E-Paper
Madras HC raps police over conduct in court
After a police personnel allegedly appeared drunk before a district court in Tamil Nadu to depose as a witness, the Madras High Court has directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to issue a circular mandating that police personnel attending courts wear proper uniforms and maintain “absolute integrity, discipline and devotion to duty
After a police personnel allegedly appeared drunk before a district court in Tamil Nadu to depose as a witness, the Madras High Court has directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to issue a circular mandating that police personnel attending courts wear proper uniforms and maintain “absolute integrity, discipline and devotion to duty.”
In a judgment delivered on July 14, a division bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and N Senthilkumar also said that if any police personnel, medical officer or other government official appears before a court in a disorderly manner, the judicial officer concerned must report the conduct to the competent authority for initiation of disciplinary proceedings.
“Such indifferent attitude of attending Court in a drunken state has to be viewed seriously. Departmental action is purely based on preponderance of probability and his act had totally degraded the image of police force in the Court hall and it has to be curbed, otherwise, the misconduct committed by the respondent will ruin the entire police force,” the court said.
The directions came while hearing an appeal filed by police constable V Arumugam, who challenged the disciplinary action taken against him for his conduct while appearing as an official witness before a judicial magistrate.
According to the court, Arumugam, then serving as a special sub-inspector of police, appeared as a prosecution witness in 2014 before a judicial magistrate in a criminal case investigated by him. During his deposition, the magistrate noticed “signs of intoxication”, including the “smell of alcohol, incoherent speech, and shouting”, and directed that he undergo a medical examination.
The medical officer found that his breath smelled of alcohol and issued a “drunkenness certificate”. Following disciplinary proceedings, Arumugam was initially awarded compulsory retirement. The punishment was later modified, allowing him to resume duty, but with stoppage of annual increments for three years.
Arumugam challenged the disciplinary proceedings and the penalty before the High Court. In 2020, a single judge set aside the disciplinary action. The state subsequently appealed the order.
Allowing the appeal, the division bench set aside the single judge’s order and upheld the disciplinary action.
The bench held that Arumugam’s conduct amounted to serious misconduct that undermined the dignity of the court and the image of the police force.
It observed that departmental proceedings are decided on the principle of the preponderance of probabilities and that misconduct by official witnesses inside a courtroom cannot be tolerated.
The court also said judicial officers are duty-bound to report any indiscipline, misconduct or unusual behaviour by official witnesses to the competent authority for appropriate disciplinary action.
Laying down broader directions, the bench said official witnesses, particularly police personnel, are duty-bound to maintain decorum and discipline while deposing before courts and to give truthful evidence.
“Any misconduct committed inside a court hall cannot, under any circumstances, be tolerated,” the High Court said.
The bench directed the DGP to issue the circular within four weeks. It also directed the Madras High Court Registry to circulate the DGP’s instructions to all courts in Tamil Nadu to ensure uniform compliance with the standards laid down in the judgment.
