Life, Liberty, and Liability: Towards a Rights Respecting Custodial Justice Framework

Rajesh M., Dr. Sunil Dutt Chaturvedi

Abstract: Custodial deaths represent one of the most severe violations of constitutional guarantees of life and liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Despite judicial interventions in cases such as Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa (1993) and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997), India's custodial justice framework remains fragmented, lacking codified standards for accountability and victim compensation. This paper situates custodial violence within the broader continuum of rights violations, linking surveillance, predictive policing, and wrongful detention to custodial harm. It argues that custodial deaths must be treated as constitutional torts, mandating enforceable remedies and automatic compensation schemes. Comparative jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights (McCann v. United Kingdom, 1995; Big Brother Watch v. United Kingdom, 2021), U.S. ?1983 actions (Carpenter v. United States, 2018), and South African constitutional damages demonstrates how state liability can be embedded into custodial governance. The paper proposes a rights respecting custodial justice architecture built on proportionality, judicial oversight, transparency, and victim rehabilitation. Embedding these principles is not optional reform but an urgent constitutional imperative to preserve democratic legitimacy and harmonise India's practice with global human rights standards.

Keywords: Proportionality Doctrine, Judicial Oversight, Custodial Justice Reform Comparative Constitutional Law, State Liability, Human Rights Remedies Victim Rehabilitation

How to Cite?: Rajesh M., Dr. Sunil Dutt Chaturvedi, "Life, Liberty, and Liability: Towards a Rights Respecting Custodial Justice Framework", Volume 15 Issue 9, September 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1282-1283, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26917163710, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26917163710

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