Kriti Agrawal –
The single-Judge bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh sought an apology from a person accused of insulting police officers on duty to check for covid protocol violations. The offender was also ordered to pay Rs 10,000 in compensation by the Court.
The bench stated, “In the opinion of this Court, the Police are already under severe stress as a result of the pandemic situation. Nobody has the right to abuse or threaten the police, and such acts must be dealt with harshly. This Court will not be indulgent when it comes to intimidating the Police when they are conducting their duties during this pandemic.”
The court, however, granted the petitioner-accused protection from arrest until the next date of hearing in the matter on June 14.
The incident occurred while the petitioner and four other defendants were traveling in an auto-rickshaw in violation of the covid-19 protocols. When they were pulled over by the police, they yelled insults at them and hindered them from carrying out their duties.
On directions, S Ravi, Additional Public Prosecutor, appeared for the Police and stated that three of the accused were detained and remanded to judicial custody, while two others fled.
The order passed stated that the police are merely fulfilling their public duty, and when someone who is moving around during a total lockdown is questioned by the police, the concerned individual is obligated to reply appropriately.
The court emphasized that police officers cannot be harassed or threatened simply for carrying out their duties.
The order ruled out that, “The petitioner is directed to file an affidavit with the Registry expressing his contrition for the entire affair and promising not to engage in any such conduct in the future. Aside from that, the petitioner shall be required to pay some monetary compensation.”