A pair of jeans

Some 25 years back, I had a frightful case filed against me. My (now) ex-wife, under tremendous duress from parties I shall not name today, claimed that I had asked her for dowry and sued me. Me and my family were torn apart and rendered untouchable. The awful muck thrown up by that experience eventually tore us two asunder, even though we, pretty soon, as do lovers who share a dream and a bed frequently, made up after she apologized for the misplaced malice and mayhem.

But the damage was done. In the height of this jamboree, I was hauled up by the authorities and thrown into the slammer. I experienced Tihar Jail and it's entrails for nearly two weeks. Amongst other things, I was lucky enough to learn some bhajans that I was forced to sing at 5 am, after cleaning latrines with a make-shift mop. I sing those bhajans today still.

I am a fighter. I won. I was proven pure and bright and given the wherewithal by the justices to file charges for unlawful use of the system and contempt of court by certain 'influencers'. But my brand-new ex-wife begged me not to pursue any such recourse. I recanted and didn't bat an eyelid – her last request to me, no legal counter. I didn't. I have no regrets.

All gone to dust

We had lost one another for good and to dust had gone our dreams of a blissful life of togetherness and nonchalant mischief. But through this, I somehow managed to resurrect my birth family's future and centuries-old name and respect. I learnt to live alone, having paid my internal debts. I vowed to never trust again. My Corporate bosses too, trusted me, conducted an 'internal audit' and gave me a clean chit. Heck, I was even given a promotion on compassionate grounds. Life moved on.

Even today, I remember every single thing. Like the local Investigating Officer in my fancy 'Journalist's Colony' telling me. "Bhai, ab toh jeans dena padega." Jeans? What the hell? What does that even mean? Uh, oh! He meant Rs 25,000 in cash for not beating the hell out of me in custody, despite orders to do so. To cut this sordid story short, my friends apparently gave him the demanded 'jeans'. Much more than my month's salary then it was. But to give the devil his due, I learnt a new code word, and he didn't blather or beat me up. Two-and-a-half decades later, I remember the gentleman's face, name, designation, chutzpah, arrogance and overbearing countenance. His penance and my payback shall wait only for a few more weeks, when I shall reveal all. Meanwhile, I cleaned up my act and moved on, wiser and battle-hardened.

Apparently, unscathed and unbeaten isn't working so good in India anymore. Families are getting torched or tortured for far less, as happened in Tamil Nadu recently, when a father and son were brutalized and their genitalia mutilated by the police. Perhaps that's

why the Hon'ble Supreme Court intervened last week, yet again. No one seems to want to bite the apple and go Eve, for we have basically lost our Adams and our little round body parts that dangle in a place not to be mentioned in a respectable write-up such as this one aspires to be.

We have lost the plot

Yes, we have. That's perhaps why the Hon'ble Supreme Court ruled last week that police stations and investigation agencies across the country, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) must install CCTV cameras with night vision and audio recording. Why? Well, in a nutshell, to ensure that no one ever again asks for a pair of jeans anymore. All states in India will have to install cameras with audio at all police stations, forthwith.

And these security cameras should cover interrogation rooms, lock-ups, entries and exits, the Supreme Court ruling says. "Most of these agencies carry out interrogation in their office(s), so CCTVs shall be compulsorily installed in all offices where such interrogation and holding of the accused takes place in the same manner as it would in a police station," the SC observed. "These cameras must be installed at entry and exit points of the police station, lock ups, corridors, lobbies, reception area, rooms of the sub-Inspector and Inspector, reception and outside washrooms."

CCTV cameras with recording facilities have also been asked to be installed at the offices of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. Further, video and audio recordings have to be retained for 18 months for evidence (purposes), if needed. An independent panel can periodically ask for the recordings to check and monitor any human rights violations. States have been asked to file an action plan with timelines to comply with the order within six weeks. The SC also said its directions were in keeping with Article 21 of the Indian Constitution on the Fundamental Right to Protection of Life and Personal Liberty.

Why the sudden wrath?

In 2018, the Supreme Court heard a reported case of custodial torture in Punjab and discovered shortly after that there were no security cameras installed in their offices to ascertain what really transpired inside these rooms. Inflamed, the Supreme Court erupted. "Nothing substantial has been done for over two-and-a-half years after the Supreme Court passed orders."

The consequences are being felt now. The Supreme Court has asked states to assign funds for CCTVs and requisite infrastructure in their premises right away, or else. Human rights courts are also to be set up in each district to hear complaints of torture in custody. The next hearing of the Apex Court in the matter is scheduled for January 27, 2021. Lack of police reforms, absence of laws to check police torture and inadequate grievance mechanisms are some of the reasons why custodial torture and deaths continue unabated in the country.

The Supreme Court order comes just a few months after the CBI admitted that a man and his son who died after their arrest for violating the Coronavirus lockdown were tortured by policemen at Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu, largely due to policemen who "wanted to teach them a lesson". There were nationwide calls for justice after Jeyaraj (59 years old) and his son Benniks (31 years old) were thrashed so badly that they died. And all audio and video details of their ordeal were erased.

Getting nation-wide now

The SC's directive to the authorities to digitally record arrests and interrogations has been welcomed by religious groups too, as a step to safeguard human rights and that's a relief. In a December 2 directive, the SC insisted that the Central and State governments install cameras and recording equipment in offices of all the investigating agencies across India that have the power to arrest citizens.

"It is an order that can check human rights violations," said a Christian preacher and lawyer from South India. This is a dangerous precedent in a country that is already facing many a turmoil, be they political, religious, ethnic, populist or viral.

The SC has now wielded the stick, insisting that the Central and state governments file their individual plans with their stated schedule to comply with the order within six weeks. Hindu and Muslim activists have backed the move too, though we should take all community infarctions with bated breath and a pinch of salt. Clearly, in our now crumbling national firmament, as a people and a populace, we need to be hearty and careful.

Today, we have lakhs of farmers at Delhi's borders, asking for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and succor. They feed the same authorities that tear-gas and water-cannon them. Most of the children of these very farmers man our borders, including those that we share with China and Pakistan. This is a moment to take a deep breath and muse. This is our new world order and a newer scheme of things, while we wait for a vaccine that may or may not arrive to rid us of a devil.

Sure, I may have found a savior in a new, beautiful woman for the last many years, but that only saves me. For the rest of my people, do we still need the Supreme Court to repeatedly remind us where sensibilities lie on a monthly basis?

What hole have we fallen into?

The writer is a communications consultant and clinical analyst. Views expressed are personal. [email protected]