Implement police reforms, high court ‘suggests' to Himachal govt
Shimla: Taking note of the moral and professional deterioration in the police force, besides the practical problems faced by cops in combating crime, the
Himachal Pradesh high court
has suggested certain
police reforms
to the state govt, including the urgent requirement of revising the sanctioned strength.
A division bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sushil Kukreja, during the resumed hearing of a case "Ravina vs State of HP" earlier this week, noticed that the sanctioned strength of Himachal police is 18,766, and there are 3,173 vacant posts. The court observed that the last revision of sanctioned police strength was conducted in 2006. Due to population growth, urbanisation, and evolving crime patterns such as cybercrime and organised crime, the current workforce is insufficient, it added.
The bench also mentioned that political interference in postings is a major issue faced by all field police functionaries. "In fact, because of frequent interference, the lower staff, viz., inspectors and below, are chosen and posted based on the whims and fancies of politicians, which not only include ministers or MLAs but also ex-MLAs, chairmen, local aspirational politicians," said the court.
The Himachal govt is also violating the Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre rules, noticed the bench, mentioning that presently, some Himachal Police Service (HPS) officers are posted on IPS cadre posts, most specifically Sirmaur SP and Baddi SP. The court also said that the existing Police Rules in the state are outdated and do not reflect the complexities of modern law enforcement and therefore require revision.
Pointing out the need for improvement in
forensic science laboratories
, the division bench observed, "It is unfortunate that most of our forensic laboratories lack basic infrastructure, including both man and machinery. Despite the extreme use of forensic science, the backlog resulting in delay in submitting the test report due to the lack of aforesaid infrastructure poses a significant challenge to the administration of justice."
Suggesting various other measures, the court said it should be ensured that no police official is ever posted in his sub-division except under exceptional circumstances, and that too for reasons to be recorded in the order. To ensure fairness, the court also suggested fixing the maximum tenure of posting of police personnel. "The state should ensure that no police official/officer is retained beyond three years at a particular place of posting, and those officials/officers posted in border areas should be transferred. The tenure of those officials/officers should be fixed as two years, and thereafter such officers/officials should not be posted in another border area," mentioned the court.
The bench also suggested the state govt consider the Uttarakhand high court directions in the "Arun Kumar Bhadoria vs State of Uttarakhand & Others" case decided on May 15, 2018, including ensuring that the police personnel do not work for more than eight hours at a stretch.
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