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India’s human rights record on custodial torture came under sharp international criticism at the launch of the Global Index on Torture in Geneva on Tuesday, June 25, with prominent rights advocate Henri Tiphagne accusing the country of “zero accountability” in cases of police brutality and deaths in custody.
Drawing attention to the fifth anniversary of the custodial deaths of Jeyaraj and Benix in Tamil Nadu, Henri said, “The father and son were tortured and died in judicial custody. They were produced before a judicial magistrate after medical examination, having already changed clothes three times due to bleeding. The trial has gone on for five years, across 262 hearings, and is still ongoing, while the family continues to face reprisals.”
Henri, who is the Executive Director of People’s Watch, criticised India for being among eight countries listed in the Global Index for ongoing torture and reprisals against victims and human rights defenders. “We are yet to ratify the Convention Against Torture, despite over 41 countries having recommended it. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has existed for 32 years and has not prosecuted even one police officer responsible for extrajudicial killings or torture,” he said.
India is among the nations exhibiting a "high risk" for torture and ill-treatment, and stands as one of only two countries reviewed that have yet to ratify the UN Convention.
He said that India must “bow down in shame” for its continued failure to ratify the UN convention and for its “zero accountability” in cases of custodial torture and deaths.
India is one of eight countries globally, alongside Libya, Honduras, Belarus, Colombia, Turkey, the Philippines and Tunisia, flagged for systemic torture and reprisals against survivors and human rights defenders. The index, compiled by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and partners from 26 countries, highlights impunity, legal loopholes, and state silence on torture as central to India’s human rights crisis.
Henri highlighted that basic mandates such as post-mortem video access to families, CCTV monitoring in mortuary halls, and psychological rehabilitation for victims are routinely ignored in India.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), established 32 years ago, has never successfully prosecuted a single police officer involved in torture or extrajudicial killings, Henri noted, and said, “We are the only country with so many human rights institutions, and yet they are not functioning. The NHRC has even been downgraded in Geneva, and this speaks volumes”.
The Global Index on Torture ranks countries across five key dimensions: prevention, accountability, redress and reparation, protection and support of survivors and witnesses, and safeguards for human rights defenders.
India scores particularly low in every category. According to a press release by OMCT, the Indian government has also failed to implement Supreme Court rulings meant to ease the burden on undertrial prisoners, many of whom remain in jail far beyond the time warranted by their alleged offence. Prison officials routinely flout court guidelines on release and rehabilitation.
India is also noted for failing to provide psychological support for torture survivors, unlike countries like Mexico and Hungary. Victims and their families are denied access to post-mortem videos, medical records, and CCTV footage, all of which are mandated by law.
The report flags the persecution of human rights defenders as a major concern in India. “Torture is used as a weapon to silence them,” Henri said. He pointed out that Khurram Parvez, who has been imprisoned for over four years, and the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case remain incarcerated without trial. “You have women like Adivasi activist Soni Sori, tortured since 2005, still fighting to protect her land,” he said.
The report also noted the rise in incidents involving severe beatings, forced confessions, and custodial deaths are frequent, with marginalised communities such as Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, LGBTQI individuals, and migrants disproportionately targeted.
The 2019 amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has facilitated the arbitrary designation of activists as terrorists, intensifying the crackdown on dissent, the report noted. Since 2018, at least 61 human rights defenders have faced detention, many subjected to torture and ill-treatment. High-profile cases include the prolonged incarceration and eventual death of disabled activist Professor GN Saibaba and the two-year imprisonment of journalist Siddique Kappan for attempting to report on caste violence.
In 2024 alone, the National Human Rights Commission reported 2,739 custodial deaths, up from around 2,400 the previous year. In 2022, 1,995 prisoners died in judicial custody, including 159 unnatural deaths.
Also speaking at the event, OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock said, “Torture doesn’t just happen in dark basements of dictatorships. It happens in democracies with functioning legal systems, and India is a prime example.”
From Honduras to Tunisia, Libya to the Philippines, other speakers and organisations presented parallel evidence of torture being used as a systemic tool of control and oppression, from criminalising dissent to suppressing indigenous and poor communities.
The report collectively calls on member states to not only acknowledge the pervasive nature of torture, but also to set up national mechanisms for prevention, support rehabilitation, and bring perpetrators to justice. “This Index must become a tool for grassroots movements and legal reform, not just diplomacy,” Henri said.