MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday sought a response from the Director General of Police (DGP) on a petition filed by a police head constable seeking a direction to implement a G.O. that provides one day of compulsory weekly off to sub-inspectors, head constables, and constables in the department.
The petitioner, M Senthil Kumar, head constable of Austinpatti police station in Madurai, submitted that the Chief Minister issued a G.O. on November 3, 2021, sanctioning one day weekly off to police personnel up to the rank of head constable to enable them to take care of their health and spend time with their family.
Following this, the DGP made necessary amendments to the police standing orders on November 12, 2021, and circulated the same to all police stations in the state. A similar G.O. was passed in August 2022, extending the same benefit to special sub-inspectors and sub-inspectors, he added.
However, the said G.O.s have not come into force till now, he alleged. Due to this, police personnel are working without rest and are unable to spend time with their family or attend family events, adding that this affects them both physically and mentally. If police personnel demand weekly off as a matter of right, they might face punishment from their superiors, he further alleged and sought the above direction.
When Justice Battu Devanand heard the matter, the government counsel contended that the petitioner had moved the plea to seek publicity. However, the judge refused to accept the same and questioned if the authorities were ignoring the orders. He directed DGP to file a response and adjourned the case to Wednesday.