On September 7, 2016, the Apex Court passed order in a PIL directing Home Secretaries and Police Chiefs of all States that all Police Stations in the country will upload FIRs on their website within 24 hours of registration. The time could be extended to 48 and 72 hours maximum provided physical and geographical conditions did not allow the Police Stations to upload within the stipulated time of 24 hours. The purpose of passing this order is to protect the human rights of the accused persons and ensure that they enjoy the Right to Information. Many States in the country did respond positively to the order of the Apex Court and have been uploading FIR on their websites. But J&K is among the six such states in the Country that have not been able to implement the order of the Apex Court
We are told that the State is not geared to the system that would make it possible and easy for the State Police Stations to upload the FIRs within the stipulated time. There are some reasons given by the J&K Police Department. The first is that there is no server to feed the websites that would take care of about the 215 Police Stations in the context of uploading of FIRs after their registration. These Police Stations have no internet connectivity available to them. Not to speak of internet, most of them are deprived of landline telephone connectivity. We learn that there existed a long dispute between the Police and the BSNL the former asserting that exaggerated bills were charged. The BSNL cut off connection and the dispute went on for a long time. According to our information although the broad contours of dispute have been resolved by the two sides through mutual discussion but connectivity has not been restored so far.
Thus we find many technical obstacles in the way of J&K Police Stations to upload the FIRs on their website. The Apex Court had clarified that if any police station has no website, it can upload the FIR on state website. But even that is not possible with J&K Police Stations because of absence of a Server. In such a situation, it appears improbable for the J&K to implement the directions of the Apex Court.
This is one side of the story. But the fact is that the Apex Court has issued the order with clear understanding that the States that have not the net facilities to the extent that the order will be carried out, shall have to attend to this issue at any cost because an accused person cannot be denied the right to information. It means that the State Government shall have to approach the BSNL to take immediate steps to provide internet connectivity to all the 215 police stations in the State so that these are able to upload the FIRs within the stipulated time. J&K is a strife torn State. Armed insurgency has sprung viciously in the State for last twenty-seven years. This has put great responsibility on security forces especially the Police Services. We must have up to date mechanism earning electronic devises available to the Police Department and its field units to tackle insurgency related issues which are increasing in various dimensions. We are simply surprised that carrying immense responsibilities, the police stations are equipped neither with landline telephone connectivity nor with internet. How can we expect the Police to perform its duty effectively and trace the movement of insurgents and miscreants meticulously? The State Police senior echelons must come together to identify the obstructions in the way of implementation of the order of the Apex Court and make solid suggestions to overcome these. The Government is bound to respect the rights of people to information. Police and BSNL seniors must sit together and resolve the issues and make administration smooth and hassle free. From our point of view we find that on one side there is no dedicated server or website for ensuring compliance to the directives and on the other side the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) has remained offline mainly because of lack of coordination between the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and J&K Police. Both should try to bridge over the differences and develop close cooperation without strings.
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