Supreme Court questions Delhi High Court rule which limits judges' powers to censure police officers

The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised the rule laid down by the Delhi High Court which limits powers of trial courts in censuring and criticising police officers for their conduct in investigating a criminal case..The rule in focus is found in Section 6 of Chapter I, Part H of the Delhi High Court's "Practice in the Trial of Criminal Cases." The rule states that "it is undesirable for courts to make remarks censuring the actions of police officers unless the remarks are strictly relevant to the case."A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih today observed that this rule appears to dictate how trial courts should write their judgments and, therefore, should be struck down. The Court said that the rule amounted to interference with the freedom of judicial officers."How can the High Court dictate how a judgment should be written? This is interfering with judicial officers. It has to go," the Court said..The Court was hearing a Delhi judicial officer's plea to expunge adverse remarks said to have been made against him by the Delhi High Court after he criticised the Delhi police in a judicial order.The Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) had passed strictures against the police officers investigating a case involving the alleged theft of sarees from a shop. Apart from criticising the investigating officers, the judicial officer had also directed the police commissioner to launch an inquiry into the conduct of the officials in question.However, the Delhi High Court later objected to these strictures by the ASJ and deleted his directives to the police.The ASJ approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court refused to recall its adverse remarks.The top court had sought the Delhi High Court's response in the matter on January 10 this year.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) V Raju appeared for the Delhi High Court today and said that he would get instructions on the possibility of withdrawing and redrafting the rule flagged by the Supreme Court today.Advocate Sagar Suri appeared for the judicial officer.The matter will be heard next after four weeks.