Udayakumar Custodial Death Case: Supreme Court Issues Notice On CBI Appeal Against Kerala HC Acquittal

The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice, returnable on May 19, in the Special Leave Petition filed by the CBI against four former police personnel; Jitha Kumar K, T Ajith Kumar, EK Sabu, and TK Haridas, who were earlier convicted by the trial court.

The case pertains to the custodial death of 28-year-old Udayakumar, who was allegedly taken into police custody from Sreekandeshwaram Park in Thiruvananthapuram around 2:15 a.m. on September 27, 2005. He was first taken to Fort Police Station and later to the office of the Circle Inspector, where he was subjected to custodial interrogation. He was declared dead the same night at around 11:40 p.m. at the Medical College Hospital. The post-mortem report attributed the cause of death to severe crush injuries to both thighs.

According to the prosecution, police personnel including constable Jitha Kumar and another constable allegedly assaulted Udayakumar inside the Circle Inspector’s office. It was alleged that he was made to lie on a wooden bench and beaten with a bamboo cane on the soles of his feet, while a GI pipe was used to inflict force on his thighs, leading to crushing of muscle tissues. The assault allegedly continued for nearly one and a half hours.

The prosecution further alleged that senior officers; then Sub-Inspector T Ajith Kumar, Circle Inspector EK Sabu, and Assistant Commissioner of Police TK Haridas were involved in a conspiracy to suppress the incident and shield the actual perpetrators. It was alleged that entries in the General Diary were stopped at 7:30 p.m. to conceal illegal detention and that telephone communications were diverted to prevent disclosure of the incident.

It was further alleged that fabricated records were created after the custodial death, including a backdated FIR shown as registered at 8:00 p.m., arrest memos, inspection memos, property registers, and remand applications, all designed to support a false narrative. Subordinate police personnel were allegedly coerced into preparing and later defending these records.

The investigation, initially conducted by the local police and the CBCID, was later transferred to the CBI, which carried out further probe, added accused persons, and obtained pardon for certain police personnel who turned approvers.

The trial court convicted the accused, sentencing two principal accused, including Jitha Kumar and another officer who later died during pendency of appeal before the High Court, to death, while senior officers were convicted for conspiracy and related offences.

However, the Kerala High Court, while deciding the death sentence reference under Section 366(1) of the CrPC along with appeals filed by the accused, set aside the convictions and acquitted all the accused. The High Court held that the investigation and prosecution were vitiated and that procedural irregularities had undermined the trial.

The High Court criticised the manner in which the CBI conducted the investigation, particularly the process of turning witnesses into approvers and filing applications for pardon before a court lacking jurisdiction. It also observed that the investigative process involved coercion of witnesses and fabrication of records, describing the probe as “tainted” and “vitiated”.

It further held that the procedural framework adopted by the investigating agency and the trial court’s reliance on such material rendered the conviction unsustainable.

The Supreme Court has now sought responses from the respondents and listed the matter for further hearing on May 19.