Patiala: Chandigarh Administration has told Punjab and Haryana High Court that it is enforcing a ban on parading accused persons before the media, sanitising police lock-ups daily and digitising core policing operations across the Union Territory.Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Vinit Kumar submitted the compliance report through an affidavit in response to a contempt petition filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf. Counsel for UT Administration, advocate Rohit Kaushik, sought to place the report and speaking order on record and urged the court to dispose of the contempt proceedings. The case is scheduled for hearing on Oct 5-this year.The petition arose from a public interest litigation disposed of by High Court on May 20 this year. The court had allowed Saraf to submit a representation to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana and UT Administration regarding police functioning, service conditions and prisoner rights.Saraf submitted the representation on May 21. Senior UT police officers reviewed it before a detailed speaking order was issued on July 24.Police said Standing Order No. 77/2015 prohibited parading arrested persons before the press or exposing their uncovered faces, particularly when a Test Identification Parade was pending. Fresh directions reiterating strict compliance were issued on July 14 this year.Administration said lock-up rooms were cleaned and sanitised daily, with adequate lighting, ventilation, clean drinking water and separate toilets. Functional washrooms for women were available at all police establishments. Notice boards carrying details of Police Complaints Authority had been installed at police station gates, MHC rooms and public-dealing areas.Police records, FIRs, GD entries and case diaries had moved to the CCTNS platform. The department was also drafting a new Police Manual covering digital governance and social media norms, besides operating citizen platforms such as ‘e-Sathi’ and ‘e-Beatbook 2.0’.A proposal for an independent Indian Institute of Public Administration study of deployment patterns, manpower requirements and specialised investigation units was under consideration. Recruitment rules and service conditions for non-gazetted officers from assistant sub-inspectors to deputy superintendents of police were being aligned with the Central Civil Services framework under Union home ministry notifications.UT Administration maintained that it had complied with the court’s directions and that no grounds for contempt survived.
