Kerala couple fight custodial torture case in court for 26 years & finally get justice

Five people die in custody every day, according to a 2019 report by the National Campaign Against Torture. The incidents of custodial torture in police stations are only rising in the country, with the victims mostly scared of fighting against the injustice meted out to them.

But that was not the case with Ayyappan and Omana, a couple working as daily wage labourers in Ezhukon panchayat in Kollam district in Kerala. They decided to fight against the injustice meted out to them and fought an epic battle that lasted for 26 years and their perseverance paid off. They won the case against the cops who had brutally tortured Ayyappan in custody.

The cops had to finally surrender and have been sent to jail after the Supreme Court dismissed their appeal. As Ayyappan was bedridden for more than one-and-half years after the custodial torture, it was Omana who decided to fight.

Omana told The Federal, “I wanted them to stay in jail for at least for one day. I wanted to see it, my husband wanted it too. So many people tried to turn us back, but we did not listen.”

In February 1996, Ayyappan had a dispute with his employer regarding the day’s payment. His daily wage was ₹530, but he was paid only ₹300 by his employer. The employer called up his relative who was a cop to intervene in the quarrel. The policeman had threatened Ayyappan and a couple of days later, two cops turned up at their door and forcibly took Ayyappan away with them to the Ezhukon police station in Kollam.

Omana followed them to the police station and what she had saw had terrified her. She recalled, “I saw him lying on the floor and was being brutally beaten by two cops. He was crying loudly in pain. I was terrified and requested them to stop beating him, but they shouted at me and asked me to leave. I went out and hid behind a tree and watched. I could see him lying in the station injured and bloodied. When he cried out, they burnt his tongue with a cigarette. I saw him crying for water and then I watched horrified as a policeman urinated on his face.”

It was painful for her to recall the memories of watching her husband being tortured in custody.

Also read: Death of a disabled Dalit in custody in TN evokes horror of police torture yet again

Ayyappan, who was charged under Section 341 and 332 (for obstructing official duty) was produced before the magistrate the next day. He was too weak even to open his mouth. The judge noticed the injuries on his body and released him on bail. (Ayappan was subsequently acquitted in this case)

The court asked the cops to take him to the hospital, but they had vanished leaving Ayyappan on the road. “He was taken to the taluk Hospital at Kottarakkara where he underwent treatment for a month. He could not even walk by himself even after the treatment and was bedridden for one and a half years. We went for Ayurveda treatment for one year,” said Omana.

When Ayyappan was abandoned on the road near the magistrate court after he was released on bail, the lawyers who passed by, advised Omana to file a private complaint in the court. The unlettered Omana had no clue and had to seek the help of a lawyer. “That was really the beginning of the battle,” she said.

The five policemen’s complicity in the crime and their guilt was conclusively proved in the trial court (Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Kottarakkara) and they were sentenced to one year imprisonment and ₹1,000 fine in 2009. But to avoid this one year jail sentence, the accused filed an appeal in the Kollam sessions court which was dismissed in 2012. The appellate court ratified the lower court judgment and affirmed that Ayyappan was tortured in custody.

The accused cops however dragged the case by taking the matter to the Kerala High Court. It took nine years for the High Court to come up with a judgment dismissing the appeal and ratifying the lower court’s decision. By that time, the cops had retired from service and two of them had died. Rajagopal (the then police sub-inspector) had retired as DYSP, and Sharafudeen and Maniraj had been constables. Two others, Baby and C K Podiyan (constables) had passed away during this time.

Also read: Horror continues: Outrage in TN after 21-year-old dies of ‘police torture’

The remaining three cops Rajagopal, Sharafudeen and Maniraj, approached the Supreme Court. “We were worried when they filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, because we did not have money for a lawyer,” Omana told The Federal. Besides, Delhi was far away for Omana and Ayyappan, who rarely travelled beyond their district.

However, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on January 10, 2022 and ordered the accused cops to surrender within four weeks. It had taken Omana and her husband 26 years to get justice. The cops who tortured her husband surrendered before the trial court and were sent to the Central jail at Pujappura in Thiruvananthapuram.

Omana and Ayyappan had five cents of land before their lives turned upside down in 1996. “We sold the land, house and a few sovereigns of gold I had. The cops and their men approached us several times with offer of money. We were offered $50 lakh to strike a compromise,” shared Omana. But the couple dug in their heels and refused to cave into pressure from the cops.

What prompted the couple to fight this long battle in which they had lost so much of their money?  “I would have forgotten and forgiven everything if they had given him water when he cried for a drop. I had to helplessly watch the policeman urinating into his mouth when he pleaded for water. Physical injuries were healed and could be pardoned, but I will never forget and forgive this single act,” said Omana. No one should treat another human being in this way, she added. Finally, justice has been served, however late.