UNFORTUNATELY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS RUNNING WITH 90 PERCENT OF THE CORRUPTIVE OFFICERS: JUSTICE P VELMURUGAN

While recently disposing of a contempt case brought against an investigating officer for deliberately disobeying the High Court's orders, Justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court took a poor view of the state's police, observing that it was time to sensitize personnel and purge corrupt ones.

These scathing comments were made during the hearing of S Vasanthi v M Baggiyalakshmi. In this case, the petitioner filed a police report against two males. After the investigation was completed, the police concluded the case and filed a charge sheet with the judicial magistrate court, which issued specific orders. The petitioner appealed the magistrate's decision to the High Court, which ordered the police to undertake a new investigation. Following the Court's decision, the investigating officer undertook a new investigation and dismissed the complaint as an "error of fact" claiming that the issue was civil. The petitioner subsequently filed a contempt motion, alleging that the police did not conduct the investigation fairly and, as a result, breached the Court's decision. However, counsel for the respondent contended that following inquiry, it was determined that there was no prima facie evidence and that the matter should be dismissed. The officer expressed her sincere regret for any misconduct on her part.

After reviewing the data, the Court came to the conclusion that the police had not engaged in willful disobedience. The court, however, did not believe the investigating officer's competency was enough. As a result, the contempt petition was dismissed. Nonetheless, the petitioner was offered the option of pursuing legal action against the police officer for her inability and negotiating a solution with the magistrate.