Bengaluru, Jan 28: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday directed the police to file charge sheet within 60 days in cases of atrocities.
He was addressing the State-Level Awareness and Monitoring Committee meeting in the conference hall of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. "In cases of atrocities, a charge sheet must be filed within 60 days. If anyone obtains a stay order from the court, it should be discussed with the Advocate General to have the stay order vacated," said the Chief Minister.
He said, "The conviction rate in caste-based atrocity cases has not exceeded 3 per cent for several decades. Citing this as a reason, I have empowered DCRE cells with police station authority. Still, how can the conviction rate not increase?"
The Chief Minister further instructed officials to focus on the quality of investigations in these cases.
Expressing dissatisfaction, Congress MLC Sudham Das questioned during the meeting why the conviction rate in atrocity cases remained low, whereas the conviction rate in counter-cases was higher.
He also pointed out that approval has been granted for only three special courts, while approval for 24 more special courts was still pending. He drew the Chief Minister's attention to this issue.
In response, the state's Chief Secretary, Shalini Rajneesh, stated that the matter would be seriously looked into, and efforts would be made to expedite the approval process for the remaining special courts.
The CM warned that if complaints were received that police are themselves filing counter-complaints in caste atrocity cases to weaken them, it would not be tolerated. "If such incidents come to our notice, strict action will be taken against those responsible," he said.
Addressing officers, CM Siddaramaiah further stated, "If accused individuals in caste-based atrocity cases are easily granted bail, it reflects your weakness. In such cases, preventing caste-based atrocities becomes impossible."
The CM expressed his anger and questioned officials, asking that in serious cases if accused individuals were easily granted bail, how many cases have been pursued in higher courts to cancel the bail and ensure conviction? He also sought details of such cases.
Ballari Congress MP E. Tukaram and Congress MLA P.M. Narendraswamy brought to the committee's attention that seniority lists in the police department were not followed, leading to injustice for the reserved categories. They stated, that even when complaints reached senior officers, the problems were not being resolved. "Why? ADGP Administration is not acting properly," they asked. Expressing his displeasure, the CM instructed the Chief Secretary to bring this issue to the next Cabinet meeting.
