Abolish orderly system in police within four months: Madras HC

CHENNAI: Observing that the Constitutional courts were the only institution to step in and protect the rights of the last-grade police personnel who suffer at the hands of their superior officers in the name of orderly system, the Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered the head of State police to abolish the system in the police department within four months.

Issuing the direction, Justice SM Subramaniam also directed the DGP to take disciplinary action against the officers who were using trained police personnel as orderlies for doing domestic work in their houses. “The orderlies, if deputed to the residence of the retired officials, should be withdrawn immediately as it amounts to an illegality and in violation of the law,” he said.

The judge pointed out that under the September 5, 1979, government order (GO), the orderly system was abolished. An alternate arrangement for appointment of last grade government servant would will have to be made in the places of orderlies at the scale admissible under the orders in force.

In a slew of directions, the judge added that the DGP should issue orders to his subordinate officials not to use black sun control films on vehicles and asked the police chief to ensure that no senior officer was occupying the police quarters illegally.

“The public servants are forced to perform private duties in the residences. The concept is opposed to public policy and directly in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, as it affects the dignity of the trained uniformed police personnel, whose public duty is to maintain the law and order, and guard our great Nation,” Justice Subramaniam lamented.

“If the human dignity ensured in Article 21 was infringed at the instance of the powerful, senior police officials, then the poor subordinate last-grade police personnel became voiceless and their life became miserable as they are forced to perform household works,” the court noted.

The judge also appreciated the DGP for filing a self-affidavit that stated “It is certified that none of the police personnel deployed on official duty like security, wireless operations, etc. at my residence are being employed in any other duty other than the official work assigned to them”, and ordered other officials to file similar affidavit.

The judge issued these directions while closing a case filed by U Manickavel, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police, who challenged a notice served to him in 2014 to vacate the house allotted by the government.