KATHMANDU, March 12 The Police Record Management Department (DPPR) has handed over the leave letter to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dheeraj Pratap Singh with effect from March 25. DPPR has also sent letter of retirement to Additional Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, Uttam Raj Subedi and Dibesh Lohani, Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) Nala Prasad Upadhyay, Masood Alam Khan and Mohan Kumar Acharya who joined the service on March 24, 1993 along with Singh. The letters were sent to all the high-ranking police officers more than a week ahead of their due retirement date.

Sahdev Rayamajhi, director and information officer of the DPPR, said that the letters were sent based on the 30-year service limit as per the Police Act, 2012. 

"Generally, the retirement preparation process starts six months before retirement," said Director Rayamajhi. Accordingly, we have sent the information regarding the retirement of the IGP and the police personnel enrolled with him to the police headquarters.

Even though the department sent a letter specifying the date of retirement based on the 30-year service period in the police regulations, IGP Singh is engaged in 'lobbying' to remove the provisions of the regulations and extend the tenure by two more years.

Although police officers have made efforts since a long time to remove the provision of 30 years of service limit in the Police Act, they have failed to achieve success.

However, sources claim that IGP Singh is likely to get a term extension by removing the provision before March 25 if time permits.

The then government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba tried to continue Singh by amending the regulations last November. For that, the Ministry of Home Affairs prepared a revised draft and sent it to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for its opinion. But on December 25, the new government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal halted the process to amend the act.

The Dahal-led government has decided to introduce a new Federal Police Act to replace the Police Act, 2012 and remove the 30-year provision. But it seems unlikely that this work will be done before March 25. 

Kedarnath Sharma, Joint Secretary  at the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Republica that the regulation amendment process has not yet resumed."The process of amending the act has not proceeded ahead from the ministry," he said, adding, "Instead, according to the government's latest decision, a draft of the new police law has been prepared and sent to the finance ministry for approval. The finance ministry is yet to approve the draft. The government has decided to formulate a new law, and the continuation of IGP Singh seems impossible.

According to Komal Bahadur Khatri, joint secretary and chief of the Legal Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, it may take months for the new law to come into effect.

Now the draft of the new law has been sent to the Ministry of Finance for approval. If it comes back with consent from the finance ministry, it should be sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for its opinion," Joint Secretary Khatri said. "Only after the Ministry of Law agrees on the draft bill, it will be taken to the Council of Ministers. After approval by the Council of Ministers, it should be sent to the Public Service Commission. After coming back from the Public Service Commission to the Council of Ministers, it will be sent to the House of Representatives.

After the draft bill is sent to the House of Representatives (HoR), discussions will be held in the Parliamentary Committee. It will then be submitted to the House of Representatives for approval.

After it is passed by the House of Representatives, it should be sent to the National Assembly. After it is passed by the National Assembly, it should be sent to the President's office for authentication. Only after the president authenticates the bill, the new law will come into effect.

"It takes months to complete such a process," said Joint Secretary Khatri. If the government wants to amend the regulations, it can be done on the same day, said Joint Secretary Khatri. He said, "If the government directs, we will prepare the amendment of the regulations immediately." Other relevant ministries can also give consent on the same day.

If the government removes the 30-year service limit before March 25, the service period of police officers including IGP Singh will continue without any hurdles, Director of the department Rayamajhi said. In the police regulations, there is provision for compulsory retirement from service due to 30 years of service and age limit. The age limit of IGP is 58 years and the service period is four years. Singh, who was born on November 6, 1967, was appointed IGP on May 1, 2022. If the 30-year service period ends immediately, he will retire on November 5, 2025 due to age limit.

The promotion committee on Friday recommended DIGs Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, Tekprasad Rai, Deepak Thapa, Shyamalal Gyawali and Kiran Bajracharya for promotion to five posts of AIG. One among them will be the new IGP if incumbent IGP Singh and his batchmates AIGs Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, Uttam Raj Subedi and Dibesh Lohani retire on March 25.

But if the law of 30-year service is removed before Singh’s retirementon March 25, he will continue his tenure.

DIG Rai, who is now being recommended for promotion as AIG, says that removing the 30-year service period is essential for the police organization. 

“I was in favor of removing it yesterday, and I am still in its favor today," he said. "If that provision is removed, some people will suffer some losses, but the organization will benefit in the long term," Rai added.

 
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