SC summons chief secretaries of four states on police reforms

Irked over lack of positive response from certain states on the implementation of its directions on police reforms, the Supreme Court Tuesday asked the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to appear before it to explain their inaction.

Taking note that these states did not furnish the information as sought by it, a bench of Justice G.S.Singhvi and Justice V. Gopala Gowda observed that the "manner in which they have filed the affidavit leaves much to be desired".

The court said that the chief secretaries would assist their state counsel with detailed information regarding the implementation of police reforms as directed by it (apex court).

The standing counsel of these four states would personally contact the chief secretaries concerned and inform them of the court's direction to appear before it, the court said.

The court said that it had to take this course as all its earlier efforts did not produce desired results.

"The summoning of the chief secretaries affects the working of state administration but we have been compelled to do it. We are concerned with the implementation of the directions" to reform the working of police force across the country.

The apex court order came in the course of the hearing of a matter arising from its taking suo motu cognizance of the newspaper reports of two incidents of police excesses involving the beating of a women by police in Taran Taran district of Punjab and the police charge on agitating teachers outside Bihar assembly in Patna. The incidents relates to March 5-6.

The apex court had earlier directed the chief secretaries of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa to file affidavits on the compliance of direction for setting up of the State Security Commission, as directed by the apex court in its 2006 directions on police reforms.