The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the government of Tamil Nadu to pay Rs. 85000 to two petitioners who were assaulted and abused by the police in two different cases. The Commission has also ordered the government of Tamil Nadu to initiate disciplinary action against the policemen in both cases.
One case dates back to 2013 when Paulson, a farmer, was stopped by the police on the road for a routine vehicle check. According to reports, Paulson produced photocopies of the vehicle’s Registration Certificate to the police, however, the policemen on duty, sub-inspector Samuthiram and Manoj Kumar, did not accept it. When the police asked for his driving license, he said that it was in his house and that he can fetch it. In his petition to SHRC, Paulson had stated that Manoj Kumar slapped and abused him and the other policemen on duty also assaulted him.
The police, in their submission, stated that the vehicle did not have a number plate and when asked to produce documents, Paulson had used offensive language against the policemen and pulled their clothes. The police had also arrested Paulson for that and produced him before a magistrate.
Hearing the petition, the SHRC held that there was a human rights violation on the part of the police and that the petitioner was eligible for compensation. The Commission ordered the state government to pay Rs 60000 compensation to Paulson.
Another petition concerns with a property dispute case registered in Pallavaram in 2017. The petitioner, S Raja Padmanabhan of Old Pallavaram, accused Madipakkam police of threatening him and also alleged biased action against him and his aides in a property case. Padmanabhan’s father-in-law had gone to a relative’s house to discuss the dispute and was allegedly assaulted there. In his petition, Padmanabhan said that the Madipakkam police had registered a criminal case against his family for this. The police, however, denied the allegations and stated that the petitioner's family had issued death threats to the relatives.
SHRC heard the petition and ruled that there was a violation of human rights in the case and ordered the state government to pay Rs 25000 as compensation to the petitioner.