The Telangana High Court has come under fire for allegedly turning police stations into settlement addas. It deplored that petitions are being filed alleging that the police are interfering despite the injunction orders issued by the court.
The High Court has made it clear that the police should not use their power to violate the injunction orders. It recalled that the Supreme Court has issued orders that it is not permissible to claim rights by claiming that properties without valid documents have been in possession for a long time.
It has suggested that the DGP should issue a circular without any scope for police intervention in civil disputes. High Court Judge Justice Tadakamalla Vinod Kumar issued oral orders to this effect on Tuesday. To make the general public aware of the rules, they were ordered to be uploaded on the official website of the police and displayed in all police stations.
The victim Sudarshanam approached the High Court alleging that the police were pressuring him to settle the civil and criminal cases registered against him at the Nagole police station by paying Rs. 55 lakhs to real estate agents regarding his plot number 65 in Bandlaguda Krishi Nagar in Nagole Saril, Hyderabad. Justice Vinod Kumar conducted the inquiry into this.
Rachakonda Police Commissioner Sudheer Babu appeared virtually, while the Nagole CI appeared in person. The High Court found fault with the police station for turning it into a settlement adda to settle the land issue. It was initially concluded that the Nagole police detained the owner of the land in the police station from morning to evening.
The court ordered the submission of CCTV footage from the police station from 9 am to 10 pm on the 19th of last month. The hearing was adjourned to next week. Justice Vinod Kumar said that once when he went to the police station as an ordinary citizen, a police officer behaved negligently. He said that after knowing that he was a High Court judge, he showed no respect.
He recalled another incident when he was traveling in an official vehicle and saw a police officer beating a citizen on the road. He said that if he had such experiences with the behavior of the police, he should understand how much more suffering the common people must face.
“Despite being told not to interfere in civil disputes, the police are resorting to threats. People are afraid to climb the steps of the police station. Who has the authority to beat people? Some police officers are acting with the lust of authority without knowing the laws and regulations,” the judge commented.
During the previous hearing, it was ordered to take action against those who interfered in civil disputes. It made it clear that courts cannot obstruct the investigation of cases and that police stations cannot be turned into barriers to settlements in the name of investigation. It advised the Rachakonda Commissioner to take action against those who made settlements and send a message to others.