The Hindu : Front Page : Kodiyeri justifies provisions of Bill

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Thursday, Sep 06, 2007
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Kodiyeri justifies provisions of Bill

Special Correspondent

Says State Government continues to have vital say in law and order matters

Thiruvananthapuram: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that sufficient checks and balance have been provided to ensure that the State Government continued to have a vital say in law and order matters even after setting up the Police Security Commission as per the directives of the Supreme Court.

Replying to a debate on the Kerala Police (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly, Mr. Balakrishnan said that several States had opposed the suggestions of the Supreme Court. Kerala was the first State to come up with a legislation that had several important features. The draft Bills of States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh did not have a proviso to include the Opposition Leader in the Security Commission. But in the Kerala Bill, the Opposition Leader was included.

DGP’s term

He said the tenure of the Director-General of Police had been fixed at two years, while most of the other States favoured one-year tenure. The State Government had utilised the Supreme Court directive on the DGP’s term as an opportunity, but there were practical difficulties in separating the law and order and investigation wings of the police as directed by the Supreme Court. However, Kerala had separated the functions in the three cities on an experimental basis. He said that a separate investigation wing called for more personnel and facilities. The Government would look into this. Most of the States had expressed their reservation at a meeting convened by the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The Centre too had expressed its reservations about the directives and its impact on law and order matters. However, the Centre had asked the States to frame laws suiting their needs. The debate on the Bill, which was later referred to the Subject Committee, came in for lively discussion, with the members from both sides coming up with creative suggestions. The Minister said there were issues to be decided, including the qualifications of the non-official members on the Security Commission.

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