CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday said it will not monitor the Crime Branch investigation or the judicial probe into the alleged harassment of an army officer and assault on his fiancée at Bharatpur police station on September 15.
Registering a suo motu PIL taking cognisance of a letter from Lieutenant General PS Shekhawat (General Officer Commanding & Colonel of Mechanical INF Regiment) on September 18, the bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho said, the court will confine itself to the facilities available in various police stations of the state.
The state government on Sunday night had announced a judicial enquiry to be conducted by retired Kolkata High Court judge Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash into the incident. The government had also requested the court to monitor the Crime Branch investigation.
While appointing senior advocate Gautam Mishra as amicus curiae in the matter, the bench of Chief Justice clarified, “We make it clear that unless it becomes compulsory for the court, it shall not enter into the investigation which is being conducted by the investigation agency and the judicial commission.”
The bench also issued directions restraining the print, electronic or social media from revealing the identities of the army officer and his fiancée for protecting their dignity.
The bench, however, expressed serious concern over the manner in which the couple was dealt with at the police station on the night of the incident. “What is disturbing, after having seen the sequence of events that admittedly two persons entered into the police station, apparently not to commit any crime but to lodge a complaint. What happened in the police station is a mystery and is being investigated. It is however, surprising that they came out with an FIR registered against one of them alleging offence of committing an attempt to murder,” the bench observed.
As the incident also concerns the prestige and dignity of an army officer, who was on leave, the court would like to know from government what steps it intended to take to protect the dignity of Armed Forces personnel, in such situations, the bench said.
HC seeks report on CCTV surveillance
Taking note of the absence of CCTV at the police station concerned despite Supreme Court orders, the bench directed additional DGP (modernisation) Dayal Gangwar to submit a status report regarding CCTV facilities in all the police stations in the state within two weeks and posted the matter to October 8 for further consideration.
The bench directed Gangwar to submit a report as to whether CCTV facilities available in the police stations are functioning or not and suggest a foolproof method to ensure proper functioning of the surveillance equipment.
The bench sought the report after advocate general Pitambar Acharya submitted that 593 of the 650 police stations in the state have been equipped with CCTV cameras, while the rest 57 do not have the facility due to shifting to new buildings. The Bharatpur police station was shifted to the new building in March this year, the AG pleaded.