Madras High Court mulls dedicated police wing to take action on offences reported in newspapers

The Madras High Court on Friday registered a suo motu case to consider the question of whether law enforcement authorities should create a dedicated wing to take action against offences reported in newspapers, or on social media and the visual media, without waiting for a formal complaint, reported Bar and Bench.

The court took cognizance of a report in the New Indian Express where no action was taken against a Tamil Nadu policeman for demanding sex from a woman despite the existence of a viral video of the incident. The bench consisted of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi.

Justice Kirubakaran said, “No woman will be safe in our country if the police behave like that! Social media is the right media, it should be treated like a complaint. You don't wait for a complaint.”

According to Bar and Bench, the judge further pointed out that when any comment is made against a higher up, even it is a Facebook comment, "you [police] arrest immediately."

“You cannot expect everybody and everything to give you a complaint. It is appearing in social media, the newspapers. You don't have to wait for a complaint. There should be a separate wing, to bring it to the notice of concerned authorities," the court emphasised.

The court added that the existence of a dedicated wing would also allow people to regain confidence in the system, Bar and Bench reported, as authorities could be promptly informed of widely reported offences without pushing the parties to file a complaint or come to the court for relief.

The matter has been posted for further consideration next week.