Mumbai, Jul 3 Police act cooperative before courts but then behave like lords in police stations, the Bombay High Court said on Friday while refusing to recall an earlier order imposing cost on a police officer for failing to provide copies of complaints to the accused despite repeated requests.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed an application filed by the state government requesting the court to recall its June order imposing cost of Rs 25,000 on the Station House Officer (SHO) of Wada police station in Palghar.
Additional public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh submitted that the officer against whom the cost was imposed was not responsible for withholding the complaint copies and that another officer had failed to provide them.
The court, however, rejected the explanation and remarked about the contrast between the conduct of police officers in court and at police stations.
"Here in court, your officers show they are very cooperative. Outside in the police station, they are lords," HC said.
"We do not find any error in our order," the court said while dismissing the state's application.
In its June order, the same bench had expressed displeasure with police authorities for not providing copies of complaint or FIR to the accused persons, which is legally mandated.
The court was then hearing a petition filed by few persons against whom an FIR was registered at Wada police station. They claimed they appeared before the police and sought copies of the FIR but these were not provided by the Station House Officer.
The bench had in its order noted that it has come across several such petitions where persons against whom cases are lodged are compelled to approach court as the police authorities refuse to provide them with complaint or FIR copies.
