THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kodiyeri Balakrishnan donned ministerial robe only once. He held the key home portfolio in the V S Achuthanandan ministry from 2006 to 2011. He had quite a remarkable stint and is considered one of the best home ministers the state has ever had. Though he had brought about many reforms in the department, Kodiyeri left an indelible mark in the annals of the ministry by introducing the Kerala Police Act 2011.
The Kerala Police Act of 1960 was just meant to unify various police systems that existed in different parts of Kerala. It was largely a mirror image of the archaic Indian Police Act of 1861 and did not reflect the change in times and change in the matrix of policing. Kodiyeri wanted to refine that for good.
Former DGP A Hemachandran, who was one of the members of the review committee, remembered the unwavering support that Kodiyeri gave to frame the Act. It was the Act that gave birth to various reforms in the force such as setting up of Police Complaint Authority.
“History will remember Kodiyeri for the lasting contribution he made through the new Kerala Police Act,” he said. Kodiyeri also ensured that those opposing the draft of the bill get a chance to present their version. When the assembly committee held a hearing in Thalassery, Kodiyeri’s office directly invited T Asaf Ali, a prominent lawyer and a Congress leader who later became the Director General of Prosecution during the Oommen Chandy government, to present his objection.
“Kodiyeri was eager to hear the dissenting voices against the draft of the bill. During the hearing, he gave me a chance to speak on the deficiencies of the draft, which I did. Many of those errors were later rectified in the act,” Ali said.
FORERUNNER OF REFORMS
Former DGP A Hemachandran, who was one of the members of the review committee, remembered the unwavering support that Kodiyeri gave to frame the Act. It was the Act that gave birth to various reforms in the force such as setting up of Police Complaint Authority.