The Calcutta High Court on Monday observed that constructive criticism of the State is an essential right of any citizen and it is a recognized right in any democracy.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said that the police are an independent branch and are supposed to function without any external influence.
It was the case of the petitioner – retired Inspector General of Police (IGP) — that he was provided with continuous security from 2011 till January 2023 after he retired from the service, but there was a sudden withdrawal of security. It was at the same time when the petitioner had been vocal in his criticisms of the current police establishment.
On April 3, the court sought report from the office of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, West Bengal with regard to the applicable rules, notification/circular followed for providing security to the retired DIGs and IGs in the state and produce.
The court had also asked for the reason of such sudden withdrawal of petitioner’s security.
The IGP, Presidency Range, West Bengal filed a report on April 6, which indicated that there are no guidelines for providing security to retired DIGs and IGs in the State. It was indicated in the report that security is granted by the police, on the basis of a persistent and accepted threat perception.
“The office of the DG reviews the threat perception to all retired senior officials every six months. In the last review, according to the Inspector General of Police, security to six senior officials has been withdrawn. The name of the said senior officials, though not mentioned in the report, has been read out by Mr. Garai, learned counsel for the State,” the court noted.
The court further observed that the said report submitted by the IGP does not deal with the petitioner’s application dated January 18, in which it was clearly mentioned that there is continued threat perception to the petitioner.
The court further observed, “The petitioner has not even been spoken with by the office of the I.G. This Court has always understood that the police are an independent branch and are supposed to be unified force and are expected to function without any external influence.”
The court directed the State to restore the security protection of the retired IGP, as an interim measure and listed the matter for hearing on May 16.
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