Setting up more district courts in a city-State such as Delhi should ideally mean faster disposal of cases, but some moves end up defeating the purpose. It has been a little less than two years that the jurisdiction of some of the police stations in two South-West district sub-divisions was changed to New Delhi district. Consequently, their courts also changed to Patiala House from the Dwarka Court complex, which was much closer.
The staff at these police stations insists that the shift has made court appearances for them a painstaking affair and this affects their investigative works and law & order duties. Picture this: The same policeman who would take half an hour (factoring in traffic) to reach from Sagarpur to Dwarka Court complex would now take at least an hour more to reach the Patiala House Court.
The scenario is more or less the same for other police stations, be it Inderpuri or Delhi Cantonment. Whether one is to take the Ring Road-Sardar Patel route or the Dwarka Flyover route, congested roads await them everywhere.
“Most of us are overworked. There is no fixed time to come or leave the police station, and it’s an open secret that the shift system is never adhered to. Now in such a scenario, if I am being asked to add those extra hours to my commuting time, it will take a toll on the body and mind. More importantly, it eats into the time we have to spend assisting the investigating officers or that which is reserved for patrolling,” said a police office.
Then there is the case of having extra burden on the police station’s resources as well. For instance, between Sagarpur (one of the police stations whose jurisdiction was changed) and Dwarka Court complex, the cost incurred on moving a case property vehicle with a crane used to be around Rs.200. The shift means that now it would cost several times more, and also towing such vehicles to and fro the court would clog a longer stretch of the road.
Residents are also facing logistical and transport problems due to the shift. Where as Dwarka Court is right opposite a metro station, the closest one to Patiala House is a much longer walk. Litigants, plaintiffs, lawyers as well as victims or witnesses in many cases too have to go there but the problem is more acute for the policemen as court visits are a part of their routine work.
(By Shubhomoy Sikdar)
