MADURAI: Taking serious note of the allegations made against the police of misusing seized ganja to foist cases, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court raised queries to the State government and sought details of the number of cases registered, quantity of ganja seized, destroyed and preserved in the State over the past few years.
Seeking details of the cases registered for possession of more than 20 kg of ganja in the State in the last 10 years, Justice B Pugalendhi asked if registers are maintained in this regard. Citing a report submitted by the State government before the Supreme Court in 2016, he stated that about 6.5 lakh kg of ganja was seized over a period of 10 years, of which only 19,366.98 kg was destroyed, while the rest was available with the police as of 2016. Though a portion of it is said to have been destroyed in 2019, the quantities destroyed and presently available are not known, the judge pointed out.
Since the counsel appearing for the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau CID (NIB-CID) contended that they are unable to destroy seized contraband owing to a delay in obtaining permission from lower courts, further directions were given to the registry of the court to collect details from special courts on the number of such applications pending before them. The special courts were also told to furnish year-wise details of pending narcotics cases and a report on whether the seized contraband preserved by the courts are intact.
‘Provide tax exemptions judiciously’
Chennai: Dismissing a plea moved by a music instrument manufacturer seeking tax exemption for sale of Indian musical instruments, the Madras High Court said governments should provide tax exemptions judiciously and such exemptions should in no way benefit large profit-making organisations. Justice SM Subramaniam said: “Tax exemption is a concession. Thus, exemption... can never be claimed as a matter of right. Exemptions are to be granted strictly in consonance with the provisions of the law.”
Court tells State to reconstitute Police Commission
Madurai: Taking the various problems faced by police personnel into account, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the reconstitution of the Police Commission in the State to redress their grievances, and said a retired HC judge should head the commission instead of an IAS officer. The order was passed by a Division Bench, comprising Justices N Kirubakaran (now retired) and B Pugalendhi, on a PIL filed by a retired head constable A Masilamani of Karur last year. The Bench observed that the police were facing psychological and emotional problems leading not only to incidents of police excess but also suicide and desertion among police. “About 16 per cent of posts in the police force are vacant and the vacancy is about 15,819 in the cadre ranging from police constables to Special Sub Inspectors (SSIs),” the Bench noted. Hence, the government should fill the vacancies within six months, the judges added