with the victim on February 26, 2023 by a sub-inspector of J&K Police which has “shock(ed) our conscience”, the court observed.

“These facts, standing alone and uncontroverted, establish a prima facie case of the most heinous form of custodial torture and the total apathy of the local police officials in taking action against the perpetrators of custodial violence,” the court said, citing various constitution bench and other SC judgements.

'Cavalier dismissal'

The bench was told that the Kupwara police refused to act on a written complaint by Akhtar on 1 March, 2023 and a legal notice on 2 March, which had sought registration of FIR against the perpetrators under Sections 307, 330, 331, 326 and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

“This cavalier dismissal of serious allegations of custodial torture demonstrates the institutional bias and predetermined mindset to protect the accused police officers,” the court observed.

Chohan’s family had later approached the J&K high court seeking registration of the FIR, a CBI probe and quashing of the FIR filed against him.

However, his petition was turned down by the court. Instead of ordering the police to file an FIR, the court called for a preliminary inquiry into the matter, prompting Chohan to knock on the door of the apex court last year.

Chohan’s wife also filed the RTI query to obtain her husband’s medical reports while authorities repeatedly denied her “(even the) basic medical records … to suppress evidence of the brutal custodial torture,” Chohan’s counsel told the court.

The apex court observed that the failure of J&K police to file an FIR “despite clear disclosure of cognizable offences” constituted a direct violation of the fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

“The High Court grossly erred in failing to exercise its constitutional obligation of protecting the fundamental rights of a citizen, his dignity and right to life. It failed to consider the gravity of offences committed as well as the influence that could be exerted by accused persons being police officials,” the court observed.

'Stark disparity'

In its 58-page judgement, the apex court observed that Chohan’s medical examination report has shown that his “injuries are much graver and more extensive than what is depicted in this manifestly fabricated narrative” by the Kupwara police.

“The stark disparity between the trivial description of ‘cutting his vein’ in the FIR and the barbaric reality of complete castration and systematic torture exposes the mala fide intent behind the FIR,” the apex court observed.

Citing the discharge summary (2 March 2023) of Chohan issued by the SKIMS, the court observed that it “provides unequivocal medical evidence that the appellant underwent an extensive surgical procedure, including ‘exploration and repair of corporal bodies with end-to-end anastomosis of urethra, ligation of spermatic cord, repair of scrotal laceration, and debridement of necrotic tissue” for the treatment of his injuries.

Citing the Latin maxim “nemo judex in causa sua” (no one should be a judge in his own cause), the apex court said that the high court’s order of probe by J&K police into the case “constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of natural justice”.

“If the investigation is by an agency which is allegedly privy to the dispute, the credibility of the investigation will be doubted and that will be contrary to the public interest as well as the interest of justice”, the SC bench observed.

“Considering the unprecedented gravity of this custodial torture case, the systematic cover-up orchestrated by local police machinery, the institutional bias demonstrated in the handling of the complaint, and the complete failure of local authorities to conduct a fair investigation and the unrelenting stand taken by the respondent State, we are constrained to direct transfer of investigation to the CBI,” the court ruled while ordering quashing of the FIR filed by Kupwara district police against Chohan.

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