J&Ok police constable to obtain 50 lakh for torture in custody; CBI to conduct probe

The Supreme Court in a judgment on Monday (July 21, 2025) directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the probe into the custodial torture of a Jammu and Kashmir Police constable, who suffered genital mutilation by the hands of his colleagues.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed the Jammu and Kashmir authorities to pay Khursheed Ahmad Chohan a compensation of ₹50 lakh for the “life-debilitating accidents he suffered whereas within the custody of his fellow state actors.” The apex courtroom directed the Central company to conduct the investigation and arrest the perpetrators.

The alleged incident dated again to February 17, 2023, when Mr. Chohan was referred to as by the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Kupwara to report back to the workplace of the Senior Superintendent a few days later in reference to a narcotics challenge. When Mr. Chohan reached this workplace, he was detained and tortured. He was taken to the hospital in a comatose situation.

Mr. Chohan’s spouse appealed to the senior cops to register a case; nevertheless the judgment mentioned they’d turned a deaf ear. An FIR was in the meantime registered in opposition to her husband.

Wife’s pleas ignored

Her enchantment to the State High Court failed. The High Court gave the job of investigation into the torture to the very police officer who had issued the sign to Mr. Chohan to go to Kupwara. The High Court had refused to intervene within the FIR lodged in opposition to him.

This final result had led Mr. Chohan to maneuver the Supreme Court. He sought the registration of a felony case in opposition to the cops who tortured him, switch of the case to the CBI, and quashing of the FIR in opposition to him.

Justice Mehta, who authored the judgment within the case, granted him all three prayers. The apex courtroom threw out the argument raised by the Union Territory that the accidents on Mr. Chohan have been self-afflicted throughout a suicide try and keep away from questioning within the medication case.

Inhuman torture

“The unprecedented gravity of this case involving brutal and inhuman custodial torture, characterised by the whole mutilation of the appellant’s [Chohan] genitalia, represents some of the barbaric cases of police atrocity, which the State is attempting to defend and canopy up with all pervasive energy. The medical proof conclusively establishes that such accidents are not possible to be self-inflicted. The respondent’s idea of suicide try crumbles beneath scrutiny when examined in opposition to the timeline and the medical proof… It is foolhardy to recommend {that a} rational particular person would topic himself to finish genital mutilation and trigger accidents to inaccessible physique components in order to keep away from questioning in a drug case,” Justice Mehta reasoned.

The apex courtroom mentioned the transformation of a torture sufferer into an accused via a concocted idea of tried suicide, based mostly on manifestly implausible medical opinion and evident procedural violations, mirrored institutional malice of the very best order.

The courtroom mentioned the narrative of the case revealed a “disturbing sample of systematic cover-up and abuse of authority that additional strengthens the appellant’s declare for CBI investigation.”

Grave error in legislation

“The High Court dedicated a grave error in legislation by failing to train the writ jurisdiction and in refusing to use the obligatory rules laid down by the Constitution Bench in Lalita Kumari. Instead of ordering speedy registration of FIR, the High Court directed the exact same Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, who had issued the sign on February 17, 2023, and beneath whose jurisdiction the alleged torture occurred, to conduct an inquiry into his personal subordinates’ actions. This path constitutes a flagrant violation of the elemental rules of pure justice,” Justice Mehta underscored.

The courtroom mentioned the native police authorities fully didn’t conduct a good investigation.

“The majesty of legislation calls for nothing lower than full independence and impartiality in investigating crimes that shock the conscience of society and violate essentially the most basic rules of human dignity… Hence, the switch of investigation to the CBI turns into not merely advisable however constitutionally crucial to make sure justice and uphold the rule of legislation,” the courtroom held.