A Division Bench of the High Court at Hyderabad comprising Acting Chief Justice D.B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt on Monday expressed dismay and its disapproval at the way a senior police officer such as Superintendent of Police (SP) of a district conducted himself in the court hall when the Bench was hearing the arguments and he was called to the court to assist the court in a PIL.
The Bench was dealing with a PIL filed by Watch-Voice of People regarding illegal sand mining in the district.
The Bench reprimanded the SP, P. Viswaprasad, for his body language. The Bench was passing caustic comments when it found that the SP did not remove his cap but continued to be present in the court hall.
The petitioner complained that sand was being illegally excavated in Mahabubnagar district and when some individuals protested they were attacked and some even killed. It may be recalled that the Bench had called for report from the SP and expressed its disappointment at the way the issue was handled. On Monday, the Bench was hearing the arguments submitted by special government pleader and Mr. Viswaprasad wanted to make submissions when the court reprimanded him. The Bench adjourned the case by two weeks for the police to report action taken on sand mafia.
