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Govt fiat on police reforms
THE STATE Government on Thursday issued an executive order for implementing important recommendations made by the Supreme Court for police reforms. The recommendations are fixed tenure for senior police officers and constituting a Police Establishment Board.
THE STATE Government on Thursday issued an executive order for implementing important recommendations made by the Supreme Court for police reforms. The recommendations are fixed tenure for senior police officers and constituting a Police Establishment Board.
According to the order issued by the State Home Department, senior police officers from the director general of police to a station officer (SO) would have fixed tenure of two years. This means DGP, IG, DIG, SP, DSP and SO would now have a fixed tenure.
The Police Establishment Board, which the Government agreed to constitute, will be headed by the DGP. The board will look into transfers and postings of police officials from the rank of a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) to inspectors and below.
Other members of the board are additional director general (ADG), administration, ADG Crime Investigations Department (CID), ADG, Intelligence and ADG, Special Armed Forces (SAF).
The order indicated that all these arrangements have been made till the passing of the proposed Police Reforms Bill in the forthcoming Assembly session. This has heightened the apprehensions of police officers that major changes would be made in the proposed Bill and that the executive order was issued in view of the Supreme Court directive to implement the recommendations before February 10.
The Supreme Court had, as part of its interim order on police reforms, recommended that states ensure that officers like DGs, IGs, DIGs, SPs and DSPs continued in office for a fixed period and that they could be removed before the end of their term only if a committee constituted to decide on the matter approved such action.
Senior officials in Mantralaya said the State Government is gearing up to implement reforms in the police administration. The State has prepared a draft bill on various aspects of police reforms in accordance with the apex court’s directive and this would be tabled in the assembly during the Budget session.
