New Delhi, Sep 16: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Wednesday said the work of police and the work of the courts form one continuous chain in the administration of justice.
Speaking at the launch of a book written by former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer O P Mishra, titled “Beyond the Uniform: Duty, Discretion and Public Trust”, the CJI said an FIR recorded with care or an investigation conducted with fairness strengthens the possibility of justice being done in court.
Conversely, no court, however conscientious, can fully undo the harm caused when the first steps of the process themselves are compromised, he added.
The CJI also commended police for the smooth conduct of the 18th BRICS Summit and praised the remarkable effort behind the scenes like officers securing routes and venues, coordinating traffic, protecting places of stay and maintaining vigilance through the night.
“The work of the police and the work of the courts form one continuous chain in the administration of justice. The judiciary inherits, quite literally, what the police places before it,” the CJI said.
Former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar and Sanjaya Baru, who was the adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, also spoke on the occasion.
The CJI said duty for police must mean fidelity not only to the words of the law, but also to the purpose for which the law entrusts power to a police officer.
“The authority to investigate, to arrest, to regulate movement and to maintain public order is neither an ornament of office nor an end in itself. It is ultimately a responsibility held on behalf of the people,” he said.
The CJI said police duty does not commence only when a crime has been committed, a crowd has gathered or an emergency has already arisen.
“It begins much earlier: in preparation, in the gathering of information, in coordination between agencies, in anticipating points of vulnerability and in ensuring that the machinery of law is ready before the moment of need arrives.
“Indeed, some of the finest police work is precisely that which prevents a difficult situation from ever becoming a crisis,” he said.
Justice Kant also said if the society expects police personnel to act at all hours with courage, composure and sensitivity, it must give them the conditions in which those qualities can flourish.
“Proper training, modern investigative resources, responsible leadership, reasonable working conditions and attention to the physical and emotional well-being of personnel are not concerns separate from citizen-friendly policing, but rather its essential foundations,” he said.
