Edifice of law broken, it is police raj in state: Karnataka High Court

Source: deccanchronicle.com

BENGALURU: The edifice of law has broken and it is police raj in the state, the Karnataka High Court orally observed while hearing a case on Wednesday.

The court took state police to task for the manner in which it has been functioning and added that it sends chills down the spines of people.

The single judge bench was hearing a petition filed by Jaikanth, admin of Troll Maga Facebook page, who is accused of damaging the reputation of members of the former prime minister Deve Gowda family on social media for a period of two months.

The accused had obtained an anticipatory bail in the case along with certain conditions from the lower court. However, according to the accused, instead of complying with the lower court directions, the police registered another case with similar charges against him and was illegally taken into custody by the police.
Subsequently, Jaikanth approached the High Court wherein he has sought for quashing of cases registered against him.

“When the lower court had granted anticipatory bail to the accused, what was the hurry in arresting the accused by registering another case on similar charges,” Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar remarked.

Advocate General Udaya Holla, who argued on behalf of the state submitted that the seriousness of the second case needs to be looked into it in detail, but whereas the personal liberty of the person is concerned, the state assures that it shall never hamper it at any cost. “The state government shall never go against the law,” Holla argued.

After hearing the advocate general and the advocate for the petitioner accused, the court ordered to release the petitioner forthwith and also stayed all further proceedings against him until further orders. The court has adjourned the matter.

Noise pollution
The High Court has sought to know on what action it has taken pertaining to controlling the noise pollution and identifying the silent zones according to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.

The court was hearing the PIL filed by the Defence Colony Residents’ Association and others against the mushrooming of pubs in Indiranagar.

The court also sought to know if there is any grievance redressal mechanism for citizens to register noise pollution related complaints, and further sought to know if there is any facility to not ensure confidentiality of the complainant’s identity, address and telephone number.

The court also sought to know on what action the police would take to address the said complaints immediately.

The police also submitted an affidavit in a closed envelope detailing the surprise visits it carried out to investigate the noise levels in the pubs and also detailing the action the police had taken to address the complaints/representations of the petitioners.

The court has asked the authorities to ensure that noise measurement equipment is available at all police stations in the state.