HYDERABAD: Expressing displeasure with the action of the police in obtaining confessions by using third-degree methods on the accused persons while in custody, a division bench of Telangana HC on Monday directed the director-general of police to sensitise his officers by making them to rely on evidence-based investigations. Several criminal cases were ending up in acquittals because of the police ‘action’ during investigation, the bench observed.
Further, the bench said that the high court would also sensitise its subordinate judges asking them not to convict the accused based merely on confessions extracted during police custody. The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy passing this order in a habeas corpus petition filed by the wives of the detenees Syed Sohail (19) and Syed Mohammed (24), who were detained in Chanchalguda Central prison, seeking direction to the police to produce the two before the court and to set them free forthwith. On an earlier occasion, the bench pulled up the police for illegal detention of the above two persons from Chandrayangutta in September year on charges of theft and use of third-degree methods on them. The two were produced before the court by the police. While pulling up the police for using third-degree methods on the two detenues, the bench directed the state DGP to sensitize its officers against having forcible confessions from the accused and to probe the cases based on evidences.