Last week the Supreme Court of India made it
mandatory for the police toupload
within 48 hours a First Information Report (FIR) drawn up by itsuo motu or
on a complaint. Aimed principally at protecting the accused who may come to
know that he figures in an FIR, but has no idea of the allegations which formed
its basis, this order is also a shot in the arm for activists who want to
protect citizens from State harassment on flimsy(weak,कमज़ोर) grounds. In this momentous order, Youth Bar
Association of India v Union of India and others, Justices Dipak Misra and
C. Nagappan laid down several guidelines which could help to promote
transparency and curb(control,नियंत्रण) arbitrariness(willfulness,मनमानापन) in police work.
The apex court direction, incidentally, also benefits victims of
crime who have no means of getting to know whether their complaint had been
brought on record or not. This is welcome because of the Indian police’s dubious(doubtful,संदिग्ध) record of
suppressing crime. Viewed in this perspective, the court’s prescription makes
it difficult for station house officers to ignore crime, a common practice
adopted with a view to helping an offender or to dress police statistics up so
that they conceal even a slight rise in crime.
A logical next step
Right through its history, the Supreme Court of India has distinguished itself by coming out with directions which seek to buttress the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution. We need to recall how the court has been tirelessly active in ensuring that police arrests of individuals are kept to the minimum, and when taken in custody, the accused/suspects are accorded civilised treatment, including access to legal assistance. The decision prescribing expeditious(fast,शीघ्र) uploading of FIRs on to the Internet is therefore in sync with the court’s consistent stand that human rights are sacrosanct(holy,पवित्र) and cannot be trampled(crush,रोंदना) upon out of malice(hatred,द्वेष) or at the instigation of the political executive (read ministers). We consider this latest fiat as appropriate against continued reports from across the country of police misconduct for their own benefit or to satisfy the ruling party.
Right through its history, the Supreme Court of India has distinguished itself by coming out with directions which seek to buttress the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution. We need to recall how the court has been tirelessly active in ensuring that police arrests of individuals are kept to the minimum, and when taken in custody, the accused/suspects are accorded civilised treatment, including access to legal assistance. The decision prescribing expeditious(fast,शीघ्र) uploading of FIRs on to the Internet is therefore in sync with the court’s consistent stand that human rights are sacrosanct(holy,पवित्र) and cannot be trampled(crush,रोंदना) upon out of malice(hatred,द्वेष) or at the instigation of the political executive (read ministers). We consider this latest fiat as appropriate against continued reports from across the country of police misconduct for their own benefit or to satisfy the ruling party.
In writing its order, the court demonstrated an intense
application of mind in respect of two issues: the need to protect national
security, as well as the privacy of a citizen; and the technical feasibility of
implementing its directive that FIRs should be uploaded within 48 hours of
their registration. According to the order, there will be exemption from the
directive when the alleged offence is sensitive, such as sexual violence or one
in which there is an angle of national security, insurgency or terrorism. We
endorse this exception, because we are living in times when both privacy and
terror issues matter greatly.
The uploading of FIRs will also not be mechanical and as a
simple rule of thumb. The order visualises a circumstance in which the
authorities could sometimes decide against uploading on grounds of security.
The court however laid down that such decisions could not be taken unilaterally(one
sidely,एकतरफा) by a single police official.
First, such decisions cannot be taken at a level lower that a deputy
superintendent of police. Second, such a decision is appealable by an aggrieved
party to a committee to be set up by a district superintendent of police or a
commissioner of police.
The court also provided for the possible objections of a
technical nature that could be raised by vested interests — both policemen and
the political network — who did not want FIRs to be publicised through the
Internet.
Issue of logistics
One principal negative response to the order points to existing modest police resources, especially in the rural areas, that could hinder(stop,बाधा पहुँचाना) easy implementation of the court directive. Many police stations, especially those in remote areas, may have a computer, but may not necessarily be connected to the Web. Taking cognizance(awareness,जागरूकता) of this logistical problem, the court permits the latitude of extending the deadline for uploading FIRs from 24 to 48 hours, or even to 72 hours, under special circumstances arising from the remote location of a police station. Such relaxation of the time limit for uploading would be related only to connectivity difficulties, and nothing else.
One principal negative response to the order points to existing modest police resources, especially in the rural areas, that could hinder(stop,बाधा पहुँचाना) easy implementation of the court directive. Many police stations, especially those in remote areas, may have a computer, but may not necessarily be connected to the Web. Taking cognizance(awareness,जागरूकता) of this logistical problem, the court permits the latitude of extending the deadline for uploading FIRs from 24 to 48 hours, or even to 72 hours, under special circumstances arising from the remote location of a police station. Such relaxation of the time limit for uploading would be related only to connectivity difficulties, and nothing else.
We suggest that where there is a connectivity issue, the
solution would be to hand deliver expeditiously a hard copy of the FIR to the
district police headquarters — where connectivity may not be a problem —
through a special messenger. An alternative would be for the State Crime Branch
CID at police headquarters to act as the repository or nodal agency to
undertake the task of uploading of FIRs. Most States are small and transmission
of FIRs even to the CID by special police messengers is practical. We estimate
that each State may, at the maximum, have about 100 FIRs each day to upload to
the Net. In our view, the Supreme Court order is therefore eminently(highly,उत्कृष्ट) practical.
If you ignore these minor logistical difficulties in the way of
its quick implementation, the order should be welcome to every honest,
apolitical citizen as one that carries few uncertainties and gives no room for
anyone in authority to intimidate(frighten,धमकाना) the police into gross impropriety(misconduct,अनौचित्य). In a country that still has a substantial
population which is unlettered and is befuddled(confused,भ्रमित) by the complexities of our legal system, this
new arrangement should come as at least a partial antidote to the misdeeds of a
law enforcement machinery that lapses into corruption and high-handedness at
the drop of a hat, especially in rural India.
A telling cynicism
Talking to officers across regions, we however found a measure of cynicism(distrust,सनक) on the practicalities of implementing the apex court’s order. We are not surprised at this, because every time courts have sought to curb police arbitrariness by clamping restrictions on the day-to-day routine, there has been furtive(hidden,छुपाया) resentment(anger,गुस्सा). This is why we strongly believe that we should not permit any sabotage(mess,नाकाम) of the latest court order. We should work towards building public opinion which would demand implementation of the directive both in letter and in spirit. For genuine adherence(fulfillment,पालन) to what the court has laid down here, and in several other instances, we need the stakeholders — the executive, policemen and the lay public — to not flinch from their basic duty of wholeheartedly welcoming what the court has said and spreading the message as widely as possible. Without this happening, we do not see any prospect of the directive being followed strictly.
Talking to officers across regions, we however found a measure of cynicism(distrust,सनक) on the practicalities of implementing the apex court’s order. We are not surprised at this, because every time courts have sought to curb police arbitrariness by clamping restrictions on the day-to-day routine, there has been furtive(hidden,छुपाया) resentment(anger,गुस्सा). This is why we strongly believe that we should not permit any sabotage(mess,नाकाम) of the latest court order. We should work towards building public opinion which would demand implementation of the directive both in letter and in spirit. For genuine adherence(fulfillment,पालन) to what the court has laid down here, and in several other instances, we need the stakeholders — the executive, policemen and the lay public — to not flinch from their basic duty of wholeheartedly welcoming what the court has said and spreading the message as widely as possible. Without this happening, we do not see any prospect of the directive being followed strictly.
We have not forgotten about what happened to the blueprint for
police reform that the Supreme Court drew up in September 2006 on the PIL filed
by former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prakash Singh. Our hearts
ache while recalling the tendentious(controversial,विवादास्पद) dilution of all that the court prescribed on
that occasion in the hope that we would succeed in establishing an autonomous
and professional police force.
We would have been happier had the Supreme Court’s latest order
on FIRs incidentally — by way ofobiter dictum — addressed certain fundamental
issues afflicting(torture,सताना) police
administration. The first is one of police resources at the grass-root level
being grossly inadequate(insufficient,अपर्याप्त). It is not uncommon for many police stations
in the country to each have an effective complement of what is less than 10
staff at any point of time. This is ridiculously small. The scene is
particularly deplorable(shameful,चिंताजनक) in rural stations. This is explained by the
fact of many States having a huge number of vacancies, a state of affairs that
can be solved mainly through systematic annual recruitment. It is scandalous(dishonorable,लज्जाजनक) that many States are woefully negligent in
this respect. A judicial direction that makes annual recruitment mandatory
would go a long way in alleviating(reduce,कम) this ill.
A more painful fact is the extent of graft that prevails(famous,प्रचलित) at police stations in many regions of the
country. There are very few police stations where a citizen can get his
complaint registered without greasing the palm of the station house officer.
This goes unchecked because of the graft at supervisory levels. Choice of
officers to head districts police forces is often on the basis of their
political leaning and pliability(flexibility,लचक), rather than on their professional competence. As long as this
situation remains unchanged, prescriptions such as transparency in FIR-related
matters may end up being purely cosmetic.
courtesy:the hindu
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