Retired Supreme Court Judge KT Thomas, was in Bangalore last week as the head of the Supreme Court constituted Monitoring Committee to personally find out extent to which the State Government had adhered to the Supreme Court directive to set up an autonomous board to oversee the independent functioning of the Police Department in every state. KT Thomas even met human rights activists, representatives of the public and journalists to gather information on the police department functioning, before his meeting with the Home Minister.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) had even arranged a debate with Justice Thomas to which I too was an invitee. It was interesting to note that the erstwhile DGP Srikumar who attended the meeting revealed how the ruling parties shamelessly misused the police department to meet their own endeavour.
On this occasion advocate Rizwi brought to the notice of Justice Thomas the information that he had gathered from the government itself under the Right to Information Act that the Karnataka Government which had assured the Supreme Court to resort to transfers in police department in accordance to a particular set of guidelines, had during the past one year period, resorted to indiscriminate transfers which were three fold higher than the transfers during the year previous to that.
That the very government order that all police officials should remain posted in a particular place for a minimum of two years, has been mostly violated, also came up for discussion at the meeting. There was also widespread resentment against the Karnataka Government for letting to wind the promises made by it to the Supreme Court. Not just that, there was even a proposal asking why Justice Thomas himself couldn’t request the Supreme Court to order an enquiry against the Karnataka Government, after charging it with contempt of court. However, Justice Thomas’s reaction to this proposal was “The time was not apt for it as of now. Let us think over it.â€
The CHRI representatives prominently raised the issue of the government failure to constitute an autonomous police board to oversee the appointment and transfers in the police department, despite the home minister’s announcement to that effect. They pointed out that the government has even not constituted an authority to accept complaints against police personnel and officials and then subject them to an independent probe. They even argued that reforms in the police department in the state would be meaningless unless and until the decision of finalizing the appointment of the DGP is taken away from the control of the chief minister or the government.
Yet another most important and interesting aspect of the proceedings of this meeting was erstwhile DGP Srikumar exposing the dishonesty of the government which was only issuing statements on improving the functioning of the police department.
“When I was the DGP I had drafted an ordinance aimed at converting the police department as vehicles of public service and had forwarded the same to the government. But the same has been amended to such an extent that it has become a toothless snake. The Government has also forgotten to initiate any discussion in this regard. Let alone provide a humane face to the police department, the government is also not interested in bringing about a sense of accountability in the staff and officials of the department. Those running the administration only need Jee Huzoor officials,†Srikumar reacted sharply.
Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry who attended the meeting as a representative of the government, assured to bring to the notice of the department concerned the suggestions made at the meeting including the suggestion to include even representatives of judicial and civil society apart from departmental officials in the proposed board aimed at ensuring autonomy to the police department.
Srikumar even revealed at the meeting that the Home Minister of the state had at least made an announcement of the constitution of the police board just a few days prior to the visit of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, only to save the government’s face. He also shocked the entire gathering when he said “Myself as the head of the police department had no right to decide on the transfers. Everything was done as per the dictats of politicians; Transfer of officials is a big industry in itself in the state.â€
Srikumar even went on to say that he attended the meeting to share his views as well as his disappointment particularly in the backdrop of the several loopholes in the functioning of the department.
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