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What Is Assam Police (Amendment) Bill 2022?

The bill seeks to amend the relevant sections of the Assam Police Act, 2007 pertaining to the power and functions of the State-level Police Accountability Commission.

What Is Assam Police (Amendment) Bill 2022?

Sentinel Digital Desk

Guwahati: Assam government on Tuesday took several decisions such as the development of BTR, the introduction of the Bodo language in schools, the repeal of obsolete Acts, setting up a new cultural university and others.

In one of these decisions, the Assam cabinet also decided to approve the 'Assam Police (Amendment) Bill 2022' which seeks to amend the

relevant sections of Assam Police Act, 2007 pertaining to power and functions of State-level Police Accountability Commission.

What is Assam Police (Amendment) Bill 2022?

The bill enables the establishment of the District Accountability Authority in each Police district/ group of districts in a Police range to ensure accountability and to look into complaints of serious misconduct against police personnel.

Under the amended proposal in this bill, certain categories have been removed from giving explanations under serious misbehaviour in respect of complaints made to the State Level Accountability Commission against any policeman.

Allegations of arrest or detention without due process of law, forcible deprivation of possession of a person's rightful property, blackmail or extortion, non-registration of FIRs against policemen, etc. have been removed from the category of serious misconduct.

This was done as per the Supreme Court judgement in the Prakash Singh case. The district-level commission will have all the omitted categories in the 'misconduct'.

Police Accountability Commission (PAC)

In December last year, during the discussion on the bill, the Chief Minister told the house that as per rule, PAC should have two parts – at the district level and the State level. The Commission at the district level will look into complaints against officers up to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) level while the Commission at the State level will look into complaints against officers like the Superintendent of Police (SP) and above ranks.

In Assam, said the Chief Minister, the district-level PAC has not been activated. "So in the next assembly session, we will again introduce an amendment bill," said Sarma.

He further said that if people have complaints of 'serious misconduct' by police officers, they can file the complaints at the State-level PAC while complaints of 'misconduct' by police officers can be filed at the district-level PAC.

"From now, if any police station does not lodge an FIR, the person need not complain to the PAC. Instead, he can submit a petition in the local court as per the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) Act," said the Chief Minister.

He further said that henceforth, complaints by anonymous complainants will not be accepted by PAC. Only the victim or someone on behalf of the victim can complain.

Also read: Everything You Need To Know About Assam Repealing Act, 2022

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