Avoid providing police security to private individuals: Madras High Court

Madras High Court directs Tamil Nadu government to limit police security for private individuals, prioritize public duties.

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government and the Director General of Police to avoid providing police security to private individuals unless there were compelling reasons. It has ordered periodic review of the threat perception in order to withdraw as many police personnel as possible.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and M. Jothiraman said, the police personnel, paid from the public exchequer, must be utilised to the optimum for performance of public duties than being deployed for security of private individuals who more often than not misuse the uniformed personnel for personal work.

Observing that deployment of police personnel for the security of private individuals happens either because of extraneous considerations or in compliance of court orders, the Bench advised the State, police department as well as the public prosecutors to effectively oppose passing of such orders in undeserving cases.

“Even for a police constable, a decent salary and other facilities are provided at the cost of the taxpayers’ money. Therefore, their services ought to be utilised only for public purposes, such as enhancing public safety and security and not to provide security to private persons,” the Division Bench wrote.