In an unprecedented development, a Bihar court has convicted IPS officer Raushan Kumar (IPS:2019:BH) for contempt and asked the Union Ministry of Personnel and Training to overhaul the training system for IAS & IPS officers to make them attuned to the democratic set-up.
The order was passed by Rohtas’s Additional Sessions Judge Anil Kumar. IPS officer Raushan Kumar was convicted for wilfully disobeying court orders in a kidnapping case when he was posted as Rohtas Superintendent of Police (SP). Interestingly, besides him, a symbolic fine of Rs. 1 has also been imposed on the District Magistrate (DM) for defending an “apparent dishonest officer.”
Besides, the judge has directed the DGP to get the observations against the former SP entered into the service records and that the copy of the order be shared with the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and the Ministry of Personnel and Training.
The court noted “serious flaws” in the training of IPS officers, observing that officers should be imparted training to respect and comply with court orders and should not treat subordinate courts as inferior. “This, in short, shows serious over-hauling of training system of IAS & IPS officer,” the court remarked. A copy of this order is to be sent to the Ministry of Personnel and Training of the Central Government so that “training system of ‘Steel frame’ could be attuned to our democratic set-up,” the judge said.
The Trial Court’s remarks come from a case concerning the conviction of 10 persons for kidnapping. The judge asked for the fresh criminal antecedents of the accused but the SP delayed the report by one month and merely copied from previous diary entries without providing criminal antecedents.
Later it came to light that the victim was involved in gambling and sale of cannabis, which was the reason behind his kidnapping. The Trial Court asked the then SP to investigate the victim and take action against him after registering an FIR against the victim for perjury. But no action was taken. Lamenting the officer’s continuous apathy and indifference towards the court, the judge recommended disciplinary action against him to the DGP and the Chief Secretary. But both officers failed to respond, and the Trial Court was forced to initiate contempt proceedings against the former SP.
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