Amid the lockdown imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of instances of police brutalities has increased. Many videos have gone viral on social media and many incidents have been reported in the media where the police authorities have allegedly manhandled citizens for violating the lockdown norms.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court (HC) by advocate Firdause Irani who is a resident of Goregaon in Mumbai. The petition seeks directions against the police authorities in view of the alleged ‘police brutality’ amid the imposition of lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
According to media reports, the petition also seeks urgent intervention of the court and demands implementation of necessary measures to address the complaints of Mumbai residents against alleged police brutality.
While hearing the PIL via video conferencing, the Bombay HC has asked the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police to respond to the PIL which also seeks details of action taken against ‘guilty’ police officers.
The petition was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice N J Jamadar. Irani has claimed that the petition has been filed in the larger interest of the public as he was concerned about the lack of security and safety of the citizens amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Jyoti Chavan - the Assistant Government Pleader - objected to the petition alleging police brutality and said that these incidents have happened once. The police authorities are performing their duties as per the law, she said in their defence.
The division bench of the Bombay HC granted the Maharashtra government time to respond to the petition and gave July 3 as the next date of hearing on the matter.
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