Andhra Pradesh high court raps state on prohibitory orders, police in Amaravati

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh high court on Friday found fault with the state government for huge deployment of police force and imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 30 of AP Police Act and Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in villages of capital city Amaravati.
Hearing a batch of petitions moved by capital city farmers, the high court bench comprising Justice MV Sesha Sai and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy asked the state government why police told locals to carry identity cards.
Justice Satyanarayana Murthy said police had even troubled him when he was going in a private car. The bench observed that the police imposed too many restrictions and sought explanation from the government.
The high court questioned why policemen manhandled women protesters. The high court specifically pointed out the incident of a woman being kicked in her stomach by policemen wearing heavy boots.
Arguing on behalf of the state government, advocate-general S Sriram said promulgation of Section 30 of AP Police Act or Section 144 of CrPC in capital city villages was not new.
Both sections have been in force since 2015. The previous government extended the sections from time to time and the present government continued that in view of the prevailing law and order situation.
The advocate-general said all the photos that appeared in the media were not true. Some were morphed with images of incidents that took place in Bihar.