A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Himachal Pradesh Police and National Law University, Shimla at Raj Bhavan today in the presence of Governor Bandaru Dattatraya, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice L. Narayana Swamy.DGP Sanjay Kundu on behalf of HP Police and Vice Chancellor, Dr. Nishtha Jaswal on behalf of HPNLU signed the MoU. The MoU will go a long way in facilitating the police personnel to update their knowledge about legal matters and court judgments. The collaboration will be based on research and development activities and training which will not only involve students and faculty members of the university but also the police officers. The objectives of the MoU will be realized under the Police-Law Interaction Forum. This MoU commits both parties to work together more closely towards a common goal.Under the MoU, regular academic conferences will be conducted by state police and NLUs in a joint collaboration on common issues. The students will be offered internships at the units of the police departments. The state police will also organize visits of the students to police training institutes, state forensic science laboratories, prisons, state legal service authority and any other specialized unit of police during the internship period. The NLU will organize training of police officers on legal matters and court judgments related to investigation, prosecution and interpretation of statutes.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that the MoU in the name of Police-Law Interaction Forum would be helpful in establishing an institutional mechanism between the faculties, researchers and students of Law University with the police personnel on legal issues in the times to come. He added that with the passage of time, many such changes were taking place in the law and many court decisions have come which were important for the police personnel to know and understand as well as to the legal experts."This agreement will prove to be helpful for all those police officers and personnel in practical difficulties in maintaining law and order. This will also prove to be a milestone in the direction of human rights, public dealing, behavioural changes, investigation and improvement", said Bandaru Dattatraya.He said that the students of National Law University would also get an opportunity to understand how law was brought into practice by working in police attachment. He said that the agreement would provide an opportunity to move forward with a new mindset.While addressing the Signing-in-ceremony of the MoU, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that it would prove an effective medium of institutional communication between Himachal Pradesh Police and students, various faculties, researchers of Himachal Pradesh National Law University. He said that earlier, the State Police had signed MoU with IIT Mandi, which has yielded good results. As a result of the MoU signed with IIT Mandi, the state police adopted a strategy of predictive policing for maintenance of law and order, traffic management and prevention of crimes against women, he added.The Chief Minister said that that the establishment of Police-Law Interaction Forum-POLIF would be successful in developing a cooperative system between the two organizations and would also help the police personnel in understanding the judgments pronounced by the courts and their legal interpretation. He said that under this MoU, students of Himachal Pradesh National Law University would be made aware of the working of police stations during their summer and winter internship. The students and researchers of Himachal Pradesh National Law University Shimla would also get knowledge about the working of police administration, he added.
Jai Ram Thakur appreciated the functioning of the State Police and said that Police Station Chopal in Shimla district was ranked among the first 10 police stations of the country in the year 2018. In the same year, Himachal Police was awarded SKOCH award for its participation programme in Kullu district and Himachal Police has also been honoured by FICCI in the year 2018 for RADMS project, he said. Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy said that in this milieu of responsibilities, there was an immediate need for the police department to keep themselves abreast with the changing legal regime and also the changing aspects of the interpretation of the law. This calls for constant updating of knowledge of the police personnel and other officials associated with the system. He said that there was also an immediate need to bridge the gap between what students of Law learn in a classroom and the realities of the field while implementing the Law. The MoU in that context has multifold objectives. He added that the MoU would also set an example and model for other states to adopt such a framework for ensuring effective knowledge dissemination, practical training and exchange of innovative ideas.Earlier, DGP Sanjay Kundu discussed various aspects of the agreement between HP Police Department and National Law University, Shimla. He said that the MoU would prove to be beneficial to both the institutions. Vice Chancellor, HPNLU Dr. Nishtha Jaswal also spoke on the occasion.ADGP Veenu Gopal welcomed the Governor and Chief Minister on the occasion while ADGP Ashok Tiwari proposed the vote of thanks.Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Judges of HP High Court and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.