HOW TO SUE THE POLICE

IT IS ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE TO SUE THE POLICE, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LAW.

Misconduct Or Illegal Action By The Police

The primary duty of police officials is to serve mankind, to prevent crime, to uphold and protect human rights and to investigate and detect and activate the prosecution of offences, to curb public disorder, to deal with major and minor crisis and help those who are in distress. But it is often seen that while discharging official duties, police officials do not undertake their responsibilities in a proper way and abuse their power for personal or official gain.

They break their social contract and indulge in various unscrupulous activities. Such illegal action or inappropriate action can be defined as police misconduct. These improper actions by police officials or use of excessive power than that is reasonably necessary lead to miscarriage of justice, discrimination and involve obstruction of justice. Though the goals and objectives of police are noble but they have been criticized and condemned for committing acts which are just contrary and this is because the powers given to them to fulfill their social responsibilities are capable of being abused by them to trample the constitutional rights of the community.

 Types Of Illegal Action

Misconduct Or Illegal Action By The Police

The primary duty of police officials is to serve mankind, to prevent crime, to uphold and protect human rights and to investigate and detect and activate the prosecution of offences, to curb public disorder, to deal with major and minor crisis and help those who are in distress. But it is often seen that while discharging official duties, police officials do not undertake their responsibilities in a proper way and abuse their power for personal or official gain.

They break their social contract and indulge in various unscrupulous activities. Such illegal action or inappropriate action can be defined as police misconduct. These improper actions by police officials or use of excessive power than that is reasonably necessary lead to miscarriage of justice, discrimination and involve obstruction of justice. Though the goals and objectives of police are noble but they have been criticized and condemned for committing acts which are just contrary and this is because the powers given to them to fulfill their social responsibilities are capable of being abused by them to trample the constitutional rights of the community.

 Types Of Illegal Action

A society always demands from police the highest standards of conduct particularly those of honesty, impartiality and integrity because of their professional responsibility. But abuse of powers by the police officials has become an open scenario in Indian society. Police misconduct or illegal actions can be of various types, some of them are briefly discussed below. Police misconduct includes:

• Illegal or false arrest or false imprisonment
• Falsification of evidence, falsifying a police report
• Committing perjury on the witness stand or witness tampering
• Police brutality
• Bribing and lobbying
• Unwarranted surveillance, searches and seizure of property

• Police Brutality

Police brutality is an example of violation of civil rights, where an officer misuses his power and tortures an individual with a force that is much higher than what is required. This has resulted in various custodial deaths, the record of which is still to be found and to be produced before law. The case of Nilabati Behra v/s State of Orissa & Ors. [(1993(2) SCC 746] is a glaring example of death caused by police brutality. In this particular case the state was held liable and was directed to pay compensation to the appellant. This brutal act of police was regarded as a gross violation of the rights enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Police brutality also includes negligence on the part of police officers. It is the duty of police to provide proper and reasonable care to every person in his custody immaterial of the fact that he is guilty or innocent. Unnecessary harassment to the person in custody or to any person in general is not accepted and is highly disregarded. Even the person in lock up should be dealt by the police in accordance with the power confirmed on it but not in any way they want. Police officials should refrain from taking action which are prohibited by law and does not fall part of it. In Saheli v/s Union of India [AIR 1990 SC 513], the Supreme Court of India awarded Rs. 75,000 as damages to the mother of the child who died as a result of police beating.

The Supreme Court in series of judgments held the state responsible for police misconduct or abuse of power. It was also held that the doctrine of sovereign immunity cannot be used as a tool for defense in public law, making pecuniary compensation as the golden remedy for violation of fundamental rights. The Supreme Court in Bhim Singh Versus State of J & K. [(1985) 4 SCC 677; AIR 1986 SC 494], directed the State Government to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 for illegal arrest and detention of Bhim Singh by the police in order to prevent him from attending the Assembly Session.

The brutality of police has to be investigated and reviewed properly. Sec 197 of CrPC which provides certain  immunities to the public servants from prosecution, for any misappropriate act done during the discharge of duty,  needs to be amended and few stringent laws need to be enacted to check this type of corruption in future. For a civilized society, the courts need to be vested with little more of judicial attention which give them the power to look into every complaint and bring the offenders of police brutality to justice. Strict instructions need to be given to police force that unnecessary use of power cannot save them from the eye of law.

Sec 197 of CrPC also gives power to the Government to interfere by way of giving approval or sanction in case a police official needs to be prosecuted for any criminal action. It is recommended to replace this section in order to reduce the endless abuse of the powers of the Government and to make it absolutely free from any influence.

RECENT CASE IN TAMILNADU 

The Federal has quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Jayaraj and his son Fennix were allegedly sodomised in police custody.

media reports have suggested that the duo was brutally sexually assaulted in police custody.

59-year-old P Jayaraj and his 31-year-old son J Bennicks were picked up for questioning by the Sathankulam police for keeping their mobile accessories shop open during the lockdown on June 19.

They were allegedly thrashed by the police while in custody, leading to their deaths.

Quoting friends and family, The Federal reported that when the father-son duo was released from jail, they were found profusely bleeding from their rectum.

“Between 7 am and 12 pm on June 20, the father and son had changed at least seven lungies (waistcloth) each as they had become wet due to blood oozing from their rectums,” the police inserts objects like iron rod in their rectum and bashed their bottom with that .

The Federal quoted a friend of Bennick's as saying.

The friend also said that the father-son duo came out of prison in a dishevelled state with torn and bloodied clothes.

He added that they complained of severe rectum pain and kept bleeding from their rectum. And they were dead .

Right now two cops have been suspended and few have been transferred

-- (this is not fair ) it's not the solution .

-- one rule for one person is for all ! Police are not superior to a common man , they are just public servants they just cant kill two people allegedly and walk out from it .

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes ( who will police the police ) 

Justice has to be served #justiceforjeyarajandfenix

Police Complaint Authority (PCA)

The Police Complaint Authority was created in 2006, After the SC directed all States to begin a reformation in their Police, After the Judgement in the Prakash Case, The SC of India given the directives for structural reform of the police, by establishing Police Complaints Authorities at the state and District level, with immediate effect. The Decision was to be Primarily due to increment in huge number of Complaints against the police and the lack of Accountability, as well as the intention behind setting up police complaints authorities was to make sure that a local mechanism expert in handling a wide scope of complaints against the police, including the most serious, was readily available to the public at large.

Complaints which can be filed with the Police Complaints Authority

The Authority shall investigate into accusations of “Serious Misconduct” against the police personnel, as detailed on a complaint received from any of the following:

1. A victim or any person on his/her behalf;
2. The National or the State Human Rights Commission;
3. The police; or
4. Any other source

By the word “Serious Misconduct”, it states the coverage of the offences;

1. Death in police custody;
2. Grievous hurt, as defined in section 320 0f the IPC,1860;
3. Rape or attempt to commit rape;
4. Arrest or detention without due process of law;
5. Extortion;
6. land/house grabbing; or
7. Any incident involving serious abuse of the authority.

The Authority may also investigate before referring to the complaint as filed, only after getting satisfied with the truth of the complaint.

How to File a Complaint with the Police Complaint Authority

• A Complaint can be filed in PCA, on your own and in an authority existed in your nearby area/district.
• The complaint can be filed by any other person who has witnessed any misconduct committed by the police.

To file a Complaint

First of all, you should make a contact to PCA and ask for a prescribed Format in which a person can submit the complaint. A person can send a complaint via Post, Fax or submit it in person.

Note: The complaint is needed to be filed or lodged as quickly as possible after the incident.

The Complaint should be in writing and must include:

• Name
• Address
• Contact Details

You need to describe the incident like;

• What Happened;
• When it Happened;
• Against whom you are complaining about, describing the name, address of the police station where the police official exists;
• What was said or done;
• Whether someone else was present at that time, who witnessed the incident when it was taking place and if any contact details you have of them.
• Describe the Loss or Damage incurred by you.

You can also attach any relevant documents which can make your complaint stronger, Documents Like:

• Photographs showing of the Incident, or
• Photographs of the Injuries or Damage incurred;
• Medical Report or any Certificate issued by doctor subjecting the nature of the injuries if any inflicted upon;
• Evidence of Station Diary.

Prior to the Submission of the complaint, always keep a copy of the complaint and the documents, and in case you have submitted it in person always take a receipt with a date stamped on it as a record, and if you submit your complaint by registered post, always keep a receipt of the same safe. As all these receipts and the copies will work as a proof to acknowledge that you have sent the application being sent by the authority.

Police brutality 

Police brutality is an offence which is a violation of civil rights of an individual. The brutality done by the police occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using more amount of force towards a civilian or public or an individual which is not necessary. Excessive force by law enforcement officers is a violation of a person’s rights. By excessive force, we understand that use of force exceeds the minimum amount of force required to apply to diffuse an incident or to protect oneself or anyone else from harm and injuries. It comes under police corruption which is a misconduct of the police officer in enforcing law and misses their power to suppress the local people.

The police  use of such tools as pepper spray, batons, and teasers, as well as hitting, choking, throwing a non-combatant civilian to the ground, and sexual abuse, inserting objects in the innocents rectum , torture and damage  inflicted on genetila ,chest hair ripped out,  the genetila and back side were ripped and mangled and beaten up naked till blood shreds,  are all examples of physical police brutality. It can be a physical as well as verbal abuse or racial profiling and false arrest.

Many countries have their laws for police brutality. It is considered as a severe offence but still, there are cases where the complaints of civilians or victim do not even reach to the investigation stage. It is very difficult to prove that the police are using excessive force or not. In defense, the civilian has started to record the videos of their interaction with the police officer and the same is done by the police officer in his or her defense.

How to report for police brutality?

There are many cases of police brutality but many of them are not reported for further investigation whereas many of the cases are registered where no investigation takes place. A civilian with a valid police brutality issue should file a complaint against a police officer.

The first step in this process is to visit the website of the police department where that particular officer is based, because each jurisdiction has its process for filing a complaint. Some of the websites provide a hotline number for complaints of police brutality. It may also be possible to report about the brutality by police in person by going to the police station which is within the jurisdiction. If the act is criminal then the criminal suit will be filled and if the act is of civil nature then it a civil suit will be filed.

After the complaint is filed then the department of Internal Affairs will investigate. The Internal Affairs department is established only to investigate the cases against law enforcement officials. An officer can generally only be disciplined or fired for his behavior as if a complaint has been filed against him, and even if he is not disciplined or terminated, the complaint typically remains on his permanent record. If a civilian is not satisfied then the police officer can be sued in criminal court or civil court.

Conclusion

In the end, it states that no one is above the law, and all the citizens are equal under the eyes of the law.

And whenever people face such kind of Atrocities they should always keep in mind that there is a need to have a self-awareness of the laws as the remedies provided to them or whenever facing such kind of situations always consult a Lawyer,

Apart from all of this, there is also a provision under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to file a writ petition in the High Court,

The Court here issued the guidelines, as needed to be recorded to create a level of transparency in their work while addressing the same whenever, there is state of conflict founded and by abiding through Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Police Act which explicitly states that every activity related to investigation and as well as the other activities should have a written record in the police diary or general station diary.

By abiding through the Guidelines here the Police Officials not only create a level of transparency as well as it will create a faith on the Police Authorities as well as it will deplete the amount of time which is given by the court, to entertain such kind of cases which are just being created because of misconducts on the behalf of a Police Personnel, as well it will give opportunity to the court to address more cases which require much more important time of the court.

Police officers are given a great deal of latitude in performing their duties. Because they are expected to protect the public and confront potentially violent individuals, they can legally use physical, and even deadly force under certain circumstances. However, an officer who uses force when it is not called for, or who uses more force than expected to perform his or her job, may cross the line into police brutality. In these kinds of instances, people often sue for the excessive police force. A police officer must protect their citizens and should not brutality beat them.