Krishna Chaithanya 30 March 2020
G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.) 30 March 2020
A citizen who steps out during a lockdown situation is violating the laws, and the police are empowered to use mild force to disburse the mob in their duty to implement the law.
SIVARAMAPRASAD KAPPAGANTU (Retired Manager) 30 March 2020
shaikh shoaib 30 March 2020
P. Venu (Advocate) 30 March 2020
There is no such power vested with the Police except to deal with violence or situation of emergent violence or in self defence. In fact, police is not vested with any authority to punish, but only to maintainlaw and order and to investigate crime.
SIVARAMAPRASAD KAPPAGANTU (Retired Manager) 30 March 2020
Rama chary Rachakonda (Secunderabad/Telangana state Highcourt practice watsapp no.9989324294 ) 30 March 2020
Recently, many states in India have invoked various provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 to control communicable diseases. In this context, the Act was reviewed with reference to its relevance in the current context of surveillance and other relevant Acts and legislations at the national and international levels. It is felt that the Act has major limitations in the current scenario as it is outdated, merely regulatory and not rights-based, and lacks a focus on the people. There is a need for an integrated, comprehensive, actionable and relevant legal provision for the control of outbreaks in India.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 30 March 2020
There have been several reports of police highhandedness – beating with lathis and resorting to public humiliation to enforce the lockdown – not only against common people but also those associated with essential services. Incidents of such misbehaviour have been reported from across the country, indicating that they reflect a problem with the fundamental character of the police in India and are neither isolated nor region-specific.
Against the backdrop of such incidents, the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was obliged to assure people, “Have requested police officials to allow anyone who is seen delivering essential commodities despite not having a pass or ID.” Ignorance of law is so rampant that, Telangana chief minister, K. C. Rao threatened people with shoot-at-sight orders.
Little does he know that this is plainly illegal as, in the celebrated judgment in the case of Jayantilal Mohanlal Patel v. Eric Renison And Anr., it has been held that police have no authority to shoot at anyone for a mere breach of the curfew order.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 30 March 2020
The government has not given any clear direction to the cops as to how they have to regulate the movement of the people and determine their purpose of movement. If someone is stopped with a bag of groceries or vegetables, it can be presumed that he went to purchase them – what proof of purpose for his ‘outing’ could he furnish if he were stopped while going for purchasing?
When questioned, police officers have a standard excuse that the presence of limited manpower means a strain on those performing their duty. This is a clichéd argument. All over the world, agencies of the state have to manage with the resources available. No nation can afford to recruit half of its population in the police to serve the other half. The stress of work is no excuse for committing atrocities.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 30 March 2020
The habit of cops to swing their lathis first and ask questions later is a reflection of some systemic problems. Is this overenthusiasm? No, it is plain and simple abuse of authority. Those who do not know the police intimately, think that to the Indian police, every situation can be solved with a bit of violence. No, it is not a belief system; abusing power has been their socio-historical as well as a psychological prime mover. When it comes to abusing power, cops do not think—they behave like zombies!
Charging the public with lathi by police is an illegal act especially under the given situatuion and when they are not given any such instructions by government