New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) – The Delhi High Court has stayed a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) order directing the Delhi Police to pay compensation of Rs 500,000 to the kin of a person who allegedly committed suicide in their custody.
Justice Sanjeev Narula sought the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), through its Secretary,’s response to a plea filed by the Delhi Police challenging the Commission’s April 19 order and fixed the case for further hearing on October 24.
“The allegations raised by the complainant (police) need to be examined. In view of the above, the impugned order dated April 19, 2024 passed by respondent No. 1 (NHRC) stands stayed till the next date of hearing,” the court said.
The court noted that the NHRC order relates to the death of Rashid Raza, who was found hanging in a ground floor room of a police station in Narela Industrial Area in December 2019.
The NHRC order said the deceased was in police custody and it was the responsibility of the police to prevent harm. Had they been alert, the suicide could have been prevented, it said.
The police sought an interim stay on the NHRC order recommending that the Delhi Police Commissioner pay financial compensation of Rs 500,000 to Raza’s next of kin.
Additional Standing Counsel Prashant Manchanda, representing the police, claimed that Raza came to the police station unannounced and without any prior notice to enquire about his wife’s body.
The court found that the transcript of the audio recording that the deceased had sent from his telephone number to his brother prima facie indicated that he had committed suicide.
“Furthermore, the court has viewed the CCTV footage on the laptop produced by Manchanda. The CCTV footage apparently shows that the deceased was in the ‘Sankraman Kaksh’ at the police station,” it said.
The court said that it was possible to see that the person in the room went out into the hallway at certain times and then closed the door. This could be seen because no more light came from the room into the hallway.
“This suggests that the deceased might have been alone in the room at that time. In such circumstances, the police would have had no prima facie chance of preventing the unfortunate death of Rashid Raza,” it said. PTI SKV RHL
