New Delhi, July 3 -- State cannot escape liability for a custodial death even if the death is by suicide by pleading lack of direct culpability or relying on statutory schemes, the Delhi high court has held, while awarding Rs.18.44 lakh as compensation to the father of a 19-year-old man who died by suicide in police custody in 2018. Justice Sachin Datta, in his verdict delivered on July 1, observed that a custodial death is not merely an individual tragedy but a "systemic concern" that strikes at the very foundation of the rule of law. The court, in its ruling, held that once a person is deprived of liberty and placed in State custody, the authorities assume a "heightened duty of care" to safeguard their life and dignity. The judge emphasised that any death in custody, whether resulting from violence, negligence, unexplained circumstances or even suicide, warrants judicial scrutiny, as it raises serious concerns about the protection of individual dignity and the credibility of the justice system. "It is well settled that when a person is in custody, he does not lose his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, and the State assumes an absolute and inalienable duty to protect his life and dignity. An unnatural death in custody, even if by suicide, is not a private act divorced from State responsibility, but reflects an omission of duty on the part of those charged with safekeeping. The State cannot escape responsibility by invoking statutory schemes or by contending absence of direct culpability," the court said in its judgment. It added, "Custodial death is not merely an individual tragedy but a matter of systemic concern, striking at the very foundation of the rule of law. When a person is deprived of liberty and placed in the custody of the State, the authorities assume a heightened duty of care. Any lapse resulting in death within custody, whether attributed to violence, negligence, unexplained circumstances or even suicide, demands judicial scrutiny, for it implicates both the dignity of the individual and the credibility of the justice system."...