Clarion call from SC, isolate bureaucrats from politicians
"For that we need very fundamental civil service reforms in this country, of the same kind which the Supreme Court had ordered for the police, by way of creating state security commissions, police establishment boards, police compliant authorities etc.," said Bhushan, an SC lawyer.
The state security commission was a directive by the SC to ensure that the police worked independently, without any pressure from the politicians. The commission was conceptualized in 1996 when Prakash Singh ( a former Directors General of POlice of Assam and UP and finally the Director General of the BSF) moved a PIL in the SC, demanding reforms in the police forces in India to ensure proper rule of law and proper security.
Having studied various reports on police reforms, the SC came to a decision to implement the security reforms.
What do the police reforms include?
Isolating the functionalities of the police from politics, the directive includes the following measures:
1.
An
officer
belonging
to
a
mid
or
high
rank
cannot
be
transferred
more
frequently
than
every
two
years.
2.
The
state
government
cannot
pressurize
the
police
force
to
hire
someone,
nor
can
they
choose
the
Chief
Commissioner.
3.
There
must
be
separate
departments
and
staff
for
investigation
and
patrolling.
Three new authorities will be created in each state:
1.
A
State
Security
Commission,
for
policies
and
direction
2.
A
Police
Establishment
Board,
which
will
decide
the
selection,
promotions
and
transfers
of
police
officers
and
other
staff
3.
A
Police
Complaints
Authority,
to
inquire
into
allegations
of
police
misconduct.
This helped to prevent political interference in the police department and also to made the police accountable for their heavy-handedness.
(With input from agencies)