Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday introduced a bill in the Assembly to comply with the Supreme Court directive to reform the civilian police system.
She introduced the draft of the Tamil Nadu Police (Reforms) Act of 2013, which would be taken up for discussion and is expected to be passed by the House on October 30.
The Tamil Nadu Police (Reforms) Act of 2013 would replace the Tamil Nadu Police (Reforms) Ordinance promulgated on September 10.
The legislation has been framed by the Tamil Nadu government to comply with the directions given to all State governments by the Supreme Court in its ruling in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India case.
The Bill sets up a State Security Commission to be manned by the political top brass and high level officials from both the government and police administrations. It also established a period of minimum tenure for the Director General of Police and other lower ranks, with certain exceptions. It also sets up a Police Complaints Authority, to inquire into allegations of misconduct by police personnel in the supervisory ranks, which would have the power to admit the complaint on prima facie satisfaction over veracity.
The Bill also paves the way for the separation of investigative duties of the police from the general duties of police stations.
This would mean separate investigation wing in each police station, which would be removed from law and order duties such as bandobast and VIP security. The Bill, along with the others introduced by the government in the ongoing session of the Assembly, is set to be taken up for discussion before voting on the last day of the session on October 30.