No court can fully undo harm caused by compromised police investigation: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Wednesday said that no court, however conscientious, can fully undo the harm caused when the first stages of the criminal justice process are compromised.

CJI Kant was speaking at the launch of former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer OP Mishra’s book, Beyond the Uniform: Duty, Discretion & Public Trust, at the India International Centre (IIC) in Delhi.

In his address, CJI Kant observed,

“The work of the police and the work of the Courts form one continuous chain in the administration of justice. The judiciary inherits, quite literally, what the police places before it."

The CJI said that an FIR recorded with care and an investigation conducted fairly improve the prospects of justice being done in court.

The exercise of police discretion, therefore, is not peripheral to justice but one of its earliest and most consequential foundations, CJI added.

He also stressed the importance of preparation in policing, citing the arrangements made for the recently held 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He said the smooth conduct of the event rested on officers working behind the scenes to secure routes and venues, coordinate traffic, and maintain vigilance through the night.

CJI Kant further said that public trust in the police is built through seemingly ordinary interactions with citizens.

“A citizen who is heard sympathetically, treated with dignity and guided clearly does not leave merely with a complaint recorded or a question answered. He leaves with greater confidence in the institution itself,” he said.