Police should reciprocate humane treatment meted out to them: Madras High Court judge

Judge A.D. Jagadish Chandira praised SPP Hasan Mohammed Jinnah for urging colleagues to treat police personnel with dignity. He asked police to reciprocate, and SPP said DGP had created a special High Court cell to ensure timely instructions. He also asked police to treat lawyers and people with respect. Additional Public Prosecutor said request was taken in right sense, and a government advocate said waiting hall for policemen was air-conditioned and they were provided with free lunch.

Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira of the Madras High Court on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, appreciated State Public Prosecutor (SPP) Hasan Mohammed Jinnah for having asked his colleagues to treat police personnel with dignity, and impressed upon the police, the need for reciprocation.

The judge said, police personnel must be reminded of the need to come prepared to the courts with necessary instructions required by the Additional Public Prosecutors, Government Advocates (criminal side) and Assistant Public Prosecutors to apprise the judges.

Agreeing with the judge, the SPP said, the Director General of Police had created a special High Court cell, led by an officer in the rank of Superintendent of Police and comprising of an Additional Superintendent of Police and several Inspectors, to ensure receipt of instructions on time.

The SPP also said, it was absolutely fair to expect the police personnel too, to treat lawyers as well as the common people with the dignity that every human being deserves. “We do expect the police to reciprocate the humane treatment given to them,” he told the judge.

When the judge wanted to know whether the request made by the SPP had been taken in the right sense by his colleagues, an Additional Public Prosecutor present in the court responded in the affirmative and said, it had gone down well with prosecutors across the State.

A government advocate said, the waiting hall for the policemen at the law officers’ building on the High Court campus had been air-conditioned and that the policemen, who come from various districts to give instructions to the prosecutors, were being provided with free lunch on all working days.