THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State police chief Anil Kant has barred district police chiefs or station house officers (SHO) from rejecting the applications for police clearance certificates (PCC) just because the applicant did not turn up in person for verification.
The circular issued by the SPC said there is no statutory requirement that the applicant should be present for the issuance of the PCC. However, the cops who are deployed to conduct verification often insist on the presence of the applicant in person resulting in unnecessary hardships to the public, the circular said.
The PCC is an official document issued to Indian nationals from the police stations or from the district police chiefs vouching that the applicant has no criminal background. The PCC is a must for obtaining jobs and visas in other countries.
Though the police guidelines did not make it mandatory for the applicants to appear in person for verification, it has been noticed that the officers often reject the requests demanding the physical presence of the applicants.
This demand most often lands those who are abroad in soup as they have no other option but to rush back to the state to get the PCC.
The SPC pointed out that insisting the applicants to turn up personally while applying has prompted many to forge PCC and hence if there are valid reasons, then the physical presence of the applicants should not be insisted upon.
"The objective of the guidelines issued vide reference cited was to ensure that common people get the services promptly and with ease. But the insistence on physical appearance of the applicant can defeat this objective," the circular read.
As per the existing guidelines, PCC for UAE job visas should be issued by the SHOs, while the rest should be issued by the district police chiefs. The PCC should be issued ideally within three days of the receipt of the applications in normal circumstances.