The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Director General of Police to instruct his subordinates that police officials who were required to appear in the court in connection with important cases such as habeas corpus petitions were not posted to attend other duties elsewhere.
A Division Bench of Justices C.T. Selvam and N. Sathish Kumar passed the order after finding that the government counsel were unable to assist the court in disposing of cases involving curtailment of personal liberty since they do not receive any instructions from the police officials concerned.
On Wednesday, they were irked over the absence of the police officer concerned in a case filed in connection with the missing of a mentally challenged woman. The judges said that utmost priority should be given to the anxiety of those who had lost their near and dear ones and bank upon the police to trace them out.
“The DGP shall ensure that the proceedings of this court are not hampered by posting the officers on other duty when their presence is necessary before this court on the specific dates of hearing,” they ordered.
