56 ... ... ... ... .. C I V I L L I B E RT I E S police and in judicial custody in 2002-2003, though not alarming, is certainly disquieting. While the number of deaths in judicial custody has to be viewed in the context of the total number of prison inmates during a given period, the figures once again confirmed the view of the Commission that there is need for better custodial management and a more profound orientation of police personnel in matters relating to human rights. To further this objective, the Commission organized a series of workshops around the country, the details of which are given later in this report. 4.41 As regards the deaths that occurred in police custody in the course of the year 2002-2003, the reports indicated that there was a decline in the number of such cases in the states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttaranchal and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. However, there was an increase in such deaths in the states of Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. 4.42 The State-wise position indicating the number of custodial deaths reported to the Commission in 2002-03 may be seen at Annexure 2. 4.43 During the year under review, the Commission considered it essential to recommend the payment of interim relief under section 18(3) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 in respect of 20 cases of custodial death, in an amount of Rs. 20,95,000. The Commission also called for the initiation of disciplinary/legal proceedings against delinquent public servants in 6 such cases. In the preceding year, the Commission had ordered such relief in 7 cases of custodial death, and disciplinary/legal proceedings in 7 cases. 4.44 Since the Commission was established in October 1993 it has, until now, received a total of 8,596 reports of deaths that occurred in police or judicial custody. An analysis of 6,552 such cases indicates that some 80 per cent of the deaths that occurred in judicial custody were attributable to causes such as illness and old age. The remaining 20 per cent occurred for a variety of reasons including, in certain cases, illness aggravated by medical negligence, violence between prisoners, or suicide. It is these latter cases that have exercised the Commission over the years, requiring it to issue specific directions in respect of individual cases of such deaths, and also to call for systemic measures to improve prison conditions. The views of the Commission urging better maintenance and running of prisons, better trained and more committed staff, including medical staff, and an improvement in the capacity of prisons to deal N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S C O M M I S S I O N