Clarion call from SC, isolate bureaucrats from politicians

Bangalore, Aug 3: As demands for revoking

's

is building pressure on the Akhilesh Government, a senior judge from SC nailed the coffin by demanding reforms in civil services regulations to insulate bureaucrats from the pressure of their political bosses.

"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)