HC asks Maha govt to submits details on police strength, vacancies

The Bombay High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Maharashtra government seeking details of the current strength and vacancies in the state police. A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar issued the notice while hearing a suo moto (court taking cognisance of the issue on its own) Public Interest Litigation (PIL) following a previous direction by the Supreme Court.

The bench said in March, while hearing a PIL on police reforms, the Supreme Court directed its registry to send records pertaining to vacancies in the police department in each state to the high court concerned. The apex court had directed all high courts to then take cognisance of the issue.

At the time, the Supreme Court was informed that the maximum number of vacancies in the police department existed in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It said several orders had been passed in the past, but it would be appropriate if the high courts in not just these six states, but all states across the country monitored the situation in their respective jurisdictions.

Accordingly, the bench led by Chief Justice Nandrajog took cognisance of the issue and directed the state government to place all relevant material on record before the court by September 16.