Report No. 152

2.5. Initiating the criminal process.-

If unfortunately, an incident of torture or other crime in custody occurs, it obviously becomes necessary to invoke the criminal process. Ordinarily, the initiation of the criminal process in India takes the shape of lodging information with the police or of making a complaint to the competent Magistrate. Lodging information with the police is the more frequently adopted course. However, where the personal legged to have committed an offence is himself an officer concerned with the enforcement of the law, this may not always prove to be very effective. It is this element of the situation which, in a negative way, counts as a factor that facilitates malpractices.