Telangana High Court orders judicial inquiry into woman’s ‘custodial death’
The Bench said that the magistrate, if necessary, should secure the woman’s body which was handed over to her family members and get a second autopsy performed.
Telangana High Court on Thursday ordered for a judicial inquiry into the alleged custodial death of a dalit woman Mariamma in Rachakonda police commissionerate jurisdiction.
Hearing a PIL plea over the woman’s death, a Bench of Justices M.S. Ramachandra Rao and T. Vinod Kumar instructed the Judicial First Class Magistrate of Aler to inquire into Mariamma’s ‘custodial death’. The Bench said that the magistrate, if necessary, should secure the woman’s body which was handed over to her family members and get a second autopsy performed.
This can be done under sub-section (1) of Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code. The second post-mortem examination should be done as early as possible, the Bench said. Report of the second autopsy should be presented to the HC in a sealed cover. The HC Registry was directed to inform this to Aler Magistrate immediately.
The Bench said the magistrate would issue a notice to the victim’s family members and complete the judicial inquiry within a week. The inquiry report should be furnished to the HC in a sealed cover.
