NHRC Custodial Death Protocol
Definition
The set of guidelines (1993, 1995, 2003) requiring reporting within 24 hours, video-recorded autopsy, two-doctor panel, and forwarding of viscera and reports to the Commission.
- Origin
- National Human Rights Commission, India
- Guideline years
- 1993, 1995, 2003
- Reporting window
- Within 24 hours
- Autopsy requirement
- Video-recorded, two-doctor panel
Common questions
Why does the protocol require a two-doctor panel rather than a single autopsy surgeon?+
A panel reduces the risk of a single examiner's findings being dismissed as biased or coerced given the sensitive custodial context, and it provides an independent second opinion on cause and manner of death in a setting where the state itself is a potential party of interest.
What happens to the viscera and reports after the autopsy?+
They must be forwarded to the National Human Rights Commission alongside the postmortem report, creating an independent record outside the custodial agency's own chain, which supports later review or reinvestigation if the death is disputed.
Does the video-recording requirement apply to all deaths in custody?+
The protocol was written specifically for custodial deaths because of the elevated risk of concealment or foul play in that context, distinguishing it from routine autopsy practice for deaths outside custody.
Related terms
- Cause of Death
- The disease or injury directly responsible for death. Recorded by the pathologist on the death certificate, it is distinct from manner of...
- Custodial Death
- A death occurring while a person is in police or judicial custody, tracked separately in official statistics because it signals possible failures...
- Magisterial Inquest
- Inquest conducted by an Executive Magistrate under BNSS Section 196 in custodial death, jail death, dowry death within seven years of marriage,...
- Manner of Death
- The circumstantial classification of a death using the NAME five-category scheme (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined), or the jurisdiction-specific equivalent, recorded separately...
- Mode of Death
- The physiological mechanism by which death occurred: coma (cerebral failure), asphyxia (respiratory failure), or syncope (cardiac and circulatory failure).