Delhi High Court Mandates Compensation for Custodial Death
In a significant judgment, the Delhi High Court has ordered the Delhi government to pay ₹18.44 lakh as compensation to the father of a 19-year-old who died under unnatural circumstances while in police custody at Karawal Nagar. The case, Shyam Sunder v. State NCT of Delhi, was presided over by Justice Sachin Datta, who emphasized that even in cases of suicide, custodial deaths implicate state responsibility. He asserted that individuals in custody are entitled to the protections guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which safeguards the right to life.
Justice Datta remarked, “An unnatural death in custody, even if by suicide, is not a private act divorced from State responsibility, but reflects an omission of duty on the part of those charged with safekeeping. The State cannot escape responsibility by invoking statutory schemes or by contending absence of direct culpability. The very fact of custodial death, being unnatural, attracts liability and obliges the Court to mould relief in the form of compensation.”
Custodial Death: A Matter of Systemic Concern
The Court further noted that such incidents are not mere personal tragedies but raise broader concerns about the integrity of the legal system. “Custodial death is not merely an individual tragedy but a matter of systemic concern, striking at the very foundation of the rule of law. When a person is deprived of liberty and placed in the custody of the State, the authorities assume a heightened duty of care. Any lapse resulting in death within custody, whether attributed to violence, negligence, unexplained circumstances or even suicide, demands judicial scrutiny, for it implicates both the dignity of the individual and the credibility of the justice system,” added Justice Datta.
Details of the Case and Court Decision
The petition was filed by Shyam Sunder, who sought compensation for the death of his adopted son, Deepak, in January 2018. According to Sunder, Deepak was detained on January 15, 2018, and during a visit to the police station, he was also briefly detained and both were allegedly assaulted. Sunder claimed that police officers demanded money for Deepak’s release. Tragically, Deepak was declared dead on arrival at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital the following day, with the post-mortem report citing asphyxia due to ante-mortem hanging.
In court, Shyam Sunder argued that since his son died unnaturally while in custody, the State bore responsibility to provide compensation. Despite opposition from the Delhi government, which contended that compensation should not be assumed in all custodial death cases, the court affirmed the need for compensation. The judgment emphasized that the State, as the custodian of life and liberty, is obliged to compensate the next of kin for violations of Article 21 rights.
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Compensation Calculation
The court employed the multiplier method to calculate the compensation, estimating Deepak’s monthly income at ₹12,000, adding 40% for future prospects, and applying a multiplier of 18. Including conventional sums for funeral expenses and loss of estate, the total compensation was determined to be ₹18.44 lakh. The Delhi government was directed to disburse this amount within eight weeks.
Senior Advocate Trideep Pais, along with advocates Sanya Kumar, Chiranjeev Singh Marwaha, Saloni Ambastha, Sakshi Jain, and S Abinaya, represented the petitioner. Meanwhile, CGSC Premtosh K Mishra, with advocates Shrey Sharma, Anubhav Upadhyay, and Arpit Bansal, appeared for the respondents.
