CJI Surya Kant says fair police probe is vital for justice in courts

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said police work and court proceedings are part of one justice chain. He said careful FIRs, fair investigations and better policing conditions are essential for public trust and justice.

In Short

• Justice Kant said compromised first steps can damage the justice process
• He urged police to use legal powers as responsibilities towards people
• He said effective policing begins with preparation, coordination and risk anticipation

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday said the work of the police and the work of the courts formed one continuous chain in the administration of justice, stressing that the judiciary largely worked with what was placed before it by the police. He said a carefully recorded FIR and a fair investigation strengthened the possibility of justice being done in court.

Speaking at the launch of former IPS officer O P Mishra’s book, Beyond the Uniform: Duty, Discretion and Public Trust, the CJI said the justice process could be damaged at the very beginning if the first steps were compromised. He also praised the police for the smooth conduct of the 18th BRICS Summit and highlighted the extensive work carried out behind the scenes.

“The work of the police and the work of the courts form one continuous chain in the administration of justice. The judiciary inherits, quite literally, what the police places before it,” the CJI said. He added that “an FIR recorded with care or an investigation conducted with fairness strengthens the possibility of justice being done in court”, while “no court, however conscientious, can fully undo the harm caused when the first steps of the process themselves are compromised”.

Justice Kant said duty for the police must mean fidelity not only to the words of the law but also to the purpose for which the law entrusted power to a police officer. “The authority to investigate, to arrest, to regulate movement and to maintain public order is neither an ornament of office nor an end in itself. It is ultimately a responsibility held on behalf of the people,” he said.

He said police duty did not begin only when a crime had been committed, a crowd had gathered or an emergency had already arisen. “It begins much earlier: in preparation, in the gathering of information, in coordination between agencies, in anticipating points of vulnerability and in ensuring that the machinery of law is ready before the moment of need arrives. Indeed, some of the finest police work is precisely that which prevents a difficult situation from ever becoming a crisis,” he said.

The CJI also said that if society expected police personnel to act at all hours with courage, composure and sensitivity, it had to provide the conditions in which those qualities could flourish. He said proper training, modern investigative resources, responsible leadership, reasonable working conditions and attention to the physical and emotional well-being of personnel were essential foundations of citizen-friendly policing.

Commending the police for the smooth conduct of the 18th BRICS Summit, Justice Kant praised the effort that went into securing routes and venues, coordinating traffic, protecting places of stay and maintaining vigilance through the night. Former Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar and Sanjaya Baru, adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, also spoke at the event, where the CJI underlined the close link between police action, public trust and the delivery of justice.

- Ends
With PTI inputs