b. Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment: Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture addresses Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment which does not amount to torture as defined in Article 1. The reason acts constituting CIDT are not strictly defined is that CIDT should be broadly interpreted to extend the widest possible protection against abuses, and include the residue of abuse/violence that does not meet the threshold of torture, per se, yet violates human dignity.4 The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022 defines CIDT to “mean and include any deliberate or aggravated treatment by a public official or a person acting on his behalf against a person under their custody, causing suffering, gross humiliation or degradation of the person in custody.” 4 The Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, principle 6, footnote 8