The Punjab and Haryana High Court has pulled up the Punjab police for using a racist slur while referring to an African national in police documents, noting that the incident brought “shame to India”.

The court observed that it was “terrible thinking” on the part of police to have assumed that “every black is a drug peddler” and that visitors from the continent much be treated with dignity and respect.

The single-judge bench of Justice Rajiv Narain Raina has asked the Punjab Director General of Police to notify instructions in order to ensure that offensive terms are not used while referring to black people.

Justice Raina said he was “appalled” to find the term used while referring to an African national in the challan papers presented under Section 173 (Report of police officer on completion of investigation) of the Criminal Procedure Code before the trial court in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

“This is a highly offensive word across the globe and no one has any business to use it, and much less the police. Hence, it is directed never to use the unprintable word in any police document including in challans or anywhere else on case papers including in investigation reports,” the court said in its order dated June 12.

People from Africa should be referred to by the country of their origin in case papers, the court ruled.

It directed that police personnel should be sensitised and warned on the issue by ensuring that no person should be looked down upon on the basis of the colour of his/her skin.

“This brings shame to India and hatred for the country. The police appears to have assumed that every black is a drug peddler and should be treated as such. This is terrible thinking,” Justice Raina observed in his order dated June 12.

“They deserve the dignity and respect in a foreign land as visitors or students in India from Africa temporarily living in our country, which prides itself of many peoples of all colours of the skin ranging from white to black and aboriginal,” the order stated.

The bench noted that “all Africans are our friends and when they come to India either as visitors or students they are our valuable guests and we should be reminded that India is rich in its traditions of ”mehman nawazi” and ”attithi sanskar/satkar” and prides itself on this”.

Justice Raina further said Mahatama Gandhi was politically nurtured in South Africa for two decades, pioneering the apartheid movement and fighting against colour discrimination and for freedom against black laws just as he fought during India”s freedom struggle.

“Let us follow that inspiring precept and pay due respect to each other and other people,” the court said

“We are, professedly, a tolerant sub-continent of browns in all its shades, but more often than not, display a perverted and primitive mind-set looking down on others without looking within ourselves. For many centuries we have been slaves. Freedom does not lend its wings to our countrymen to fly anywhere they wish and in any manner they like and abuse foreigners on the street calling them ”kalla”. To the contrary, freedom teaches love for human dignity and respect for fellowman,” the court’s order said.

The court has fixed June 18 as the next date of hearing.