INSTITUTIONALIZED VULNERABILITY IN CUSTODIAL TORTURE: A STUDY OF ITS DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON SC/ST COMMUNITIES IN INDIA

AUTHOR – SHEBI SASHAN S, STUDENT AT AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA

BEST CITATION – SHEBI SASHAN S, INSTITUTIONALIZED VULNERABILITY IN CUSTODIAL TORTURE: A STUDY OF ITS DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON SC/ST COMMUNITIES IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (6) OF 2026, PG. 783-792, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

Custodial torture in India represents one of the most persistent and structurally entrenched violations of fundamental human rights, disproportionately afflicting communities at the lowest rungs of the caste hierarchy   the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Custodial violence against the SC/ST communities remains proceeds with a regularity systemic and almost impunity in spite of constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity, a strong statutory framework such as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and major judicial pronouncements such as D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal (1997). This paper critically examines the phenomenon of institutionalized vulnerability   the structural embeddedness of caste identity within policing practices, criminal justice institutions, and evidentiary frameworks   that renders SC/ST individuals disproportionately susceptible to custodial torture. The paper presents the argument that the targeting of SC/ST communities by custodial torture is not accidental but is systemic, based on historical caste subordination replicated by the institutional cultures of law enforcement by conducting a doctrinal analysis, reviewing data on the National Crime Records Bureau, and reading human rights literature. This paper also claims that the lack of commitment to the United Nations Convention against torture by India coupled with the lack of specific anti-torture laws leaves a serious accountability gap that cannot be sufficiently addressed by the existing frameworks. Legislative reform, institutional change of police culture, independent oversight mechanisms, and ratification of UNCAT by India are all suggested as critical measures to breaking institutionalized vulnerability.

Keywords: Custodial Torture, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Caste Discrimination, Police Brutality, Human Rights, UNCAT, Institutionalized Violence, India.