‘Constitute Police Complaints Authority’

High Court directive to State govt.

January 22, 2021 12:29 am | Updated 12:29 am IST - HYDERABAD

Telangana High Court on Thursday instructed State government to constitute State Police Complaints Authority within four weeks of receiving names of retired Supreme Court or High Court judges for appointment as the Authority’s chairman.

A bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy passed the direction after hearing a PIL petition on the constitution of State Security Commission and State Police Complaints Authority in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The bench gave four weeks of time to AP government to initiate the process of constitution of the Authority after the State’s special counsel represented that due to COVID-19 pandemic it got delayed. The erstwhile Hyderabad HC for AP and Telangana in 2017 disposed of a writ petition directing the two States to constitute SSC and PCA in compliance with the Supreme Court directions in Prakash Singh vs Union of India. Suo moto contempt proceedings were initiated against the Home Secretaries of the two States as the HC directions were not enforced. Telangana Advocate General B.S. Prasad informed the bench that chairman of the State PCA should be a retired judge of SC or HC. For district PCA, a retired district judge was to be appointed as chairman. State government had already written to the HC to suggest names of a retired judge of SC or HC for appointment and would constitute soon after receipt of the recommendation of names from the HC.

The CJ directed the State government to ensure the State PCA was constituted within four weeks of receiving names from the HC for appointment as chairman.

The matter was posted to June 4 for next hearing.

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