On 10th December, the Calcutta high court observed that “It is high time that police reforms are introduced in this state to bifurcate the law & Order wing from the investigating wing;” noting that the criminal cases in state are suffering due to lack of adequate investigation.
The matter was highlighted after the case of the missing girl was heard before the two-Judge bench of Justice Sanjib Banerjee & Justice Arijit Banerjee. Further state sought time to locate the missing girl.
During the course of hearing, a report was filed by the Inspector-in-charge of Arambagh Police Station stating that “there was no indication therein as to the whereabouts of the missing girl.”
To this, the court has emphasized that,
“Criminal cases suffer because of lack of adequate investigation and lack of adequate material being produced. Though maintaining law & order is an important part of the police duty, the investigating arm cannot be compromised.”
Concerning this matter, recently, an application was filed before the supreme court by Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran, suggesting measures for speedy and effective implementation of the Prakash Singh ruling for systemic police reforms.
And in a similar matter, Madras High Court took note of the suicides and desertions within the police force while observing that “there is no mechanism available in the police force and that it is the reason why so many genuine grievances of the police could not be addressed.”
Case Title : SK. Sahanoor islam Vs. State of West Bengal & ors. (WPA/9332/2020)
Quorum : Justice Sanjib Banerjee & Arijit Banerjee
