Manage governance issues well: Justice Lokur to Police

29.05.2011 | 17:36 Guwahati

Law et al. News Network

Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Madan B. Lokur today said that the quality of internal and external governance in respect of police force determines the public perception about the men in uniform. Speaking at a seminar on Police Accountability and the Civil Society, Justice Lokur said, Accountability on part of the police force is dependent on two key issues of good governance and public perception. To my mind, good governance will include two factors - internal good governance as well as external good governance. Internal good governance means management of your intra affairs of police about which the public will perhaps have no knowledge, e.g. management of the police lockup, an encounter killing or mid-night raids where there will be no witness from the public. These are the issues which are really internal and it is only the police that can really look into these issues to know whether internal good governance is managed properly or not The seminar was organized by the State Police Accountability Commission, Assam and the Assam State Legal Service authority. Mentioning about tendency of some policemen who are otherwise perfectly well-educated and from good families, to display questionable behaviour in certain situations, Justice Lokur said, Now it is upto the police to analyse such instances, if any, and evolve remedial measures. Police needs to introspect rectify defects, if any, in the system to retain peoples faith in it. He cited example of Lokayukta in Delhi where number of case referred to in the last two years have been five times more than number of cases that would have been referred in the last ten years. Here is a body that is known for its internal good governance and people have faith in it, he said. External good governance, to my mind, is that of respecting the rights of citizens. Does the police respect the rights of citizens? Does it follow the Supreme Court guidelines as to how to deal with an arrested person? How helpful is the policeman on the street to needy common people? How does police respond to FIRs? Are they effective, efficient? These are some factors that speak for external good governance of police force. The state legal aid authority as well as the police force has the responsibility to make people aware of their rights. External good governance comes to the picture when the police comes into the contact with the public. The public perception about the police will be formed on the basis of internal as well external good governance of the police, he said. Justice Amitava Roy of Gauhati High Court commented, Police, sadly, of late is being looked upon with growing distrust. It is charged with using strong arm tactics. It is maligned as a violator of human rights and irresponsible. It is accused of lack of sensitivity and commitment. The fall out is the increasing alienation between the police and the civil society. The mutual aberrations have led to retaliatory orientation in many instances. Rule of law has been a casualty because of growing mistrust between police and public. He further added by saying that the judiciary and human rights commission as well as the media has important role to play in monitoring the action of the police. He further said, To what extent, if it is so, the civil society also responsible for this degeneration. We cant forget that behind that uniform, they are human beings as we are, caught in the whirlpool of life. While criticizing them, some amount of soul searching in us is also required. They occupy a very unenviable position no bouquet for success, but enough brickbats for failure.