Sorabjee moves SC, seeks better training for cops

NEW DELHI: Overwhelmed by the audacious terror strike in the heart of Mumbai, former attorney general Soli J Sorabjee gave vent to the public angst by moving the Supreme Court with a PIL for a direction to the Centre to equip and train the police making them capable of tackling terrorists and creating an atmosphere where citizens’ right to life is protected. It is rare that a former law officer moves the court with a PIL. It is still rarer for a former AG to take recourse to a public interest litigation and that too when the government and opposition have struck a rare unanimity in tackling terror with an iron hand. But, Mumbaikar Sorabjee has a point to make. How could the terrorists have infiltrated into Mumbai so easily? “This discloses several deficiencies and lapses in existing systems and counter-terrorism measures and also in the manner in which they were implemented,” he said. His PIL is not for pointing a finger or accusing any individual, political party or even the system. He clarified: “The purpose of the PIL is not to blame or censure any person, party or organisation but to compel the Centre and the states to adopt and undertake measures which may prevent recurrence of Mumbai-like terrorist incidents or in any event enable the police and security forces to better counter and combat terrorist activities and thereby save loss of, or injury to, human lives and destruction of properties.” Terming `right to life’ as the heart and soul of all fundamental rights enjoyed by a person, the former AG said: “It is apparent that the current level of training as well as the weaponry possessed by the police is antiquated and unable to cope with the arms and technology employed by the terrorists and other anti-national elements.” There was a crying need for filling in all these lacunae, he pleaded. Giving details of major terror strikes in India since the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai culminating in 26/11, Sorabjee said the series of terrorist acts amounted to virtual waging of war on the sovereignty and integrity of the country needing urgent centralisation of intelligence and its proper and timely sharing. Suggesting the setting up of anti-terror units in every police district or in every major urban conglomerate, the former AG said the duty hours of policemen needed to be streamlined so as not to overstretch them to exhaustion levels, which tells upon their efficiency level. Finally, he suggested appointment of an expert committee for supervising the implementation of the anti-terror machinery and mechanism put in place by the governments.

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