The Allahabad High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to recover missing video evidence linked to the alleged custodial death of a disabled man in Mainpuri 17 years ago, calling the case a reflection of “institutional failures.” The court issued the order on May 18, instructing the CBI’s anti-corruption branch in Ghaziabad to secure the missing recordings within 60 days and present them before the court on August 10, the next date of hearing.
Court’s Observations
A bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2010 regarding the custodial death of Nahar Singh. Singh, who suffered from 40% physical disability, died inside the lockup of Dannahar police station in Mainpuri on May 9, 2009. The police claimed he committed suicide by hanging in the urinal section of the lockup. However, the court questioned the plausibility of this version, noting that a police lockup remains under constant surveillance and is not an isolated space.
The bench observed that despite the case being pending since 2010, critical evidence—including videography and photographs of the scene of occurrence and the postmortem report—had not been produced before the court. “The case discloses institutional failures. The PIL was filed in 2010 and is still pending after 16 years. Videography and photographs of the scene of the incident and post-mortem have not been made available to this court to enable it to proceed further,” the court said.
Background of the Case
The PIL was filed by the Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI), an organization working for the rights of women and marginalized communities. Advocate Ankur Sharma, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted the issue of rising custodial death cases in the state. The court’s directive aims to ensure that the missing evidence is recovered and presented to facilitate the proceedings in this long-pending case.
