Uttarakhand govt abolishes Revenue Police system after Ankita Bhandari homicide case

In a significant growth following the Ankita Bhandari homicide case, the Uttarakhand State Cabinet on Wednesday authorised the proposal to finish the Revenue Police system prevalent in a number of districts within the state and change it with the common police as an alternative. This determination was conveyed to the Supreme Court throughout a listening to on the matter.

Deputy Advocate General State of Uttarakhand Jatinder Kumar Sethi knowledgeable the Supreme Court that the State Cabinet in its assembly held on October 12, 2022, determined to carry these areas underneath the jurisdiction of standard police which which can be presently being policed by the income police.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami authorities’s determination conforms to a High Court order in 2018, which had requested the govt. to interchange the income police with common police for prison instances. The state authorities filed an affidavit within the Supreme Court informing in regards to the determination to implement the High Court order. Earlier, the state govt had approached the Supreme Court difficult the High Court order, however now they’ve determined to take a U-turn after the intense flaws within the current system had been uncovered by the Ankita Bhandari homicide case. A separate plea was additionally filed with the apex court docket urging to direct the state govt to reform the policing system within the state.

After the affidavit of the Uttarakhand govt, the Supreme Court stopped listening to the case. A bench of CJI UU Lalit and justice Bela M Trivedi stated that the govt. has knowledgeable it in regards to the determination taken in a cabinet assembly on twelfth October, the place the cabinet determined to observe the Nainital High Court order to abolish the income police system. Therefore, there isn’t any want for the apex court docket to get entangled within the matter now. With this, the court docket dismissed all petitions filed in relation to the income police system in Uttarakhand.

However, the change will probably be carried out in levels, not in a single go. The Uttrakhand Government instructed that within the first section, all heinous crimes together with crimes towards ladies, kidnapping, cyber-crime, POCSO and many others shall be handed over to the Regular Police by the District Magistrates instantly and State Administration shall put together an in depth blueprint for remaining areas and put together the required proposal for up gradation of Cadre Strength of the present police, crucial Infrastructure for Police Stations and outposts and many others together with price implications and technique of financing. All these will probably be put up for determination of the State Cabinet after six months.

“In the interim, the District Magistrates shall continue to keep a close watch on crime reported in their respective districts and each case will be assessed for the necessity of handling by regular police and decisions taken accordingly by the District Magistrate on a case to case basis,” the state govt stated within the court docket.

Accepting the state govt’s affidavit and dismissing the instances, the bench stated, “though the issues raised in the Special Leave Petition do call for authoritative pronouncement, in view of the decision taken by the State Cabinet in its meeting on October 12, principally accepting the decision of the High Court and taking appropriate steps to implement said directions, we see no reason to interfere with the present petition. The Special Leave petition is therefore disposed of leaving all questions of law open.” 

After the transition is full, within the districts the place the 161-year-old Patwari police system was in place, prison instances will probably be dealt with and investigated by common police. The state govt is within the technique of opening new police stations in these locations.

The income police system is in place in round 7500 income villages within the state, and within the first section round 1500 villages will probably be introduced underneath common police. The state authorities goals to finish the transition to common police within the subsequent two to 3 years.

The questions on the Patwari police system had come up once more within the backdrop of the Ankita Bhandari homicide case, because the native Patwari police’s motion had come underneath intense scrutiny following the case. It was discovered that the income police within the Ankita Bhandari homicide case didn’t register a criticism in time and likewise favoured the accused resort proprietor Pulkit Arya. Ankita Bhandari was murdered on September 18 nonetheless, no criticism was registered by the native Patwari even after informing in regards to the sufferer’s disappearance.

Instead of registering the case after it was reported that Ankita had gone lacking, Patwari Vaibhav Pratap had chosen to be silent after which went on go away. Three accused within the case had been arrested solely after the case was registered and transferred to the common police on September 22. The common police charged the Vanantra resort proprietor Pulkit Arya and two others underneath the related sections of the IPC for murdering Bhandari, who labored on the resort. Patwari Pratap was suspended and ultimately arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for carelessness and siding with the accused.

The Revenue Police system

The income police system was launched by the British over a century in the past when crimes had been low within the mountainous districts. The purpose was to preserve cash and sources by not deploying the common police within the space. British Indian authorities had regularised this method underneath the Scheduled Districts Act handed in 1874. Under this legislation, the patwari was given the facility of a station officer of police. The system was continued even after independence, because the crime charges in these areas had been nonetheless low and the present income police system was working fantastic.

Civil officers of the income division have the powers and tasks of extraordinary cops underneath the distinctive income police system. According to this method, each time against the law happens within the area, the income police register an FIR, examine the matter, arrest the offender, and file a cost sheet within the native court docket.

While income officers carry out police duties underneath this method, they aren’t given weapons. This has earned them the nickname ‘Gandhi Police’.

However, the case is transferred to regular police in instances of grave crimes reminiscent of homicide, rape, or offences towards Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The process may take days and even months because the income police first ahead the knowledge to the district Superintendent of Police (SP), who then transfers the case to a traditional police station. Often, the delay causes very important proof to fade or undermines the case in different methods. Moreover, because the income officers are usually not skilled to carry out police duties, they usually have the tasks of the income division additionally, investigations by them get delayed.

Although Uttarakhand has an everyday police power, its authority doesn’t prolong to sure mountainous areas. Currently, the income police jurisdiction spans greater than 50% of the state’s land space and round 25% of its inhabitants. This system is exclusive to Uttarakhand, in different states, the duties of income officers embrace sustaining information of land, cultivation and land income, and amassing revenues. They are additionally deployed for census and election duties, however they don’t carry out policing duties in different states.

High Court’s 2018 determination

Earlier within the yr 2018, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered the state authorities to cast off the century-old observe of the income police system. “…more than a century old practice of revenue police system… in many parts of the state of Uttarakhand is ordered to be abolished within six months”, the order by the court docket learn whereas listening to a case of a lady’s alleged killing by her in-laws for dowry in 2011 in Tehri Garhwal district.

Justices Rajiv Sharma and Alok Singh had stated that the income police are usually not certified to research critical offences nor do they know in regards to the legal guidelines associated to crime like IPC and CrPC. The High Court had dominated that in such a scenario, the possibilities of getting justice for the sufferer’s household grow to be very much less. It had requested the state to abolish the income police system inside six months. However, the assertion authorities had approached the Supreme Court towards this order. But the Supreme Court neither stayed the High Court order nor requested the state govt to implement it, and due to this fact the present system continued. There was no listening to within the case since 2019, however issues began to maneuver within the apex court docket after the Ankita Bhandari homicide, as a plea was filed asking the court docket to abolish the outdated system.

However, now the Uttarakhand Government has modified its place, and the state cabinet authorised the plan to interchange the state’s income police system with common police. This will probably be carried out in levels. The territory of present police stations and outposts will probably be expanded within the first section.

In addition, approval has been given for six extra police stations and 20 police outposts in places the place vacationer and industrial actions are rising. After this, the duties of the income officers will probably be restricted to land-related issues solely, like different states.