Delhi HC stays NHRC order asking Police to compensate kin of man who ended life in custody

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has stayed an NHRC order directing the Delhi Police to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of a person, who allegedly committed suicide in its custody.

Justice Sanjeev Narula sought the response of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), through its secretary, on a plea by the Delhi Police challenging the April 19 order of the commission and listed the matter for further hearing on October 24.

"Contentions advanced by petitioner (police) would require consideration. In light of the above, till the next date of hearing, the impugned order dated April 19, 2024, passed by respondent no. 1 (NHRC) shall remain stayed," the court said.

The court noted that the NHRC order concerns the death of Rashid Raza, who was found hanging in a room on the ground floor of a police station in Narela Industrial Area in December 2019.

The NHRC order stated that the deceased was in police custody and it was the responsibility of the police to prevent any harm. Had they been vigilant, the suicide could have been prevented, it said.

The police sought an ex-parte ad-interim stay of the NHRC order which recommended to the Delhi Police commissioner to pay Rs 5 lakh as monetary compensation to the next of kin of Raza.

Additional Standing Counsel Prashant Manchanda, representing the police, contended that Raza had visited the police station unannounced and without prior notice to inquire about his wife's body.

The court noted that the transcript of the audio recording sent by the deceased from his phone number to his brother, prima facie indicated that he committed suicide.

"Furthermore, the CCTV footage has been viewed by the court on the laptop presented by Manchanda. The CCTV footage seemingly shows that the deceased was in the 'Sankraman Kaksh' at the police station," it said.

The court said it could be seen that at certain timestamps, the individual in the room stepped out into the corridor, after which the door closed, as indicated by the cessation of light coming from the room into the corridor.

"This suggested that the deceased might have been alone in the room at that time. In such circumstances the police prima facie could not have had a chance to prevent the unfortunate demise of Rashid Raza," it said.