SELECT COMMITTEE MAKES AMENDMENTS TO GOA POLICE BILL, 2008 IN TOTAL SECRECY
New Delhi: Even after three years, and sustained pressure from civil society groups, the Select Committee on the Goa Police Bill, 2008 has not carried out any public consultation on the provisions of the Bill, but has gone ahead and drafted amendments to the Bill, said the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. The Bill was referred to the Select Committee in 2008. "Worryingly, on September 18, 2011, one of the leading dailies in Goa reported that the Select Committee has submitted amendments to the Bill to the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly. To date, the Committee has not posted its report on the Assembly website. Home Minister, Ravi Naik, also the Chair of the Committee stated that 'he would like the Bill passed as soon as possible', the CHRI said in a Press statement released from New Delhi on October 3. "Considering the Select Committee’s failure to consult the people of Goa on their Police Bill, which has serious defects, it will be a colossal mistake to hurriedly pass the Bill in the upcoming Assembly session beginning on 5th October", said Navaz Kotwal, Programme Coordinator, Police Reforms programme at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. "We urge the Select Committee to immediately post its report on the Assembly website and initiate a participatory consultation process across the state," said Navaz. The people have waited long years for reform to happen. Given the huge impact that any new law on policing is going to have on the people of Goa we urge that the government take residents fully into confidence and broaden its consultative processes, added the statement. It argued that in order that a comprehensive legislation adequately reflects the needs and aspirations of the people in relation to the police service they want, government needs to go beyond consulting only small essentially elite groups, senior bureaucrats and policemen. "It needs to take time to invite wide public debate on the type of police service that people would like to see and include an open dialogue with the rank and file at all levels of the police about the type of service they want to be part of. No Bill can be allowed to pass without extensive public consultation and meaningful debate in the State Assembly," said the CHRI. A new police legislation for Goa is being proposed after decades to replace the 1861 Police Act. The Bill gives excess power to the political executive, severely dilutes the reform directives laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case, and undermines civil liberties. In spite of the serious problem of political interference in policing in Goa, the Bill has no proper check on political interference. Examples abound: * The composition of the State Police Commission is dominated by government and police officials, and the independent members are to be selected by a panel filled again with government. In this form, there is no way the commission will be able to act as an independent buffer body between the police and the political executive. * The Bill dilutes provisions on security of tenure for operational officers by allowing for their removal for "administrative exigencies", a provision which is vague and liable to abuse. * The Bill is silent on the selection and removal process for the Director General of Police (DGP). This leaves ample scope for non-merit based appointment and removal based on political reasons. * Bringing decisions on postings and transfers back into the hands of the police has also been diluted in the Bill. CHRI said the Bill seeks to do away with the existing Goa State Police Complaints Authority by transferring its powers to the proposed Lokayukta. The Authority has been working since 2007, and the progress made by the Authority in this time would be entirely lost. Recent reports indicate a Lokayukta may soon be established in Goa. A Lokayukta is certainly necessary for the state; but giving it the mandate of police oversight will overburden it to an extent that it will not be able to cope, it argued. "Just like inquiring into corruption, inquiring into police misconduct requires an independent body with a specific mandate and wide powers. Inquiring into allegations as serious as custodial death and rape among others is not an easy or quick job; this is why the Court mandated that Police Complaints Authorities be full-time. This clause should be removed from the Bill, and the Police Complaints Authority should be established in the Bill," it added. The creation and design of Special Security Zones (SSZs) in the Bill gives too much undefined power to the police and allows for the curtailment of civil liberties. "It gives too much undefined power to the police and civilian authority without the requisite accountability. By virtue of a single declaration it will take whole chunks of India's geography and make it vulnerable to authorities not subject to the Constitution. This cannot be allowed to happen," said Navaz Kotwal of CHRI. For more information, contact: Ms. Devika Prasad of Police Reforms Programme at [email protected] (cell +91-9810727469) To read CHRI's critique of the Goa Police Bill, 2008 see: http://bit.ly/nirPYM CHRI describes itself as an independent, non partisan, international non-governmental organization headquartered in New Delhi.
