What a section of the police personnel allegedly did was absolutely unacceptable to this court and to the civil society, to say the least, said the High Court of Karnataka, while expressing anguish over the incident in which a group of police personnel resorted to a demonstration on the streets in Chikkamagaluru recently.
Several police personnel and their family members held a snap demonstration on December 2 night to protest against suspension of six police personnel and arrest of one among them for allegedly assaulting a young advocate inside a police station on the night of November 30. However, the arrested police constable was released on bail in the police station itself when the police were demonstrating on the streets.
The police had taken Preetam, an advocate, to the police station on November 30 after he objected to their action of taking away the keys of his two wheeler even after he agreed to pay the fine for not wearing a helmet. A first information report (FIR) was registered against six police personnel, including a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, and four police constables for assaulting the advocate in the early hours of December 1.
‘Fence eating the crop’
Strict discipline is the first requirement of the police force, and otherwise, it would be a case of fence eating the crop, a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit, observed while hearing a PIL petition, which the court suo motu initiated on the incident of assault of Mr. Preetam.
However, the Bench refrained from deliberating more on the demonstration by the police at this stage after the Advocate-General promised that the issue of demonstration by the police on streets was being looked into seriously by higher-ups in the police department.
Meanwhile, the government told the court that it had transferred to the CID the six FIRs — one registered against six police personnel, another against Mr. Preetam for allegedly slapping a policeman, and four others registered against members of the Chikkamagaluru Bar Association for allegedly obstructing the police — for investigation.
In another development, the Bench set up a 10-member committee to evolve a congenial atmosphere and restore amiability between the Bar, the police, and the Chikkamagaluru district administration, and asked the panel to hold a meeting on December 9 in the office of the Advocate-General in Bengaluru.
Members of the committee are: Advocate-General Shashi Kiran Shetty, Principal Secretary, Home, Director-General & Inspector-General of Police or his nominee, former Advocate-General and senior advocate Udaya Holla, and senior advocates Jayakumar S. Patil, V. Lakshminarayana, K.N. Phaneendra, D.R. Ravishankar, Vivek Subba Reddy, who is president, Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru, and the president, Chikkamagaluru Bar Association.
While asking the Committee to make recommendations for preventing the recurrence of dispute/difference between the members of the bar and the law enforcement agencies in the best interest of the public at large, the Bench adjourned further hearing till December 12.
