From: sriram@cremona.Eng.Sun.COM (Sriram Ramachandran)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Petition against police brutality in Maharastra - A Press Release.
Date: 13 Aug 1992 18:23:13 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: cremona

Dilip D'Souza, who some of you might remember as a prolific contributor 
to SCI, sent me this press release from India asking that I post it 
on the net. If you want to send him a response, I'd be glad to collect 
your message and forward it to him. 



                       PRESS RELEASE


August 6, 1992


     A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court admitted,  on
August  4  1992,  a  Writ Petition raising an issue of great
importance to the Police Force and the general public in the
state of Maharastra.

     Mr. Vijay Tendulkar, the distinguished  playwright,  by
way  of  a  public  interest  petition sought that the court
should direct the State to set up an  independent  machinery
to investigate complaints against the police.

     It was submitted in the Petition that, contrary to pro-
visions of law, officers and personnel of the police indulge
in numerous acts of lawlessness and violence,  which  it  is
their statutory duty to prevent.

     Four illustrative cases of such acts by the Police were
given in the petition. These pertained to Rajiv Agarwal, who
was beaten  and  kicked  in  a  Police  Station  because  he
attempted  to  prevent the wrongful arrest of a taxi driver;
B.L. Miranda, whose  house  was  broken  into  and  who  was
threatened  with  a gun by a Police Officer; Baburao Jadhav,
who was assaulted and illegally arrested by the Police at  a
Police  Station  where he had gone to make a complaint about
the behaviour of the Police;  and  Dilip  D'Souza,  who  was
threatened  with  a  gun and who was sought to be dragged to
the Office of the Assistant  Commissioner  of  Police  while
taking photographs of birds on the terrace of his own build-
ing.

     The Petitioner submitted that this trend of lawlessness
and  assault  by  the  Police  was  subversive of the entire
machinery and scheme of law  and  order  and  also  had  the
effect of destroying public confidence and faith in the pol-
ice. He therefore submitted that the Court should direct the
Respondents  to establish an independent body to investigate
complaints agains the Police, to ensure that such complaints
are disposed o within a specified period and to provide that
the reports of this body  should  be  made  public.  It  was
further  submitted  that the Respondents be directed to make
provision for adequate compensation for such acts,  to  pro-
vide  that  the perpetrators of such outrages should bear at
least part of this compensation, and to take steps within  a
prescribed  time  to  prosecute police personnel involved in
such acts.

     After  hearing  counsel  for  the  Petitioner  and  the
Respondents,  the  Bench observed that the question required
to be considered and, therefore, admitted the Petition, mak-
ing Rule returnable on October 19, 1992.

     Mr. Atul Setalvad and Mr. Shiraz Rustomjee,  instructed
by  M/s  Bhaishankar,  Kanga  and  Girgharilal,  appeared on
behalf of the Petitioner. Miss P.D. Ankelesaria, the Govern-
ment  Pleader,  appeared for the State of Maharastra and the
Commissioner of Police.