by Scroll Staff
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday strongly criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police for its alleged practice of shooting accused persons in the legs and portraying such incidents as gunfights, Bar and Bench reported.
The bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal sought explanations from the state’s Director General of Police Rajiv Krishna and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad.
The officers were directed to appear before the court through video conference on Friday. They were asked to state whether any verbal or written directions had been issued to police personnel to shoot accused persons in the legs or otherwise, and claim the incidents to be gunfights.
In its Wednesday order, the court observed that gunfights with security forces, particularly incidents that involve firing at the legs of accused persons, appeared to have become a routine, Bar and Bench reported.
The bench said that the action were ostensibly carried out to please superior officers or to teach the accused persons a so-called lesson. “Such conduct is wholly impermissible, as the power to punish lies exclusively within the domain of the courts and not with the police,” the order was quoted as having stated.
Deshwal said that India, as a democratic country, is governed by the rule of law with clearly defined roles for the executive, legislature and judiciary, and that any encroachment by the police into the judicial domain cannot be accepted.
He further observed that some police personnel may be misusing their authority to attract attention from senior officers or to create public sympathy by projecting incidents as gunfights.
The bench made the observations while hearing bail petitions filed by three persons who had been injured in separate alleged incidents of gunfight with the police.
The court noted that no police officer had suffered injuries in the incidents, leading to questions about the necessity and proportionality of the use of firearms.
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