The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to pay Rs 5 lakh to the legal heirs of Azizur Rahman, who died in police custody in Cachar district in 2012, after holding that his arrest did not comply with mandatory legal safeguards. The compensation must be paid within three months, failing which it will attract interest at 6% per annum.
A division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund passed the order recently in a writ petition filed by Rahman’s son, Sarifuddin. The judgment had been reserved since May. The court said the compensation was palliative and would not prevent the family from seeking higher compensation before a competent civil court.
Rahman, who was 60, was picked up by a police team on the night of July 6, 2012, and taken to the Kalain Police Patrol Post in Cachar district. He had been detained in connection with cases registered after a clash between two groups—one supporting a shutdown called by an organisation protesting the then MLA’s second marriage and another opposing the shutdown.
According to an affidavit filed by the then Cachar superintendent of police in November 2015, Rahman complained of uneasiness and collapsed while in custody. He was first taken to the Kalain First Referral Unit and then referred to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The high court held that Rahman died in police custody on July 7, 2012.
The bench found that the arrest had been made without compliance with Sections 41B, 41C, 50 and 50A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. These provisions concern arrest procedures, identification and documentation by police personnel, communication of the grounds of arrest and informing relatives or other persons about the detention.
The court also noted that Rahman’s house was about 500 metres from the patrol post, but there was no recorded attempt to inform his family about his deteriorating condition or to allow a family member to accompany him to hospital. It further observed that he was taken from the Kalain facility to the medical college, about 28 to 30 km away, in a police vehicle instead of an ambulance available at the referral unit.
Rahman’s wife, Saleha Khatun, filed an FIR at Katigorah police station on July 8, 2012, alleging that he had been forcibly taken away and may have died because of custodial torture. The case was registered under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 302 for murder.
The initial investigation was closed with a final report in December 2012. The chief judicial magistrate at Silchar rejected that report in July 2013 and ordered a reinvestigation. A further final report submitted in April 2023 was also not accepted after the informant filed an objection. In April 2025, the chief judicial magistrate at Cachar directed that a complaint case be registered.
The high court said that the complaint case remained pending before the trial court and therefore refrained from commenting on the allegations of custodial torture or criminal liability, noting that such observations could prejudice either side.
The bench also referred to the medico-legal register at the Kalain First Referral Unit. An affidavit by the hospital’s then deputy superintendent stated that an entry on the relevant page appeared to have been erased or altered. The register was taken into custody by the deputy superintendent and later handed back to the attending doctor for production before the court, but was not returned to the deputy superintendent before his retirement in May 2014.
The compensation order applies to Sarifuddin and the other legal representatives or heirs of Rahman. The pending complaint case will determine the allegations that were left open by the high court’s order.
