COVID-19 lockdown: KSHRC orders probe into caning and use of force by police

Two retired judges come down heavily on police action

May 12, 2021 10:19 am | Updated 10:19 am IST

View of Whitefield Main Road during the lockdown in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

View of Whitefield Main Road during the lockdown in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) has ordered a probe into three complaints of alleged brutality in the State when police resorted to caning people during enforcement of the lockdown on Monday.

R.K. Dutta, member of the Commission, said the police wing was tasked with a probe into the three complaints and will submit a report by June 8, when the case is posted for hearing.

Meanwhile, two retired judges also came down heavily on the police. Retired Supreme Court judge V. Gopal Gowda termed police beating people with lathis ‘a barbaric act’ and said there was no legal basis for the same. “People trusted with protecting the rule of law seem to have taken law into their hands. Each of the personnel, who assaulted the public, must be booked and the probe entrusted to a judicial inquiry commission,” he said, adding that the police leadership who watched silently for the entire day must also be held accountable and culpable.

Another retired judge of Karnataka and Bombay High Courts M.F. Saldanha termed police action “inhuman and arbitrary” and said he would consider moving the High Court in a Public Interest Litigation. His visits to and from hospitals are under threat of the vehicle being seized and being beaten up on the road. The threat was not imaginary, he stated.

Both former judges were also critical of police seizing vehicles. Mr. Saldanha said no law can sanction such atrocity and this was “virtually State goondaism” while Mr. Gowda questioned under what provision of law were the police seizing vehicles.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.