RTI reveals Supreme Court guidelines of 2006 regarding policing not followed
12 May, 2013
The reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that the state government of Maharashtra has done little to implement the Supreme Court guidelines of 2006 relating to curb graft and political interference in the police force.
The guidelines, issued by the SC in Prakash Singh Case, include setting up of a state security commission (SSC), provisions for selection and tenure of director generals of police (DGPs), minimum tenure of inspector generals of police (IGPs) and other officers, separation of crime investigation from law and order department, setting up of a police establishment board (PEB) and a police complaints authority (PCA).
The reply states that none of the six directives has been implemented by the state government. It is also evident from the fact that the state's SC counsel had written to the chief minister about non-implementation of recommendation for the past seven years. The counsel stated that though Maharashtra had filed an affidavit stating the steps taken by the state, none of the directives was actually implemented. It is alleged that the politicians have joined hands to delay the implementation of the recommendations so as to retain power over the police force.
However, the reply stated that the chief minister of the state had called a meeting to discuss the issue.