STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Delving deep into a suo motto PIL (2/2022)) relating to a minor traffic violation leading to 'severe punishment for a venial offence', the Gauhati High Court has expressed a significant opinion that the incident occurred due to a lack of training in police personnel. The high court opines that though tolerance is a personal capability, the respondent authorities should periodically apprise their police personnel, more particularly on-site, and impart practical training. The court further opines that police personnel handling the traffic at junctions need to keep a 'citizen-centric approach instead of using their might'.
The basis of the present suo motto PIL is a letter from Supreme Court advocate Manish Goswami against police atrocities taking place at Paltan Bazar in Guwahati on March 17, 2022. On a fateful day, a person named Biki Prasad Gupta was riding a two-wheeler along with his wife and three-year-old child. On an allegation of a minor traffic violation, the constable on duty, Fakhruddin Ahmed, assaulted the rider. A camera captured the action of the constable that went viral. The report shows that other police personnel also tried to indulge in similar activities.
In its order, the division bench comprising Chief Justice RM Chhaya and Justice Soumitra Saikia directed the authorities (the Principal Secretary to the Home and Political Department, the DGP, the Commissioner of Police, Guwahati and others)
(i) To impart training to all police constables handling traffic in cities, more particularly at all district levels, to remain citizen-centric;
(ii) To educate their police personnel about their rights and responsibilities as public servants;
(iii) Impart appropriate basic knowledge of the law by conducting training of police personnel. The respondent authorities can also take help and guidance from the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA) for the purpose; and
(iv) The State Government should constitute a committee for the same also consisting of the Member Secretary, ASLSA to avoid any such incident in future.
The High Court directed the state to carry out the above directions scrupulously.
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