Judge urges police not to bring Deepavali gifts

A district choose in Thoothukudi has written to the police, urging personnel to keep away from bringing Deepavali gifts for courtroom employees, contending that it quantities to bribery. Principal district choose N. Logeswaran wrote to the Superintendent of Police, with copies marked to all Deputy Superintendents of Police within the district, saying he had come to know of a customized of police personnel gifting crackers, sweets and different objects to courtroom employees.

“I am of the view that the above mentioned act amounts to a kind of bribery, which is clearly an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Hence, I request you to kindly instruct all police personnel in Thoothukudi district not to give any type of gifts to the court staff,” he mentioned.

Some years in the past, when he was in service, Justice K. Chandru of the Madras High Court had dissuaded folks from assembly him throughout festivals and New Year by placing up a board exterior his official residence.

Distribution of sweets/crackers/gifts to authorities officers is taken into account customary forward of Deepavali. Some officers in income-generating departments, like Registration, Road Transport, and many others., even face allegations of gathering mamool or money gifts from clients.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has been conducting a collection of searches in authorities places of work throughout the State since October 1. At least ₹4.5 crore in money and an enormous amount of gold and silver ornaments have been seized through the joint shock checks, performed together with District Inspection Cell authorities.

Incidentally, the police in Thoothukudi had come underneath a cloud after the custodial deaths of merchants P. Jayaraj and his son J. Bennicks in Sattankulam police station limits a number of months in the past. While the then Superintendent of Police was shifted out, the Inspector, two Sub-Inspectors of Police and others have been arrested on expenses of homicide.

The Judicial Magistrate who performed the judicial enquiry additionally placed on file the high-handedness of the Sattankulam police when he went there to conduct enquiries. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which took over the case from the State police, filed a chargesheet towards the police, accusing them of torturing the father-son duo within the Sattankulam police station on the evening of June 19, 2020.