Expressing dissatisfaction over the efforts made by the State Government to enforce the court’s directions to improve functioning and infrastructure of Forensic Science Laboratories (FLS), the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday said the Government’s claim of compliance “is only on paper”.
“The compliance is only on paper. No appointment to the posts of joint director and other posts referred to in the direction issued on August 13, 2021, has been made so far. No positive compliance reflected from the compliance report,” the court observed.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum made the observation while hearing a PIL petition, initiated suo motu by the court in February this year after noticing that the criminal justice system had been “crippled” in the State owing to huge pendency of samples awaiting forensic tests because of a lack of human resources and testing facilities.
The Bench granted six weeks’ time to the Government to show positive compliance.
Police recruitment
While hearing another PIL petition, initiated suo motu by the court on vacancies in the Police Department, the Bench wondered why it was taking so long to complete the process commenced to fill 1,142 posts of police sub-inspector as the Government had said that recruitment process would be completed by July 22.
The Bench adjourned further hearing while directing the Government to submit a shorter time-frame to complete the recruitment process.
Government counsel said though the process of recruitment of police personnel in various cadre was taken up as per the time-frame submitted to the court the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the process.
