Karnataka police urged to seat public equally at grievance meetings
The Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority pressed police leadership to ensure public seating equality at grievance and peace meetings, citing dignity and community policing principles. The demand follows reports of attendees being made to sit on the floor while officials use chairs.
Key takeaways
- The Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority asked for equal seating for the public at grievance and peace meetings, to be applied across all police levels.
- The request cites instances where attendees were made to sit on the floor while officers used chairs, and references social media posts as supporting evidence.
- A prior 18-point directive from October emphasized dignified treatment of the public and courteous behavior by police personnel.
What Happened
The Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority (KSPCA) has asked the state police leadership to guarantee that members of the public receive seating arrangements on par with police officers during grievance and peace meetings. In a letter to the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, KSPCA member Mohan Kumar Danappa highlighted that making citizens sit on the floor while officials occupy chairs is unacceptable and at odds with a people-friendly policing approach.
Danappa noted that meetings with citizens occur at multiple levels, including police stations, districts, and ranges, and encompass peace committee meetings, SC/ST grievance meetings, monthly public interaction meetings, and awareness programmes. He cited instances where such seating disparities were observed and pointed to social media posts from official police accounts as corroborating concerns. The aim of these meetings is to strengthen police–public relations and improve coordination for maintaining law and order.
He urged the DGP and IGP to issue explicit directives to all police stations, offices, and units across Karnataka ensuring suitable and equal seating for the public at all police–public interaction meetings and awareness programmes. The mandate should apply to meetings conducted by personnel at all levels, including beat staff and senior officers, and seating for citizens should be mandatory and equal.
The letter references a prior directive from October of the previous year, when Director-General and Inspector-General M.A. Saleem issued an 18-point guideline emphasizing dignified treatment of the public, courteous behavior, and sensitivity toward women, children, and senior citizens. That directive urged police personnel to avoid harsh language and to treat every member of the public with dignity regardless of social position or identity. These considerations have grown in relevance amid ongoing discussions about public treatment during grievance and peace meetings, with critiques noting episodes of civilians being asked to stand while officers sit, including discussions prompted by social media posts.
The published timeline shows the request was made and the directive was framed in the context of broader objectives of community-oriented policing and trust-building between police and citizens.
Sources reviewed
Project Chintan independently synthesized and analyzed information cross-checked across the sources listed above.
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