Supreme Court likely to appoint committee to implement police reforms

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that it may appoint a committee to ensure timely implementation of its order on police reforms, fixing a tenure of two years for police officials, SHOs upwards, irrespective of the superannuating age. A bench comprising chief justice K G Balakrishnan, justice R V Raveendran and justice Dalveer Bhandari said, in view of the reluctance of most of the state governments on complying with its order on police reforms, it may appoint a panel to monitor the progress on it. The bench said that such committee will function under a retired judge of SC. “We cannot monitor the implementation (of our order)...a committee should be appointed so that you (Centre and state governments) can put your problems before it. The committee shall go into your problems and sort them out,” court said. The court expressed its concern that instead of complying with its order the Centre and the state governments always come up with applications seeking modification in it. “It (fixed tenure for police officials) is more important than anything else. Are you not doing the same in the case of (officials such as a) secretary. But you don’t do (so) in the case of police officials. Don’t you consider it as an extraordinary situation,” the court said. The court made the observation after the Centre expressed its difficulty in implementing the order on police reforms. Counsel Sriniwas Murthy on behalf of the Centre said: “The order for a fixed tenure of senior police officials needs to be modified and its application (seeking modification) should be heard before passing any order”. The court then without passing an order adjourned the matter to April 24. The Supreme Court, in September 2006, had directed the Centre and the state governments to grant a fixed tenure of two years to police officials from SHOs up to the level of DGPs. It had also directed the Centre to set up a national security commission and state-level security commissions to prevent political interference in matters related to police officials’ postings, tenure and functioning. The court had asked the government to constitute a police complaints authority at the district and state level to inquire into allegations and complaints against police officers and personnel at various levels.

The Economic Times; 14 Mar, 2008