Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday remarked that police casualties are not less than the casualties of conventional war and acknowledged their contribution as nation builders.
The CJI was delivering the 33rd Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Lecture on "Rule of Law in Modern Democracy" in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here.
"The Chief Justice acknowledged the contributions of the Indian Police Service to the motherland as the nation builders and remarked that police casualties are not less than the casualties of conventional war," said an official statement.
The Memorial lecture was attended by 156 IPS Probationers of 2018 batch undergoing Phase-I training, including 15 Foreign Officer Trainees from Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives and also 103 Probationers of 2017 batch undergoing PhaseII training.
"Justice Gogoi addressed the Probationers as "Young Achievers", and "Nation Builders" to whom the baton needed to be passed. At the outset, he congratulated them for choosing to dedicate their lives to serve the motherland," the statement said.
"He recalled the contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in making the Indian Civil Services as the strong constitutional steel framework in binding independent India," it said.
All the judges of Telangana High Court, including Chief Justice Raghavendra Chauhan, senior police officials and National Police Academy Director Abhay Patel was also present at the event.
"He raised the issue of fairness in discharging duties and drew a distinction between institutional fairness and fairness in the individual functioning. He expected all the Probationers to take all necessary steps to exercise their legitimate powers in a fair and reasonable manner," the statement added.
The lecture has been delivered by eminent personalities in memory of the Iron man of India (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) ever since it was instituted with the approval of Government of India in 1983.
( With inputs from ANI )