State gets security commission

The State on Friday announced the formation of a 11-member State Security Commission to advise it on effective policing.

The State on Friday announced the formation of a 11-member State Security Commission to advise it on effective policing.

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Home Minister, R.R.Patil will head the commission.

Patil, who made the announcement in the legislative Assembly on Friday, said the Commission is being set up as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

It will advise the government on efficient, effective and responsible policing and also help the state plan strategies to counter law and order problems and terrorism. The state had first announced the setting up of the commission in 2008.

The Commission will act as a watchdog and will lay down overall norms for policing. It is expected to insulate the police from political interference and chart major policy initiatives and training modules.

Setting up a security commission is one of the seven directives of the Supreme Court to states to transform the criminal justice system and make the police more accountable. The directive came in a response to a public interest litigation filed in 2006. States, including Maharashtra, had opposed these reforms.

The state had also promised to set up a police complaints authority at the district level. The authority, to be headed by a retired judge, will hear complaints against police officers in cases of misconduct, abuse of power and torture. This has remained in the pipeline.