Guwahati: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that up to 24 states and seven union territories (UTs) had established Police Complaints Authorities to look into complaints of police misconduct.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) asked a question and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai responded by providing the information.
The minister said that Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry have constituted the Police Complaints Authorities.
The minister added that each district in Bihar has established a District Accountability Authority.
Moreover, he stated that “Police” is a state subject according to List-1 or the state list of the seventh schedule of the Indian constitution and that it is the primary duty of the state governments and UT administrations to ensure that the functioning of the police force is more efficient and transparent.
According to Rai, state police departments operate within the current institutional and legal framework.
“The Supreme Court ordered to establish the Police Complaints Authority in its decision in the case of Writ Petition (Civil) 310 of 1996 captioned Prakash Singh and Ors Vs. Union of India and Ors. The aforementioned verdict was sent to state governments and UT administrations for implementation because “police” is a state concern.
This came in reply to Owaisi’s question, “Will the Minister of Home Affairs be glad to provide the names of States and Union Territories who have so far established Police Complaint Authorities on redress mechanism to inquire into the complaints of police misconduct.”