Kochi, Wednesday, June 22, 2011: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to free the police force of criminals. The Court observed that criminals have no right to continue in Police Force.

A bench comprising Justice S S Sathish Chandran and Justice B S Radhakrishnan ordered the removal of all those with criminal records from the service. The Director-General of Police has been asked to inquire into their criminal background and submit a report within six months.

The government has been asked not to recruit people with criminal records to the police force any more. The bench also directed the DGP to withdraw all personnel with a criminal record from the police training for six weeks and submit a report on their track record within five weeks.

The court passed the orders while considering a petition filed by two police recruits M Sreekumar and Nileshwaran against the denial of appointment after they completed the training for police constable. State Advocate General K P Dandapani informed the court that the policy of the government was to free the police force of criminals.

A single judge bench of the high court had earlier observed that the criminal tendency among the personnel in the state was increasing day by day. Justice S Sirijagan noted that more than 100 persons, who were accused in criminal cases, were given selection as police constables recently.

The judge had passed the petition to the division bench saying giving appointment to people with criminal cases pending against them needed serious consideration. The court referred to the recent arrest of a deputy superintendent of police for allegedly engaging a criminal gang to eliminate a journalist.

(News agency)