CHENNAI: Recording its strong objection to the existing practice of deploying personnel as ‘orderlies’ at the residences of working and retired senior police officers, the Madras High Court has directed the government not to waste the police force.
“Many police personnel, who have been recruited for doing police work, are deployed as servants in the houses of present higher officials as orderlies, thereby wasting the police force. Even retired higher police officials are said to be having many orderlies in their houses. The policemen are being paid from public exchequer and are supposed to do public service as police and not individual work in the houses of either the higher police officials or retired officials. If they want, the officials can appoint office assistants (OAs) or house maids for their domestic work or they could be sent through the Public Works Department and there should not be any policeman in the name of orderly,” Justice N Kirubakaran said.
The judge was passing further interim orders on Monday on a criminal original petition from a cop, praying for a direction to the police to complete the investigation in the case filed against his wife and her paramour.The judge issued a set of questions to the government and the top cops, which included whether the orderly system has been abolished after the passing of a GO in 1979. “If it has been abolished in 1979, how is the system still continuing? How many police persons are employed as orderlies in the residences of present officials and retired officials? Why does the government not appoint OAs/servant maids in the residences through PWD as done in the case of Ministers and High Court judges?” the judge said.
Bemoaning the undue delay in forming a panel, headed by a retired High Court judge, as directed by the High Court as early as in 2012, to look into the plight of police personnel, the judge issued another set of questions to the government. They included the following questions: How many persons were there, who “deserted” the police force and were dismissed from service for the past 10 years? How many had committed suicide or died during service? How many posts are vacant and what are the steps taken to fill them and when will the process be completed?
The judge directed the Home Secretary to give details by March 22 about the persons to be nominated as members of the committee or commission or panel to be constituted as suggested by this court in 2012.