Custodial Torture Case: Court denies bail to DySP, 7 other cops

Srinagar, Oct 4: A court here on Saturday denied bail to eight police personnel arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for inflicting custodial torture on a fellow police constable two years ago.

DySP Aijaz Ahmad Naik and other cops, Riyaz Ahmad Mir, Tanveer Ahmad Malla, Altaf Hussain Bhat, Mohammad Younis Khan, Shakir Hussain Khoja, Shahnawaz Ahmad Deedad, and Jehangir Ahmad Beigh had filed the bail applications before the court.

The Police personnel had sought the bail in FIR pertaining to allegations of custodial torture and grievous bodily injuries inflicted upon Constable Khursheed Ahmed Chowhan, during his “illegal confinement” at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC), Kupwara, from February 20 to 26, 2023.

“The court is of the considered opinion that none of the three applications disclose any exceptional circumstance warranting departure from the settled principle that bail is not to be granted in serious custodial violence cases at the investigative stage,” Chief Judicial Magistrate(CJM) Srinagar Aadil Mushtaq Ahmad said while rejecting the bail pleas.

The applicants had sought regular bail, claiming innocence, professional integrity, and absence of necessity for continued custody, while the CBI said that the grant of bail at this stage would undermine the rule of law and erode public confidence in accountability of law enforcement personnel.

Special Public Prosecutor for CBI argued that the allegations, taken at their face value, clearly disclose the ingredients of Section 307 IPC, and that the question whether the charge ultimately sustains is a matter for trial, not for determination in bail proceedings.

“It is not disputed that the FIR was registered pursuant to the binding directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, thereby investigating the case with public significance,” the court said.

The prosecution's case, the court said, projects a chain of events involving unlawful custody, systematic torture, and grievous injuries inflicted upon the victim within JIC Kupwara during 20-26 February 2023.

The court noted that “the victim, Khursheed Ahmed Chowhan, as per the prosecution's story, was posted as a Police Constable at District Police Headquarters, Baramulla.

The JIC Kupwara facility functioned as a temporary interrogation centre, which was overseen by senior officers, including the applicant (the police personnel), it said.

The court said that it is settled law that while considering bail, it cannot embark upon a meticulous appreciation of evidence or record a finding as to whether a particular offence is conclusively made out.

“However, the Court is required to form a prima facie view of the nature and gravity of the accusation”, the CJM said.

“The contention of the applicants that Section 307 IPC is not made out is, therefore, a matter of defence which cannot be conclusively adjudicated at the bail stage. Once prima facie material exists to indicate culmination of the torture resulting in grievous bodily injuries, including mutilation of the genitalia, fractures, extensive bruising, and other trauma, the Court is bound to consider the gravity of the accusation and societal interest,” the court said.

“The argument that 307 IPC is inapplicable cannot by itself justify release on bail when the investigation is at a crucial stage and there remains a risk of tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses, particularly when the accused persons are police officials themselves,” it said.