Karnataka won’t heed lawmakers’ recommendations in cops’ transfers

BENGALURU: The state government has given an undertaking before the Karnataka High Court that the recommendations made by MLAs/MLCs/MPs for transfer or retention of police officials will be ignored and transfers will be done as per the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh’s case.

Additional Chief Secretary Dr Rajneesh Goel, Department of Home, and DG&IGP Praveen Sood, who is also the chairman of the Police Establishment Board, have filed separate affidavits before a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi to that effect. The undertaking is in response to a  PIL filed by V Shashidhar, president, Akhila Karnataka Police Mahasangha, questioning the transfer of police officials based on elected representatives’ recommendations.

“We accept the statements made by the Additional Chief Secretary and DG&IGP and also the undertaking given on behalf of the Police Establishment Board and state,” the bench said while disposing of the petition.  

The petitioner’s counsel G R Mohan had drawn the attention of the court to a decision of the apex court in the case of Prakash Singh and others. In terms of the directions issued by the apex court, the Karnataka Police Act, 1963 was amended.

As per the amended Act, the PEB under Section 20-B of the Karnataka Police Act has been established. One of the functions of the PEB is to decide all transfers, postings, promotions and other service-related matters of officers below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The counsel pointed out that MLAs were making recommendations for transferring individual police officers to a particular place or retaining them at a particular station. Questioning the political interference, the petitioner’s counsel contended that the issue of transfer of police officials is governed by the Police Act and that both the PEB and the state cannot get influenced by such recommendations made by MLAs.