The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the state government to abolish the revenue police system within a year, transferring all areas under its jurisdiction to the regular police. This decision aims to standardize policing and improve law enforcement effectiveness across the state.
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Nainital: Recently, The Uttarakhand High Court has issued a significant directive to the state government, mandating the complete abolition of the revenue police system within a year. The court has also instructed the state to transfer all areas under the jurisdiction of the revenue police to the regular police force. This landmark decision aims to bring uniformity in policing across the state and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement.
Background:
Uttarakhand stands as the only state in India where the revenue police system operates alongside the regular police force. The revenue police, staffed by officials from the revenue department, holds limited powers and primarily oversees remote rural areas in the hilly regions of the state. This dual policing system has often been criticized for its inefficiency and lack of proper training and resources.
The division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Thapliyal, issued the directive on Tuesday while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the abolition of the revenue police system. This PIL highlighted the shortcomings and inefficacies of the revenue police, urging the court to bring about a change.
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This isn’t the first time the high court has called for the removal of the nearly century-old revenue police practice. In 2018, during the hearing of a dowry death case that was mishandled by the revenue police, the court had ordered the abolition of this system. Despite these orders, the revenue police system continued to persist.
Again, in 2022, a division bench of the high court, consisting of the then Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice RC Khulbe, passed similar orders. This was during the hearing of a PIL which argued that the investigation into the murder of resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari would have progressed more swiftly had it been handled by the regular police from the outset, rather than by the revenue police.
The PIL asserted-
“If the government had complied with this order, the investigation into Ankita’s murder would not have faced such significant delays.”
Following the court’s orders, the state cabinet passed a resolution in October 2022 to abolish the revenue police system in a phased manner. However, the recent directive from the high court now requires a complete and speedy transition within a year.
The call for abolishing the revenue police system isn’t new. In 2004, the Supreme Court, in the case of Navin Chandra vs State Government, highlighted the need for its abolition.
The Supreme Court had observed-
“The revenue police do not receive the same training as the regular police.”
It further noted that –
“The absence of basic facilities hampers the revenue police’s ability to conduct thorough crime investigations.”
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The top court had also emphasized that there should be a uniform system of policing in the state, suggesting that the revenue police’s operational model was outdated and ineffective.