Will separate investigation from law and order: Centre assures High Court

Police had sought creation of 15,838 posts, of which 4,000 were to be for crime investigation

The Union government has assured the Delhi High Court of its prompt action to separate criminal investigation from the maintenance of law and order, while informing the court that it had sanctioned as many as 4,227 posts in Delhi Police for the purpose. These posts will be operationalised in two phases.

A Division Bench of the High Court, hearing a public interest litigation initiated by it after the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident, said the additional police personnel, once recruited, should be used only for crime investigation.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain told the court that half of the posts would be filled up in 2016-17 and the rest in 2017-18 after a review of the scheme.

The Bench, comprising Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, took on record Mr. Jain's statement and said an investigator would only investigate crimes and would not be standing on the roadside during the VIP movements. “The investigating staff or group should not be part of the law and order duty,” said the court.

The court expressed displeasure over the Centre's failure to take a prompt decision on appointments to the remaining 11,000 posts, while noting that the Finance Ministry had sent the proposal back to the Home Ministry for reviewing if the increase in manpower was necessary and whether the advancement in technology would serve the purpose.

Such action of the Ministry amounted to “footballing”, observed the court, adding that it was not happy with this part.

In its proposal sent to the government, Delhi Police had sought creation of 15,838 posts, of which about 4,000 were to be used for crime investigation alone.

The court had expressed displeasure at the Centre's delay in sanctioning additional police force for the Capital earlier as well. It had asked the Union government to file an affidavit on whether it had funds to create additional force and whether it intended to create the additional force, while laying emphasis on ensuring safety and security of people, especially women and children.

The Bench has been giving directions to the Centre and Delhi government on the issues of appointment of more police personnel, creation of additional forensic laboratories and setting up of a victim compensation fund to provide relief to the victims of crimes against women.

Sources: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/will-separate-investigation-from-law-and-order-centre-assures-high-court/article8032828.ece