Let routine policing work not suffer because of impending elections in Tamil Nadu, cautions Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Wednesday cautioned that the regular policing work in the State should not suffer because of the impending Legislative Assembly election and that the police should not end up citing elections as a reason for every other delay in performing their routine work.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh sent across the message during the hearing of a 2024 case. He embarked on a venture to find a solution to prevent youngsters from indulging in reckless riding and driving of motorcycles and cars on public roads, by roping in the police as well as counsellors for reforming the youth.

After finding that not much had happened after the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) in Chennai conducted a study in collaboration with SAMVAD, an initiative of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, in 2025, the judge called for a status report from the police by February 25

“The problem now is that all the police officials will be focused on elections. The entire State will come to a standstill. The executive and everybody will be looking after elections. So, what will happen to others? What will happen to bike racing, what will happen to people who die?” the judge asked a government advocate.

“The police department need not be completely immersed in the election process. Their job is only supportive. They only need to maintain law and order. Now the complaint is that the study report of SCARF and SAMVAD is not being followed up by the police. So, you file a status report by [February] 25,” the judge said.

It was in March 2024, while dealing with a petition filed by two youngsters to quash a criminal case booked against them for rash riding, the judge had sought the assistance of the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) and State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah to reform youngsters aged between 18 and 25.

The then Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), R. Sudhakar, had told the court that the GCTP regularly stations three interceptor vehicles mounted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras on ECR, Old Mahabalipuram Road or Kamarajar Salai, and Koyambedu-Maduravoyal Road to detect and catch vehicles that indulge in stunts or racing.

Stating that the GCTP also maintains a database of old offenders involved in racing since 2022, the Additional Commissioner said 107 bonds had so far been executed by the violators for keeping good behaviour, and since most of them were teenagers, their parents had been informed of the violations.

After taking note of the submissions, the court initiated a scientific study by SCARF and SAMVAD to understand the psyche of the youngsters indulging in dangerous behaviour on public roads since 1.68 lakh people had lost their lives and 4.43 lakh had suffered injuries in 4.61 lakh road accidents reported in the country in 2022 alone.

The study titled ‘Development of Risk-Reduction & Related Behaviours Change Interventions for Youth Traffic Offenders’ was conducted by both the organisations together, and a detailed report was submitted in April 2025 for the police department to prepare a module to deal with young traffic offenders.