HC questions Delhi govt on increasing delays in testing forensic samples

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the AAP government as to why it was not able to abide by its assurance given last November that pendency of viscera and blood samples for testing in forensic labs would go down.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that an affidavit filed by the Delhi State Legal Services Authority indicated that the pendency has increased. It asked the Directors of the two forensic science labs (FSL) in the city to file an affidavit indicating the reasons for the rise.

The court also sought a status report from the Delhi government on why it could not abide by its statement made in November last year that the pendency would come down to zero.

The court was hearing a PIL initiated by it in 2012 after the infamous December 16, 2012 gang rape of a young woman in a moving bus. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.

It was also hearing another PIL by social activist Ajay Gautam alleging that there have been several deaths inside police stations in the city this year and the presence of functional CCTVs could act as a deterrent.

In both the matters, the court has been from time to time issuing directions with regard to increasing the number of police officers in the city, installation of CCTV cameras in police stations as well as vulnerable or crime prone areas, reducing delay in testing of samples in FSLs and ensuring speedy disbursal of compensation to victims of sexual assault.

Regarding the issue of recruiting more police personnel, Delhi Police told the court that of the 4,227 posts sanctioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2016, only 705 are to be filled.

It said that all tests for the 705 posts have been conducted and the tentative date of joining would be in November.

Apart from that, of the 3,139 additional posts sanctioned by MHA in July this year, 42 have been filled by promotions and process for filling up 1,198 has been initiated.

The remaining 1,757 posts would be advertised soon, police told the court which directed that immediate steps be taken for initiating recruitment.

The bench also directed the police to file a chart indicating number of posts, the process initiated for recruitment and the stage at which it was.

On installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in vulnerable areas in the city, Delhi government senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra suggested that the Chief Secretary be asked to hold a meeting with the Police Commissioner and PWD department to work out an action plan.

Noting the suggestion, the bench asked the Chief Secretary to consider holding such a meeting and listed the matter for further hearing on December 13.

Mehra also told the court that CCTV cameras would be installed in all police stations and chowkis in the city by mid-December instead of the earlier deadline of mid-October.