The Kerala High Court on Friday said that if officials providing public services engage with the people empathetically and communicate with them properly, they will not feel harassed or helpless. Justice Devan Ramachandran said that many times people who approach public services feel harassed because of the lack of communication and indifference faced by them.
“It is a feeling of their dignity being violated and the frustration, helplessness and despondency that comes out of it, which forces people to take extreme steps.
“If the officers in charge understand this and engage with the service requesters with empathy, opening up sufficient lines of communication and keeping them happy about the process, most of these issues can be taken care of,” the court said.
The observations were made by the court while hearing a plea which alleged that a person committed suicide because he did not get his provident funds on time.
The Employment Provident Fund Organisation had denied the allegation and claimed that the unfortunate incident happened as the victim did not understand the processes involved.
The court said it was not affirming the allegations in the plea, but only stating that the matter was “perhaps an eye-opener, not only for the institution in question, but for all public officers, exposing how hapless citizens can take steps which might seem irrational.”
The court was told that there was a police enquiry into the death, but there was no information available with regard to the progress made in the probe.
It, thereafter, impleaded the Commissioner of Police, Kochi City, and the Station House Officer, Ernakulam Town North Police Station, and asked them to provide information with regard to the status of the investigation.
