A decade later, an IFS couple and six others to be prosecuted in custodial torture case in Keralam
A court in Thiruvananthapuram has ordered the prosecution of eight forest officials, including an IFS couple, for the alleged custodial torture of an elephant poaching suspect in 2015. The court ruled that the alleged acts were outside the scope of official duty and thus not protected by legal immunity.
Why it matters
The ruling sets a legal precedent regarding the limits of official immunity for public servants accused of human rights abuses.
Eight Forest officials from Keralam, including an IFS couple, will face trial for custodial torture, a decade after the alleged incident.
Last week, the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, ordered the prosecution of IFS officers T. Uma; her husband, R. Kamalahar; and K. Vijayanandan, and forest officials T.S. Mathew Jyothish, T. Sreejith, R.B. Arunkumar and K.S. Anu Krishnan on a complaint from Aji Brait, an accused in the Malayattoor elephant poaching case in 2015.
Mr. Brait had moved the court after the State Forest department refused sanction to prosecute the officials. However, the court held that prosecution sanction was not required in the case as the acts allegedly committed by the accused bore no reasonable connection with the performance or purported performance of official duties.
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