Police personnel shouldn't work for more than 8 hrs at a stretch: HC

The Uttarakhand High Court today said police personnel must not work for more than eight hours at a stretch and those doing arduous duties should be paid extra salary, besides listing out various measures for improving the service conditions for the force.

Hearing a PIL seeking improvement in the working conditions for police personnel,division bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma asked the state government to ensure that the police personnel do not work for more than eight hours at a stretch and are paid at least 45 days' extra salary when doing arduous duties.

The PIL was filed by advocate Arun Bhadoria from Haridwar.

The court also ordered that there should be a housing scheme for the police personnel who should get at least three promotions during their career.

The court directed officials concerned to be "liberal" in granting leave tothe police force and due compensation to their families in the eventuality of the (police) personnel incurring injury or death.

Doctors and psychiatrists must be recruited specifically for the police force. The personnel should be medically examined every three months to assess their fitness, it said.

The court also ordered special selection boards for recruitment of police personnel, recreational facilities such as gyms and swimming pools at police stations and police housing colonies.

The traffic police should be provided masks and given sufficient breaks while discharging their duties in summers, and a rotation must be adapted for the officers manning police stations, it added.