E/CN.4/1994/31 page 64 Act extends only to areas which may, for the time being, be declared "disturbed" areas. In all such special legislation scrupulous care has been taken to protect the rights of the individual under due process of law. Habeas corpus is available to all under the Indian judicial system in all circumstances. Under TADA, detainees are required to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. If detention is confirmed, the detainee always remains under judicial custody through the order of a competent court. 312. There is an express provision in section 20 (3) of the Act by which the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning the duty to produce a person arrested before a magistrate within 24 hours have been applied to persons arrested under this Act. Further, detainees have the full right under the existing laws to have contact with their lawyers and there are no restrictions whatsoever on legal aid and assistance. The members of the family are also informed and, in fact, visit them regularly while in judicial custody. 313. The Special Rapporteur had expressed concern that that legislation provided for a confession made before an officer above the rank of superintendent of police to be admissible as evidence and that such circumstances facilitated the occurrence of torture, which was alleged to be practised systematically in police stations, in prisons and in the detention camps used by the paramilitary forces. Section 15 of TADA had been provided to ensure that only very senior officers, not below the rank of superintendent of police, who headed a police district and had completed at least one third of his professional career, had been given this authority. By virtue of their position, it could be reasonably assumed that they would act in a fair, judicious and unbiased manner. More importantly, evidence based on any such confession was rebuttable by virtue of the provisions of section 15 (2) of TADA, which cast on the police officers the responsibility of certifying that they had explained to the person concerned that he was not bound to make a confession, and that such confession could be used against him, and that the confession had been recorded by them and read out to the person making it. It was also provided that every confession so recorded should be sent forthwith to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who should then forward the recorded confession to the designated court. 314. The reference to the vulnerability of women to rape while under detention was unfounded and did not conform to the facts. Specific and clear-cut provisions had been made in the Indian Penal Code defining the offence of rape in custody and introducing a presumption against the accused. Custodial rape, if proved, could carry a life sentence. Deterrent punishment was provided for violation of these laws, particularly for those who were appointed in trust to protect such rights. 315. The Government also provided the Special Rapporteur, on 28 October 1993, with information about the newly established National Human Rights Commission. The Commission has among its functions to inquire suo moto or on petition into complaints of violation of human rights; in this context, it may recommend initiation of proceedings for prosecution or such other action as it may deem fit against the concerned person or persons, and inter alia also recommend to the concerned authorities the granting of immediate interim relief to the victim or his family members.