Stuck In Traffic, Jharkhand High Court Judge Summons Top Cop

Peeved at poor traffic management in Ranchi, Jharkhand High Court Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi on Tuesday summoned the Director General of Police Anurag Gupta and other senior officers to appear in person in the court today.

Justice Dwivedi slammed the administration for failing to manage traffic in the capital and informed the officers present in court that while coming from his residence on August 23, he was stranded in front of the chief minister‘s residence for a very long time.

A protest rally was held by the youth wing of opposition BJP on August 23.

“It seems to be a serious breach in the security of a judge. Security cover is only meant for politicians and leaders,” Justice Dwivedi said.

DGP Gupta who appeared before the bench tendered his apology and assured the court that the administration would ensure smooth traffic movement in the state capital.

Justice Dwivedi said that if a high court judge had to face so much difficulty in reaching his workplace, one can imagine the plight of the citizens.

The system seems to have failed completely, the judge said adding that the police had no idea what they were supposed to do on the road.

The Jharkhand Police on August 23 used tear gas shells, water cannons and fired rubber bullets to disperse Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers who broke barricades during a protest rally here against the "injustice" meted out by the Hemant Soren government and its "failure to fulfil election promises".

Heavy police deployment was made in front of the chief minister's residence on Kanke Road, which is near Morabadi Ground where the protesters had assembled.

There was no demonstration on Kanke Road, then why were police deployed in such heavy numbers, the Judge asked the officers.

Justice Dwivedi ordered the proceedings of the court held today to be put before the Acting Chief Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad to be dealt with in a public interest litigation on traffic management.

The PIL on traffic management is already pending before a division bench of the high court. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)