Police Commissioners and District Magistrates consider themselves God : High Court of Gujarat
Gujarat High Court expresses displeasure over current state of affairs !
Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal (Credits:Bar & Bench)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) – Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal has reprimanded the Police and Administrative officials in the State. ‘Nobody can stand outside your office. Do you expect an ordinary citizen to stand outside your office ? Who will allow them to enter your office ? Your DM and Commissioner think they are Gods. They behave like God and King’, Justice Sunita Agarwal said as she lashed out at the Gujarat Police. The Gujarat High Court had taken cognisance of a case and registered a Public Interest Litigation in that regard. The Court expressed displeasure during its hearing.
The Court was dealing with a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) initiated after a couple was harassed and extorted into giving ₹60,000 to cops who found them travelling late at night. During the hearing in this regard, the judge asked the Police whether there is a system for filing complaints against the Police.
Citizens do not know about helpline numbers !
Justice Sunita Agarwal said that the Administration has provided helpline numbers to lodge complaints against errant public servants including the Police, but if no one knows about it, what is the use of it ? These are harsh ground realities, and everybody knows it. For an ordinary citizen to enter a Police station or in the office of Commissioner or DM it is completely beyond reach. We both (the judges) were ordinary citizens at one point in time, and we know the ground realities and we have our personal experiences with the Police authorities.
Give detailed information about the helpline numbers to citizens !
Justice Agarwal further said, ‘You need to tell citizens where to go, how to go and whom to contact (for lodging complaints against the Police)’. The bench, however, noted that the State had displayed three helpline numbers (100, 112, and 1064) together while asking people to call the said numbers to lodge complaints. ‘1064 is a dedicated helpline for lodging complaints of corruption against public servants including the Police. There is no clarity. It cannot be tagged with 100 and 112. It needs to be displayed separately with a clear-cut instruction that in case of complaints of corruption and atrocities by public servants dial this number’, the bench said.
| Editorial Perspective
People expect that the Courts should reprimand the anti-public Police and administrative officers and take strict action against them. |