When Police Officials Don Uniforms, They Must Shed Personal, Religious Biases: SC

When police officials don uniforms, they must shed their personal and religious predilections and biases, the Supreme Court on Thursday underscored and formed a special investigation team to probe an alleged murder in communal riots that broke out in Maharashtra’s Akola in 2023.

- Press Trust Of India

Slamming Maharashtra Police for dereliction of duty and sheer carelessness in not registering an FIR in the matter, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma directed the state's home department secretary to constitute an SIT, comprising senior police officers of Hindu and Muslim communities, to undertake an investigation by registering an FIR.

"Needless to state, when members of the police force don their uniforms, they are required to shed their personal predilections and biases, be they religious, racial, casteist or otherwise. They must be true to the call of duty attached to their office and their uniform with absolute and total integrity. Unfortunately, in the case on hand, this did not happen,” the bench said.

Clashes broke out in May, 2023, in the Old City area of Akola after a religious post about Prophet Muhammad went viral on social media.