NEW DELHI, Aug 4: A local court has asked the city government and Delhi Police to create a mechanism for ensuring implementation and compliance of judicial orders passed against erring officials and also give it “transparent and prompt” feedback.
The court’s order came while dealing with a case in which a senior citizen was robbed and found dead after he went missing and no action was taken by the police. The man was cremated as unclaimed despite the fact that a missing person’s complaint was already lodged.
The court said the feedback of authorities on the action taken against erring officials has to be “transparent and prompt” so that it could bring some difference at the ground level.
“It is only this step which will help in bringing about professionalism and seriousness in the investigating agency at the lower rung which presently appears to be lacking to a large extent,” Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said.
“It is desirable for the State i.E. GNCT of Delhi and also for the Commissioner of Police, Delhi to create or constitute a cell/mechanism to secure implementation and compliance of the orders passed by the courts against the erring officers from time to time along with an effective feedback mechanism,” the judge said.
While dealing with the case, the court acquitted accused Sunil of the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, hurting by giving poison, kidnapping with intent to wrongfully confine a person, theft and dishonestly receiving stolen property.
The court expressed unhappiness that there was a long delay in the registration of an FIR in the case. It said that the victim had gone missing on June 16 last year and the FIR was lodged after a delay of 16 days on July 2.
According to police, on June 16, 2012, 65-year-old Wilson Samuel, who had lost his way, was befriended by Sunil who gave the victim biscuits mixed with stupefying substance in a bus at Kingsway Camp here.
Samuel felt dizzy and the accused took him to a park near Azadpur Mandi where he robbed him of his mobile phone, ring, wrist watch and purse and left the spot leaving the victim lying in the park.
When the victim did not return home, his family lodged a missing complaint at Mukherjee Nagar police station. On June 19, Samuel was found unconscious in Azadpur area which comes under Adarsh Nagar police station and on being shifted to a hospital he was declared dead.
After postmortem, the body was cremated as unknown on June 28.
The court said both the police stations fall within the same sub-division, still the officials could not trace out the whereabouts of the dead person though at one police station his missing complaint was already registered.
The court said it was “extremely shocking” that despite the body being discovered in the area of Adarsh Nagar police station and the information regarding the deceased being available with Mukherjee Nagar police station, the officials of Mukherjee Nagar police station were not in a position to trace out and identify the victim.
“This is reflective of gross police apathy and casualness of those investigating the case,” the court said.
It said even after the FIR was lodged, the probe was only a “cover-up” and this kind of an approach shakes the faith of people in the institution.
“Why should the entire institution get a bad name for the failure of a few non-serious persons lacking performance and professionalism? There has to be a mechanism of accountability so as to restore the faith of people in the system,” the court said and asked the Police Commissioner to take action against the officers responsible for the lapses in this case in accordance with the rules. (PTI)
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