Police reforms to get priority in Maharashtra

State plans to constitute a board to decide on transfers

The Maharashtra government will soon constitute a police establishment board at the state level for postings and transfers of officers of and above the rank of the superintendent.

Besides, the home minister and secretaries will lose powers for transferring deputy superintendent, assistant commissioner, police inspector and assistant police inspector. Once established, board will have a mandate to function as a competent transferring authority.

Further, the government will form police complaint authorities in each district as well as the state level. The state and district complaints authorities will be delegated powers to look into the complaints against police officers of the rank of superintendents, deputy commissioners and above.

The state police complaints authority will have a retired high court judge, a retired police official, a bureaucrat and a person of eminence from the civil society. The district police complaints authority will be chaired by the retired district court judge.

“The government has issued three separate government resolutions today in this regard," additional chief secretary of home department Amitabh Rajan told Business Standard.

The police establishment board will be headed by the additional chief secretary (home) and co-chaired by the director general of police. Its members include director-general of the anti-corruption bureau and the Mumbai commissioner of police. The additional director-general of police (establishment) will be its member secretary. The board will function as a forum of appeal for disposing of representations from officers of and above the rank of superintendent of police regarding their promotions, transfers, disciplinary proceedings, etc. The board will enjoy powers to recommend disciplinary proceedings and other service matter.