The case was filed when the judges took a suo moto (on its own) cognisance of vacant police posts and the steps being taken by the authorities concerned in order to maintain security of the city and state, which is a soft target of terrorist attacks.
In a case that deals with questions about Mumbai's security, the Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra government to inform it about the steps being taken for safeguarding the state's coastline, and secondly, to explain what was being done to modernise the police force.
A division bench of justices VM Kanade and Revati Mohite-Dere has given the government three weeks in which to provide the desired information about coastal security.
The case was filed when the judges took a suo moto (on its own) cognisance of vacant police posts and the steps being taken by the authorities concerned in order to maintain security of the city and state, which is a soft target of terrorist attacks.
On Tuesday, the judges wanted to know if the security measures on Mumbai's coastline resembled those in Uttan, which they had seen during their recent trip, made to gather information relevant to this case.
The judges narrated their experience about their visit to Uttan, Thane district, where they were showed coastal security measures that impressed them. "We were provided bullet-proof jackets while boarding the boat. There were cameras on board and also in the coastal area, which could be monitored in the control room by a police officer," said justice Kanade.
"Are such steps being taken in other coastal police stations also? Apart from inland security, coastal security is also very important in recent times," remarked justice Kanade.
Public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde informed the HC that the government has issued a resolution on November 28, 2014, with regard to weapons to be provided to police personnel. A GR was issued in October 2011, which provided details of which weapons are to be provided to different cadre of police personnel. The same GR was to be revised every three years.
Shinde said that in January 2014 a committee was constituted to look into this matter. The committee held several meetings and gave recommendations to the government. Some of the recommendations have been accepted and accordingly the GR was issued in December 2014, said Shinde.
The judges have asked the government whether the committee deliberated upon coastal security measures and gave recommendations for beefing up the same.
"We are informed that steps are being taken (as per the new GR) for modernisation of police force. However, we would also like to know the steps being taken for guarding coastline of Mumbai and other coastal areas," noted the judges in their order.
The HC has also asked the government to explain whether there is any machinery to crack down on unsolved cases.
Advocate Anil Anturkar, who is appointed as amicus curie (friend of the court), pointed out there were several unsolved cases like murders of RTI activist Narendra Dabholkar and builder Nikhil Rane. "Despite the probe being transferred from local police to CID or CBI, there are several cases which have reached a dead end. There should be some mechanism for looking afresh into it," argued Anturkar.
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