Notice to state on amending police Act
Tuesday, 30/09/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140930/punjab.htm#21
Chandigarh : The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion to the Punjab Government and its Home Secretary on a petition for quashing recent amendments made by the state Assembly to the Punjab Police Act 2007, regarding appointment of police complaints authorities’ chairmen.
The Division Bench of Justice SK Mittal and Justice Deepak Sibal issued the notices for October 14 on the petition filed in public interest by advocate HC Arora. He stated that only retired judges of high courts or Supreme Court were to be appointed chairmen of state-level police complaints authorities as per directions issued by Supreme Court in the Parkash Singh’s case.
Likewise, only retired district judges were to be appointed chairmen of district-level police complaints authorities. The appointments were also to be made from a panel of retired judges to be sent by the chief justice of the high court concerned.
During the PIL’s pendency, the Punjab Assembly in July 2014 passed amendments to the Punjab Police Act 2007, and inserted Section 54 (2) and 54 (3). It laid down that retired civil services officer not below the chief secretary’s rank of the state government or a secretary to the Union Government or a retired director general of police of the state government shall only be eligible for appointment as chairman of the state-level police complaints authority.
It added only a civil services officer retired from a post not below the rank of a secretary to the Union Government or a police officer who retired from a post not below the rank of deputy inspector-general of police was eligible for appointment as chairman of the divisional-level police complaints authority. Thus, retired judges had now been made ineligible.
Arora contented that retired bureaucrats or police officers could not inspire the confidence of people. Moreover, the exclusion of retired judges from consideration not only violated the Supreme Court directions but also unreasonable and arbitrary, he added.
About the PIL
The exclusion of retired judges from consideration for appointment as chairmen of police complaints authority not only violates the Supreme Court directions but is also unreasonable and arbitrary
