New Delhi: In a move that could trigger off a heated debate on effective policing and armed forces , the Administrative Reforms Commission on Monday suggested giving controversial and sweeping powers to the Centre to deploy armed forces in states.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission recommended setting up of a Crime Investigative Agency (CIA) in every state and advocated a new law to empower CBI to probe crimes like terrorism, sedition and human trafficking at the state level.
Headed by Veerappa Moily, the 342-page report also proposes to repeal the controversial and the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and provide for an enabling legislation for deployment of armed forces in the North-Eastern states.
The issue has always been a bone of contention between Centre and the state government and Moily cited the example of Ayodhya when this was brought to his notice. He said in Ayodhya, central forces were only deployed but never employed."
The report on 'Public Order' was submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Other recommendations include separation of crime investigation from law and a fixed three-year tenure for police officials at all "operational levels."
The report also takes a serious note of fake encounter deaths and suggests setting up of an independent Inspectorate to inquire into encounter deaths within 24 hours.
Moily also suggests setting up of a Board of Investigation (BoI) with the proposed CIA, to be headed by a sitting/retired High Court judge, eminent lawyer or citizen or a retired police officer.
The nomination to this post should be through a high-powered collegium headed by the chief minister, Moily opined.
The panel also recommends making admissible in the court of law confessions made before the police and all such statements should being video recorded and the tapes produced before the court.
The panel also advocates 33 per cent reservation for women in police forces.
However, Moily also made clear that the process of implementing these recommendations will be done without “tinkering with the Constitution”.
He said the panel only makes recommendations to ensure that deployment of central forces "should take place only after the state concerned fails to act on a direction issued by the Union."
The report further said that all deployments should be only for a temporary period not exceeding three months, which could be extended by another three months after authorisation by Parliament.
It suggested setting up of an independent Inspectorate to inquire into encounter deaths within 24 hours and submit its report to the Police Performance Accountability Commission.
It suggested inclusion of organised crime, terrorism, acts threatening national security, trafficking in arms and human beings, sedition, major crimes with inter-state ramification, assassination of or attempt on major public figures and serious economic offences in the new list of federal crimes for which a new law should be enacted.
The panel seeks to replace this law with the Delhi Special Powers Establishment Act at present governing the CBI to facilitate its probe into federal crimes.
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