A proposed Police Act 2068 BS drafted by the Home Ministry and subsequently sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for review has a provision to form the much-anticipated Police Service Commission, which government officials say will address the shortcomings seen in the existing Nepal Police Act 2012 BS.[break]
The government´s initiative comes after the parliamentary State Affairs Committee (SAC) some two months ago directed the Home Ministry to immediately bring in a new Police Act with clear-cut provisions concerning recruitment, promotions and retirement of personnel.
SAC had directed the ministry to come up with a provision for forming an independent Police Service Commission under such an Act as provisions in police regulations were frequently amended through the cabinet to meet the personal interests of the incumbent home minister.
Officials at the Home Ministry said the proposed Act aims at making promotions of police officers ´objective´ and ´transparent´ and clearly setting out a 30-year service limit in the Act itself so that there won´t be any foul play on the part of retiring police officers to extend their service term.
The existing Police Act has given the home ministry discretionary authority to extend service terms for a maximum two years after a senior police officer has served for 30 years. The discretionary provision has been ´abused´ many times in the past, causing many deserving police officers to retire early.
A senior official at the Home Ministry said promotions in the Nepal Police have never been transparent and predictable. “While even a police official repeatedly facing departmental action has obtained regular promotions, there are cases of police officials who never faced such action failing to obtain any promotion at all,” said an official asking for anonymity.
The official said the proposed Act aims at addressing these anomalies to make promotions and transfers transparent and predictable. “Currently, there is no effective reward and punishment system in the Nepal Police. Often, even the IGP and the home secretary are not aware who is being promoted and transferred through unwarranted political interference,” the official further said.
In a recent case in point, the home secretary and the IGP publicly expressed ignorance when two DIGs--Nawa Raj Dhakal and Bhishma Prasain--were promoted to AIG by Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar a few months ago.
Though the existing laws authorize the IGP to decide on transfers of police officers up to the rank of SP, almost all successive home ministers have been taking such decisions on their own, at times leaving even the IGP and home secretary uninformed.
The new Police Act, among other things, makes provisions for a Metropolitan Police force, paving the way for giving the metropolitan police introduced some five years ago quasi-judicial powers.
Related story
Fake candidates taking Public Service Commission examination ar...
