§ Mr. KEIR HARDIEasked the Undersecretary of State for India whether any communications have passed between the Secretary of State and the Government of India with regard to the methods employed by the Indian police to extort evidence from untried prisoners; and, if so, whether he would lay those communications upon the Table of the House?
§ Mr. MONTAGUI would refer my hon. Friend to the Orders issued by the Government of India in 1903 on the Report of the Police Commission and to the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. These were designed to prevent, and are increasingly successful in preventing, the extortion of evidence. Any cases of proved abuse of powers by the police are, as the House well knows, severely dealt with by the authorities in India.
§ Mr. KEIR HARDIEMay I have a reply to the question on the Paper: Whether any communications have passed between the Secretary of State and the Government of India and whether, if so, these communications will be laid on the Table?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe term communications is a rather wide one. The orders issued on the report of the Police Commission might be included. These have been already published; so have the Indian penal code and the code of criminal procedure. I am not aware that any other communications have passed or have been found to be necessary.