The Supreme Court on Thursday said that death due to custodial violence is abhorrent and not acceptable in a civilised society. A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Ajay Rastogi said: "The custodial violence on the deceased which led to the death is abhorrent and not acceptable in the civilised society. The offence committed by the accused is a crime not against the deceased alone but was against humanity and clear violations of rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution."

The observation was made by the top court, as it declined to compound the 1988 offence of two Odisha policemen, accused of assaulting a man, who later succumbed to injuries.