Mumbai: On July 21, two significant judgments were delivered in separate cases of custodial torture. In one, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate arrest of accused policemen, compensation for the Kashmiri police constable who was a victim of torture, and a CBI investigation.

In the other, the Bombay high court acquitted 12 men – five on death row and seven serving life sentences – in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blast case after 19 years of prolonged incarceration. The high court thoroughly examined custodial torture, reviewing medical evidence and details of the brutalities and coercion involved.

However, in its 667-page judgment, while addressing the “how” of the violence, it conspicuously avoided identifying the perpetrators, leaving out the crucial “who” behind this barbarous torture.

Torture, a common “interrogation tool” used by the police, is often justified as the only option available when a suspect remains obstinate and refuses to cooperate with the investigation. As the state government and the police have already begun justifying their actions in the case, it is therefore important to first point out how the high court approached the cases of the 12 incarcerated individuals before getting into limitations of this judgement.

Justices Shyam C. Chandak and Anil S. Kilor, who jointly authored the judgment in the July 11, 2006, serial train bomb blast case, set the tone with their opening remarks:

“Punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step toward curbing criminal activities, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the safety and security of citizens. However, creating a false appearance of having solved a case by presenting that the accused have been brought to justice gives a misleading sense of resolution. This deceptive closure undermines public trust and falsely reassures society, while in reality, the true threat remains at large. Essentially, this is what the case at hand conveys.”

While the high court does not explicitly call the 12 men “innocent,” the opening remarks strongly suggest their innocence. The judgment, while dismantling the prosecution’s case point by point, places extra emphasis on the various torture techniques used to extract confessions from these 12 men.

Among those acquitted, five persons – Kamal Ansari, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui,........

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