Police and professors

A CIVIL society guarantees the “fundamental right to life” for its citizens. Life in turn does not mean a mere existence or keeping alive. Unless life is free from unwarranted fear and apprehensions, and is lived honourable and with due human dignity, it does not fall under the definition of living a life. In such a civil society the public administration performs the function of a facilitator and acts as the custodian of law and order under the rules and regulations enacted and stipulated by society. This is why the administrators and governing hands are designated as “public servants” which in essence means servants of the people.

The police wing of the administration is vested with powers to maintain order in society by apprehending the offenders and bringing to book the perpetrators of crime, small and big. If, universally, law-abiding citizens go apprehensive and get afraid of police uniform, while criminals and offenders can befriend policemen, such a society becomes incapable of guaranteeing the “right to life” for its citizens in the true sense of the term, and loses its right to be characterised as a civil society.

Although one finds reckless aberrations of this fundamental tenet by the protectors of law in this country day in and day out, it is disgusting to see that our police, more often than not, acting under the weight of political subservience or out of power-fuelled partisan arrogance, crosses its rightful limits to harass and humiliate hapless citizens. These protectors of law and human dignity too often play into the hands of the powers that be to take on politically inconvenient personalities, howsoever socially high-placed they may otherwise be. The case here is of a dozen professors and senior academics of Punjabi University, Patiala, including their recently retired Vice-Chancellor. They have been harassed and humiliated for over two years in connection with some conjectured irregularities in the expenditure made with regard to the prestigious conference of the Indian Science Congress in 1995. Surprisingly, an FIR was registered to this effect in July, 1999, after the Vice-Chancellor went out of office.

The former Vice-Chancellor and professors, including a lady professor, had to seek the protection of the court against their arrest! As the police insisted on their police remand, the honourable court made these academics sit in the police station for five days from 10 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Surprisingly no questions were asked from these professors during this period, and at the end the police reported to the court that they were no more required. Consequently, the honourable court granted permanent bail to these law-abiding citizens.

The question that begs answer is: what had the police been doing for more than two years during the investigation? Why did they not put up any challan during this period if there was any prima facie case against these persons? What became so urgent that as soon as the Vice-Chancellor retired, they got super active? It is nobody’s case that if there is any violative action or a case of corruption, these persons should enjoy the protection of their status in society. Everyone is equal before the law. But is it the enforcement of the law or the practice in lawlessness? In the absence of lawful protection provided by the honourable court, could it be expected that the police would responsibly guarantee the right to honourable and dignified life for such respectable academics even? If not, what can be said of the common people of this democracy? Is this the democratically free society we brag about in independent India?

S. S. JOHL
former Vice-Chancellor,
Punjabi University, Patiala
Ludhiana

Ambala - Chandigarh road

This refers to the letter “Need for overbridge” published in The Tribune dated 11-8-99.

The problem of delay at the level crossing near Dera Bassi is faced by several thousand people daily who travel on the Ambala-Chandigarh road. The worst hit are the patients who have to be rushed to the P.G.I., Chandigarh, and those who have to attend to some urgent work in the High Court or the Secretariat.

In case there are chances of a long delay in the construction of an over-bridge on the level crossing near Dera Bassi due to the paucity of funds. I suggest that an under-bridge is the only solution.

There is a railway bridge just 100 metres away on the north side of the crossing. That can be easily used as an under-bridge. One plus point is that the height of the railway line at this place is just sufficient for light vehicles, even buses, to cross over. Another point is that very little water flows through this bridge and that too during the rainy season that can be diverted. What is needed is just a half kilometre road for connecting through an under-bridge.

This will not only help ease traffic but also prevent traffic jams on this highly busy road to some extent.

H.S. PAUL
Ambala City