Supreme Court Chief Justice NV Ramana has said that it is a bad trend that policemen, who side with the ruling party, are hunted down when there is a change of government. The Chief Justice said this while granting protection from arrest to former Chhattisgarh DGP Gurjinder Pal Singh who was booked for sedition.

This is not something that happens only in Chhattisgarh. Such incidents have taken place and are likely to take place in several states of the country whenever there is a change of government.

When a particular political party comes to power, police officers side with them and harass their opponents by misusing the law to gain the favour of the ruling party. When another party comes to power, cases will be filed against these police officers. The Supreme Court has observed that such annoying tendencies should be stopped.

Singh, who filed the petition, is a 1994 batch IPS officer. He alleged that the ruling Congress government is taking revenge on him for being a BJP supporter.

It is a common occurrence in every state that when each party comes to power, a group of high-ranking officials tend to side with the new government. Officials, especially those in the police force, look for ways to gain the favour of the chief minister and other ministers by siding with them. The vast majority of such officials will fall behind in terms of excellence. Controversy arises when these officials, who are supposed to act only in accordance with the law, begin to misuse their power. Such groups of officials will gradually begin to act according to their own will. In the meanwhile, they will become the targets of the opposition. The officials, who take proper administrative actions without succumbing to undue interference, suffer in midst of these people. It is the wrong way for the officials to give up the dignity and nobility of their position to side with politicians. It is a common occurrence that most police officers tend to ignore the politicians who lose their power.