The International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) Hyderabad, in collaboration with Telangana Police (Women Safety Wing), organized a Mediation Sensitization Programme for the Police Officers of Women Safety Wing -State of Telangana.
The workshop saw the participation of 80+ Inspectors from all around Telangana; mediators,senior advocates and law firm partners and law students. The programme started off with the felicitation of the speakers, followed by inauguration of the programme by Ms. Shikha Goel,IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Telangana Police Women Safety Wing,where she delivered the keynote address.
In her address she emphasized that the police officers should not have any kind of bias while dealing with a case and they must understand the mindset of a victim and therefore, such trainings are necessary for improving communication skills.
She also mentioned that disputes between husband and wife or between brothers or other
members of the family, need to be handled with more care and caution, especially in cases
involving Section 498A.
She further stated that it is the first time that a training of this kind has been organized and thanked IAMC for extending support.She said that it is the duty of the officers to take action as per law and register complaints wherever necessary, However,in some cases it is crucial to identify whether the dispute can be solved by conciliation.Thus, this workshop will help the police officers in identifying the real problem and determine whether the dispute is capable of being resolved by conciliation or not. She also said that as police officers sometimes“there is a need to act as counsellors,and sometimes as parents also” since marital dispute is not only between a husband and wife
rather it is a family dispute, which often arises out of small misunderstandings and can
generally be resolved. However, if the disputants do not have a possibility of reconciliation,
of course there is always the legal route available that begins with the registration of a case.
Though the police manage a lot of cases and investigations on a day-to-day basis, a dispute
between a marital couple requires hours of counselling, which has time constraints and thus,
this workshop will be helpful in upskilling the officers to handle and mitigate such disputes
speedily and efficiently.
Mr Tariq Khan, Registrar, IAMC, spoke about effective communication and conflict
managementand said that,“Training is more about unlearning than learning.”He stated that
police officers should practice active and empathetic listening, effective communication and
the ability to diffuse emotionally charged complainants and deescalate conflicts.He further
stated that conflict arises “when people’s basic needs for recognition, affection, and
affiliation are not met.”
Ms. Poornima Kambleexplained the concept of SCARF (Status, Certainty, Autonomy,Relatedness, Fairness) with respect of the demeanour of police officers in dealing with matrimonial or domestic disputes.
The police officer can only aid in pre-litigation conciliation and not act as trained mediators, which if required, then the police is supposed to refer them to formal mediation institutions or trained mediators. “You are not here to judge or blame. You are here to be neutral without any bias.”
She further mentioned that in non-compoundable offences or disputes against the society,conciliation is never an option in such matters and only compoundable offences can go for mediation, depending upon the willingness of the parties.
