Police should address citizens with polite words: Kerala HC

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the State's District Police Chief to issue a circular to the entire police force asking them to refrain from using Malayalam colloquial language and disrespectful words such as 'Eda or Edi' while addressing the citizens.

"Police must learn to use polite language with the public. The police have no right to call Eda or Edi. There should be decent behaviour. The DGP should issue a circular with proper guidelines," the court said, according to ANI.

A single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran criticised the Kerala Police while considering a petition filed by the father of a 15-year-old girl who complained that the police had used impolite language while interacting with his daughter during a vehicle inspection.

The petitioner, in his plea, accused police officers of the Cherpu station in Thrissur district of using rude and impolite language while speaking to his daughter.

On the same day, while hearing another plea, the court also criticised the practice of gawking wages still prevalent in the state. Gawking wages, or nokkukooli,' is a practice by Kerala's trade unions by labour unions in Kerala where wages have to be paid to headload workers for the loading and unloading done by other workers.

The court also observed that the practice of gawking wages was damaging to the image of Kerala. It added that the practice had to be eradicated as it gives out a wrong perception about the state.

In another incident, the Mathur village panchayat in Kerala banned the terms 'Sir' and 'Madam' in its office premises with an aim to bridge the barrier between common people, people's representatives and civic body officials and thus build a bond of love and trust between each other.