Maharashtra Police ‘walk of shame’ is a shame for the police

A trend that began in Nashik and is spreading to other jurisdictions in Maharashtra flags the dangers of the police chasing virality by undermining institutional propriety and publicity at the cost of due process. Over the past six months, Nashik Police have been putting out videos that are circulated on their official digital handles as well as through local news and social media groups, in which the accused are paraded before cameras, with the slogan “Nashik zilla kaydyacha balekilla (Nashik district, a fortress of law and order)”. Similar videos have emerged in parts of Thane as well. This unseemly “walk of shame” violates the rule of law in letter and spirit, and paints the police force not as a guardian of due process but as the bully with the biggest stick.

According to Maharashtra Inspector General (law and order) Manoj Kumar Sharma, there have been no instructions to create such videos. However, the parading of criminals, the performance of apparently forced acts and words of contrition, are not isolated aberrant actions by individual officers. Nashik Commissioner Sandeep Karnik, who claims the (dubious) credit for starting the trend, says that the “fortress of law and order” videos began after some young people produced a video last year calling Nashik a “fortress of crime”. Since then, several alleged offenders, including those linked to local political figures, have been publicly shamed. At times, the alleged criminals appear to be limping in the videos.

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The Nashik Police’s actions have raised valid concerns over due process. Policing must not be an algorithmically driven popularity contest. The scheme of crime and punishment in a constitutional democracy does not rely on “shame”, or on officers of the law turning into vigilantes. In fact, the Nashik Police, through its viral videos, is actually admitting to a fundamental failure in discharging its duties and undermining trust in the broader justice system. It is for the judiciary to pronounce guilt or innocence and apportion punishment according to the law. “Walks of shame” are reminiscent more of regressive khap panchayats than a modern police force. The officers responsible for the open travesty of due process in Nashik and beyond must be held to account. The message must go out from the highest quarters that films like Dabangg and Singham are works of fiction, not police instruction manuals.