Unchecked and Unpunished: New Report Examines How Torture Became Normal in India

by Alejandra Vicente, REDRESS Head of Law

In 2024 alone, India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), an oversight body, recorded 130 new custodial deaths complaints, pushing the total pending cases before this body to over 2,400. This figure, while jarring, represents only the tip of the iceberg and does not reflect the full reality of State violence in India. Behind police station walls and beyond court-sanctioned detention, torture and inhumane treatment are not just occurring — they have become part of the institutional machinery: a routine tool of law enforcement. Today, torture in India is systemic and largely unchecked. 

India’s ongoing failure to ratify the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT), nearly three decades after signing it, is both a symptom and a cause of the impunity that persists. The absence of a specific legal prohibition on torture in domestic law has enabled State authorities — particularly the police, security forces, and armed personnel — to operate without fearing the consequences. In a democracy that constitutionally guarantees dignity, this is a crisis of law and justice. 

A new report launched by REDRESS provides further proof of this disturbing picture: torture is used to extract confessions, gather information, silence dissent, punish marginalised groups, and maintain control. Our report builds on years of documentation by Indian civil society organisations and courageous human rights defenders who, often at great personal risk, have exposed patterns of State abuse.  

Protections routinely flouted 

India’s legal framework provides theoretical safeguards for those in detention, including the right to legal representation and timely appearance before a magistrate. The Supreme Court has also issued guidelines for installing CCTV cameras in police stations to deter abuse. Yet in practice, these protections are routinely flouted or undermined. Recent criminal law reforms have expanded police powers while weakening oversight — increasing the likelihood of custodial torture. 

Survivors of torture face a daunting path to justice. Police frequently refuse to register complaints; investigations are delayed or manipulated; and prosecutions, when they occur, rarely lead to convictions. Oversight bodies like the NHRC are under-resourced and largely toothless. Even Police Complaints Authorities — meant to act as independent monitors — where operational, remain reliant on the very forces they are meant to scrutinise. 

Communities disproportionately affected 

Under laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), broad immunities have enabled widespread human rights violations — including torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, especially in “disturbed” or militarised areas. These laws, which grant sweeping powers to security personnel, operate in legal grey zones, allowing abuses to flourish under the guise of counter-terrorism.  

Those at the margins of power are often the most impacted – whether due to caste, religion, ethnicity, or political stance. Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and other marginalised communities are disproportionately affected, with discrimination deeply embedded in institutional responses. Torture is also used as a tool of political repression. Journalists, lawyers, protesters, and human rights defenders are subjected to arbitrary arrest and custodial abuse. Peaceful demonstrations have been met with disproportionate force, including live ammunition and less-lethal weapons.  

In recent years, laws like the UAPA have been used to criminalise peaceful criticism of the government — casting dissent as a national security threat. This has created a chilling environment in which civil society space is rapidly shrinking, and the cost of speaking out is devastating. 

A weak global response 

Despite mounting evidence, the global response has remained disappointingly quiet. While 31 States raised concerns during India’s last Universal Periodic Review, bilateral engagements have largely avoided the issue. India’s geopolitical weight and economic importance appear to shield it from the kind of diplomatic pressure that could prompt reform. This silence effectively enables continued abuse. 

The crisis of torture in India is not beyond remedy—but change will require more than legal reform. It will demand political will, institutional overhaul, and sustained domestic and international pressure. The Indian government must urgently ratify UNCAT, criminalise torture under domestic law, and repeal or amend laws that enable abuse. States with diplomatic and trade ties to India must also uphold their own human rights obligations by pressing for concrete reforms. 

The REDRESS report is a call to action. It exposes a deeply entrenched system of torture—but also highlights the resilience of those fighting for justice: survivors who come forward despite the risks, and activists who continue to bear witness. Their courage must be met with action, not silence. 

India cannot claim to uphold the rule of law while torture remains a feature of its justice system. The time for meaningful reform—legal, structural, and cultural — is long overdue. 

Photo by: Adnan Abidi/Reuters