Nagaland: HC orders fresh probe into 2016 custodial death in Kohima

DIMAPUR — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has ordered a fresh enquiry into the 2016 lock-up death of Jalal Uddin at South Police Station, Kohima, after finding that an earlier fact-finding exercise did not follow the required procedure.

The order came in response to a writ petition filed by Ansar Ali, seeking a direction for a proper investigation into the circumstances leading to his brother’s death on October 30, 2016.

The petitioner had also asked for the case to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

During the pendency of the petition, the court had in June 2025 ordered the district judge to conduct a fact-finding enquiry with powers of a commission under the Commission of Inquiries Act, 1952. The report was submitted in November 2024.

On Thursday, Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer observed that the petitioner had not been given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and that statements of only four witnesses had been recorded.

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The court took note of the petitioner’s contention that the enquiry was not conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Commission of Inquiries Act or section 176(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires relatives to be informed and allowed to be present.

Finding merit in the objections, the court ordered a fresh enquiry.

The principal district and sessions judge, Kohima, has been directed to summon all relevant witnesses, including the doctor who conducted the post-mortem and the informant, and to allow the petitioner or his counsel to cross-examine them.

The judge has also been asked to inspect the place of occurrence, as the state respondents have claimed the death was a suicide.

The superintendent of police, Kohima, and the officer-in-charge of South Police Station have been instructed to provide necessary documents and assistance.

The report is to be submitted within three months, after which the matter will be listed again.