'Police Personnel Are On Streets Doing Duty Diligently During COVID' : Karnataka HC Dismisses PIL For Action Against Alleged Police Atrocities During Lockdown

A division bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice M Nagaprasanna held that the petition filed by Advocate S Balakrsihnan to be frivolous, containing unsubstantiated allegations and dismissed it. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 1,000, on him which is to be deposited with the Karnataka Legal Services Authority within 30-days.

Coming to the allegations made in the petition the court said "Except for making bald statements in the writ petition nothing has been brought on record in respect of so-called alleged police atrocities."

It added "The petitioner has not quoted before this court any single instance or any documentary proof has been brought on record to demonstrate that persons have been assaulted by the police for violating the lockdown orders. In case even a stray incident has taken place the person aggrieved has a remedy to file a FIR. The petitioner being a party in person, who is also an Advocate is fully aware of the process of filing a F.I.R and in case, the police is not registering a case, he has a remedy of filing a complaint under Section 200 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973."

The court also observed that "The police force in Karnataka as well as all over the Country are the people who in spite of COVID – 19 pandemic are working day and night, they are providing assistance to common citizens and by no stretch of imagination it can be said they are committing atrocities during the COVID – 19 pandemic as contended in the writ petition."

Rejecting the prayer for directing a disciplinary inquiry against the police officials the court said "The entire world is facing a very grave situation on account of COVID – 19 pandemic and it is resulting in loss of lakhs and lakhs of human lives all over the globe. Keeping people confined to their home is certainly reducing the risk of infections. The frontline workers who are police personnel also are exposed to infections more than the common man. Despite hundreds of hundreds of deaths of doctors, police personnel, paramedical staff, frontline workers etc. even though there being a threat to life, they are performing their duties religiously. The police personnel are on the streets doing their duty diligently in uniform. This Court does not rule out the possibility of one or two cases of such alleged atrocities, but there is a remedy available in law for filing a complaint under the Code of Criminal Procedure."

It was also noted that 41 Police personnel have lost their lives on account ofCOVID - 19 between April - 1 and May - 13. In the first wave of Pandemic, about 103 police officials succumbed to COVID - 19. Referring to the judgment in the case of State of Uttranchal V. Balwant Singh Chaufal (2010) 3 SCC 402)] the court held "A frivolous Public Interest Litigation containing unsubstantiated allegations deserves to be dismissed in order to preserve purity and sanctity of public interest litigations."

The court also deprecated the conduct of the petitioner who compared the incident of lathi charge over Lala Lajpat Rai. "The freedom struggle cannot be compared to the lockdown imposed due to COVID – 19 pandemic," it said.