Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Under Section 196 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), when a person dies in judicial custody, a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) is required to conduct an inquiry into the death. However, the law does not provide any guidance on the subsequent steps to be taken. In this context, the court has the authority to frame directions. The government also has such authority, and if the court feels that the government should be given an opportunity, the Law Minister himself should be summoned before the Bench to explain the inadequacies in the law, requested Advocate Prakash Ambedkar before the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday (4).
Adv Ambedkar made this submission while arguing before a bench comprising Justice Sandeepkumar More and Justice Abasaheb Shinde in connection with the custodial death of Somnath Suryawanshi of Parbhani. Speaking to mediapersons later, he said that the matter would be heard again on Thursday morning.
They have no authority to frame policy
Elaborating on the proceedings, Adv Ambedkar said that the law contains serious lacunae regarding who should take what action after a custodial death. The court itself has the authority to address these shortcomings. If the court wishes to give the government an opportunity, the Law Minister should be called before the court and asked how the inadequacies in the law are to be addressed.
He pointed out that Section 196 does not specify any directions on the course of action to be followed after a custodial death, and that neither the Central government nor the Maharashtra government has introduced any amendments to rectify this gap.
“We informed the court that the officials being summoned do not have the authority to frame policy, though they do have the authority to implement it. From the affidavits submitted by the police department and the Principal Secretary of the Home Department, it is evident prima facie that the directions issued by the bench have not been complied with at any level,” Adv Ambedkar said.