CHENNAI: Two Chennai women cops have to forfeit their salaries for the period they served as station house officers (SHOs) of an All Women Police Station (AWPS) in the city for failing to execute the orders of the courts in connection with a domestic violence case.
Inspectors Dhanalakshmi and Selvi, who had served at the AWPS in Anna Nagar, were punished for their failure to arrest two accused persons in the domestic violence case despite orders from a trial court and the High Court.
Passing orders on a petition filed by the victim, K Parimala, of Nerkundram, seeking the court to direct the AWPS to execute the non-bailable warrants issued against her sister and the latter's husband, justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court directed the City Police Commissioner to recover the salaries.
“The two delinquent officers, being public servants and getting salaries from public money, did not perform their duty satisfactorily and failed to obey the order of this court, for which, there is no valid reason offered,” he said.
“Hence, according to this court, they are not entitled for the salary during their period as station house officer in the (AWPS) police station,” the judge stated.
He directed the City Police Commissioner to take departmental action against the two delinquent officials and recover their salary during the period they served in Anna Nagar AWPS and remit the amount to the Tamil Nadu government.
The judge asked the Commissioner to file an action taken report in February 2022.
Justice Velmurugan noted that he himself had directed the police, while dismissing the petitions of the two respondents who sought quashing of the proceedings of the AWPS, to execute the NBW issued by the trial court and file a compliance report but found nothing was done.
Parimala, the victim, lodged a complaint with the AWPS at Anna Nagar in 2013 accusing her husband Deejay Dayal, mother-in-law Geetha, sister-in-law Sabitha and Sabitha’s husband Srinath of harassing her and inflicting injuries.
The police filed an FIR and subsequently, a charge sheet was filed before the Additional Mahila Court, Egmore. Sabitha and Srinath had been avoiding an appearance before the court.
In the meantime, the court delivered a judgment acquitting Deejay Dayal and Geetha and issued NBWs against the other two. However, the police failed to take action.