Police officers cannot be held criminally liable for injuries caused during interrogation since they are acting in an official capacity.

Police officers who cause grievous hurt to extract confessions or information can be prosecuted under this section just like any private individual, and courts have repeatedly enforced this accountability.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 331

repealed

Voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property

Whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security, or to satisfy any claim or demand or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.§

Why this exists

This section is the more severe counterpart to Section 330, applying when the coercive violence used to extract a confession or force restitution rises to the level of grievous hurt, reflecting greater culpability for causing serious, lasting harm through such interrogative or coercive violence. Like Section 330, it has historically been an important legal tool against severe custodial torture and violent debt or property recovery practices. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, this offence is now covered under Section 120(2).

How courts read it

Courts have treated this section, alongside Section 330, as central legal safeguards against custodial violence, and the National Human Rights Commission and higher courts have repeatedly cited these provisions when addressing cases of severe police brutality resulting in serious injury during interrogation.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Police officers cannot be held criminally liable for injuries caused during interrogation since they are acting in an official capacity.
Fact: Police officers who cause grievous hurt to extract confessions or information can be prosecuted under this section just like any private individual, and courts have repeatedly enforced this accountability.