E-Paper
Directive to DGP on policemen?s court appearances
The Allahabad High Court, while expressing its displeasure on the present working system of the police department of the state, has directed the DGP, UP to initiate steps for devising a method to ensure that police personnel who are directed to appear by courts, can be served notices or warrants and that they appear in court on time.
The Allahabad High Court, while expressing its displeasure on the present working system of the police department of the state, has directed the DGP, UP to initiate steps for devising a method to ensure that police personnel who are directed to appear by courts, can be served notices or warrants and that they appear in court on time.
The court passed this order as whenever the police constables or sub -nspectors are accused in any case or their appearance is needed in court, it becomes very difficult to effect services on them for their appearance.
The court was distressed to note that in modern times, computerization everywhere, no easily accessible information was available with the earlier police station or at the office of the SP or elsewhere in the district about the whereabouts or current posting of a police personnel, especially if he had been transferred outside the district or had retired.
“A policeman is public servant and ordinarily it is expected that the information of the place of posting of a person belonging to a state public service should be easily accessible and may be made available to the court on demand, which does not have to repeatedly take steps for locating the police person or for effecting service on him’’, observed the court.
Passing the order on a government appeal, Justice Amar Saran maintained that the DGP may consider the viability of establishing a computerised system at the police headquarters which may be posted with information about the current place of posting or place of retirement of a police personnel who was accused and perhaps information of transfer of the policeman could also be directly fed into the computer, the district where he was previously posted and the new district to which he was transferred, if feasible. This mode of service would be in addition to the normal mode of service under the CrPC.
Instructions could also be issued to SP/SSPs of all districts that when High Court or other court’s notices were received at the police station for the presence of a certain accused in a trial, they may directly communicate with the SP/SSP of the new district where the police personnel was subsequently posted or was residing to ensure his appearance in the court concerned on the date fixed, remarked the High Court.
The judge has asked the DGP, UP to submit a report in the court on the next date, i.e February 27, about the measures that he proposes to initiate to check the practice of non-location of police personnel, whose appearance is sought in courts.
