§ Mr. O'GRADYasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the recent cases in Madras and Bengal, in which British subjects are admitted to have died under torture at the hands of the police, the Secretary of State will allow official copies of the judgments given by the courts which tried the cases to be placed in the Library of the House?
§ Mr. MONTAGUYes, Sir, the Government of India will be asked to furnish copies.
§ Mr. GEORGE ROBERTSasked the Under - Secretary of State for India whether the Secretary of State is aware that the Police Commission, appointed by Lord Curzon eight years ago, recommended in their Report that whenever a court of justice publicly or by a separate note thought fit to comment upon misconduct by the police engaged in the case under trial, the district magistrate should pay due attention to it by conducting, by some impartial and competent agency, an inquiry into the matter so judicially noticed; whether any steps have been taken, or are intended to be taken, to give effect to this recommendation; and, if so, whether he would state what they are?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe proposal of the Police Commission was approved by the Government of India and was commended be the local governments in order that steps might be taken to give effect to it. I am unable to specify in detail the orders that were issued, but I can assure my hon. Friend that any strictures passed by the courts on the police are invariably brought to the notice of the district magistrate, and are inquired into by him or, in important cases, by some superior authority.
§ Colonel YATEMay I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he will be prepared to recommend to the Secretary of State that an appointment in the Indian police should be offered to the hon. Member for Norwich so that he can ascertain——
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think these personal allusions are very much to be deprecated.
§ Mr. GEORGE ROBERTSasked whether the Secretary of State is aware that the Police Commission appointed by Lord Curzon in 1902 reported that the evidence before them showed that the practice by the police of working for confessions was still exceedingly common; that it was most objectionable; that on the one hand it led to gross abuse of power, and that, on the other hand, quite inexplicable instances occurred of innocent people making confessions; that the best police officers had no sympathy with the practice; whether it is still the practice in India that policemen may obtain confessions from suspects committed to their private custody, and then take them before a magistrate in order to 1980 have the confessions recorded, and when alleged to be voluntary used as evidence against the accused on their trial; and whether it is proposed to continue unamended the law which allows such confessions to be so recorded and used?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe Secretary of State is aware that the Police Commission expressed the views ascribed to them by the hon. Member. As I explained last week, confessions made to the police are inadmissible in evidence and only confessions made to a magistrate and certified by him to be voluntary can be used against an accused. It is proposed to amend the law on the subject to the extent indicated in my reply to the hon. Member for Leicester last Tuesday.