Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha is notorious for making perverse and disastrous announcements now and then. Since her assumption of office in May last year, there had been a spate of such announcements and decisions – giving up the spacious and modern New Secretariat complex, doing away with Samacheer Kalvi scheme, conversion of Anna Centenary Library into children’s hospital, retrenching 13,000 Makkal Nala Paniyalargal overnight, causing obstruction to Rs.1800 crore Elevated Express Way from Chennai port to Maduravoyal after much of the work had been completed are some of her disastrous decisions.
The recent announcement of Jayalalitha in the State Assembly under Rule no 110 is another example for her thoughtless and disastrous move.
She announced the setting up of a new ‘Tamil Nadu Special Police Youth Force’ in the State to supplement the work of police personnel in maintaining law and order and to curtail crime rate.
Making a statement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly on Oct.29, she said 50,000 members in the age group of 18 to 30 would be recruited for the Force. “Of the total strength of 50,000, 10,000 personnel will be appointed by the end of this fiscal”, she added.
Jayalalitha said the Youth Force would act as a supplementary force to the police department and assist in controlling traffic, undertake night patrolling besides maintaining law and order and curb crimes.
Stating there was a need to create an additional number of 19,000 posts in the police force due to increase in population and thousands of personnel retiring every year, she announced creation of ‘Tamil Nadu Special Youth Police Force’ to address the need for more police personnel. Noting that Superintendents of Police in all the Districts would conduct examinations, the Chief Minister said those aspiring to join the force should have a minimum educational qualification of Class X.
Those clearing the examinations would be posted as members of the Tamil Nadu Special Youth Police Force in the respective districts on an honorarium of Rs 7,500 per month. They would also be allowed to make use of special stores which sell essentials to police personnel at subsidised rates, besides provision of rice, wheat, sugar and dhal at subsidised rates.
Jayalalitha said those who complete one year period of service satisfactorily would be eligible for induction into the police department. ‘A particular percentage in police constable vacancies every year will be reserved for these people,’ she said. The Chief Minister said the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board would hold special exams every year and the names of those clearing them successfully would be released.
“Those failing to clear the tests can continue to be members of the Special Police Youth Force till the age of 40 after which the government will provide alternative jobs to them”, she added. She said 10,000 members would be selected this year and the tests would be held in December.
Those clearing the exams would be provided basic training in January and absorbed in the police department by the end of this fiscal. The Chief Minister said 15,000 members would be selected for the fiscal year 2013-14. “Depending on the requirements every year, a maximum of 50,000 members would be inducted into the Police Youth Force”, she added.
Stating that the State police department was rendering yeoman service in maintaining peace, preventing and solving crimes, controlling traffic and carrying out relief works during natural disasters, the Chief Minister said the total number of jobs in the police department was 1.13 lakh which amounted to one policeman for 635 people.
“As on January one this year, 82 per cent of total 1.13 lakh posts have been filled up. The balance of 12,208 people were selected after a written exam and they are undergoing medical tests at present”, she added. Since it would take another seven months to induct them into the police force, it has been decided to constitute the Special Police Youth Force to supplement the role of the police department.
Commenting on her announcement, DMK President and former Chief Minister said it was yet another wrong move by the ADMK regime and wondered what would happen to Tamil Nadu if blunder after blunder was committed by this regime. Answering a question in this regard in ‘Murasoli’ on Nov9, Kalaignar said if the number of police personnel was not enough it should have been increased by recruiting through TN Uniformed Services Recruitment Board as in practice for long. If the government had to recruit more people like this, it should follow rules of recruitment and on salary basis. If the Superintendents of Police were to select them they would have to accept the recommendations of ADMK people as it happened in the case of Anganwadi and Nutritious Meal workers. “Is this an effort made to give jobs to party men and thrust them into police force, which cannot be done if they are recruited through USRB?” Kalaignar asked. Having removed from service 13,000 People’s Welfare workers who were in service, now they claim they would employ 50,000 in Police department! This is yet another wrong scheme announced by the ADMK regime, he added.
This announcement of Jayalalitha is fraught with several violations and grave implications !
There are two reasons for her creating such a force: one, According to the increase in population, 19,000 more police posts was required and already there were 12,000 vacancies in the force. She had said that those selected for these vacancies would take another six months to join duty after completing training. It requires only a day or two for a Chief Minister like her to create 19,000 new posts. How can creation of a youth force for this be a sufficient reason? Even conceding her reasoning, why should 50,000 persons be taken for 19,000 posts?
The service of Police force is a sovereign function which can be performed only by a full-time government servant. Handing over such a service to persons receiving consolidated pay will create worst consequences.
She had announced that those in such youth force would be involved in works like Night patrolling, regulating traffic, delivering court summons etc., Ordinary public are not very much conversant with court summons. Either they will ignore them without knowing consequences or too very frightened. It will be easy for the youth force persons employed for just Rs.7500 per month to frighten such gullible people and make money. Moreover, only full time government servant delivering court summons is legally correct.
For regulation of traffic, student volunteers of NSS in colleges and members of Home Guard are already deployed in large numbers in various places. When their services are available what is the need for youth police force?
The Police Standing Order stipulates nature of night paroling and how it had to be carried out. According to Standing Order No.369, “It is incumbent upon the Police to ensure the safety of the roads and strict attention must, therefore, be paid to road patrolling. Unduly severe work should not be demanded from night patrol men. They should be sent out with definite orders which may be varied, as circumstances permit, with respect to the time to be passed at particular spots. It should always be possible to arrange for a patrol to take some rest at a named place. If possible two constables should patrol together or a constable should be accompanied by a village talaiyari through his village limits. It is often useful for patrol constable to look up bad characters in villages not far from the roadside. To secure the due performance of road patrolling, constant checking is absolutely essential, and officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police must see that all subordinate officers, from Inspector downwards, perform their fair share of duty.”
This duty could be discharged only by a full time government servant, i.e., of those in Police force and delegating this to any other will be illegal.
Jayalalitha had announced that the selection for this youth police force will be made by superintendents of police of respective districts which will pave way for worst corruption and administrative degeneration.
For selection of constables minimum height of 168 cm for men and 157 cm for women is prescribed. Such standards are prescribed for the reason that the police personnel should be physically fit. But for those to be selected for the proposed youth police force the only prescribed norm is that they should be between 18 and 30 years of age.
Those selected for this force will be paid only Rs.7,500 pm. Can anybody getting such paltry wage run a family? Moreover, those who receive such paltry wage are likely to resort to undesirable ways of making money from innocent people. Moreover, there are more chances of these youth used as orderlies in the residences of higher officials and extracting very hard work. How can such exploitation of labour be allowed?
Those who are selected for this youth force will be absorbed in the vacancies of police constables every year through a special examination conducted by USRB. Those who could not get through in this process will be allowed to continue in that job till the age of 40 years and thereafter the government will make arrangements for getting them other government jobs, it has been stated. Jayalalitha, who is dragging 13,000 MNPs in spite of orders by the High Court and Supreme Court, assuring alternative jobs for these people is indeed ridiculous and the person who dismissed 1.50 lakh government employees overnight giving such hopes is like Satan preaching scriptures. Besides this, for selecting constables, there is Tamil Nadu Police Subordinate Services Special Rules against which selecting constables from such Special Youth Force will be illegal.
Against the announcement of special youth police force, a public interest petition was filed in the Madras High Court.
The High Court dismissed as premature a public interest litigation petition seeking to declare as null and void the government’s decision of November 29 to create a Tamil Nadu Youth Special Police Force (TNYSPF).
Petitioner P. Pugalenthi, an advocate here, stated that there was no provision of law enabling the government to form such a unit. The duties of the police could never be allowed to be performed by the TNYSPF, who may in future be absorbed as regular police personnel.
When more than 12,000 regularly recruited constables were undergoing training, the decision to recruit 10,000 members of the TNYSPF on a monthly honorarium of Rs.7500 to discharge the duties of regularly appointed policemen, would be arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable.
A Division Bench of Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and Aruna Jagadeesan said that except making a statement in the Assembly, no rules or regulations had been framed governing TNYSPF.
Therefore, the Judges said they were of the considered opinion that unless the Chief Minister’s statement became a law, the petitioner had no right to oppose it. The writ petition was premature, the Bench said, and rejected it.
But it was not just a statement by the Chief Minister but an announcement made under Rule No 110 which debars any debate over it and ipso facto amounts to an order of the executive.
In the case of Dr.D.C.Wadhwa & Ors. Vs State of Bihar & Ors. Supreme Court judge Justice. P.N.Bhagavati had held,
“The rule of law constitutes the core of our Constitution and it is the essence of the rule of law that the exercise of the power by the State whether it be the Legislature or the Executive or any other authority should be within the constitutional limitations and if any practice is adopted by the Executive which is inflagrant and systematic violation of its constitutional limitations, petitioner No. 1 as a member of the public would have sufficient interest to challenge such practice by filing a writ petition and it would be the constitutional duty of this Court to entertain the writ petition and adjudicate upon the validity of such practice.”
Anyhow, after the rules or regulations are framed governing TNYSPF, the High Court can be approached on the validity of Jayalalitha’s announcement.
Recently, on 6th July ordering the Chattisgarh government to immediately disband the SPOs also called as Salwa Judum, the Supreme Court in its judgment stated:
‘’ The creation of a cadre like groups of SPOs, temporarily employed and paid an honorarium, out of uneducated or undereducated tribal youth, many of who are also informed by feelings of rage, hatred and a desire for revenge, to combat Maoist/Naxalite activities runs counter to both those prescriptions. We have dealt with the same extensively hereinabove. We need to add one more necessary observation. It is obvious that the State is using the engagement of SPOs, on allegedly temporary basis and by paying “honoraria”, to overcome the shortages and shortcomings of currently available capacities and forces within the formal policing structures. The need itself is clearly a long-run need. Consequently, such actions of the State may be an abdication of constitutional responsibilities to provide appropriate security to citizens, by having an appropriately trained professional police force of sufficient numbers and properly equipped on a permanent basis. These are essential state functions, and cannot be divested or discharged through the creation of temporary cadres with varying degrees of state control.
They necessarily have to be delivered by forces that are and personnel who are completely under the control of the State, permanent in nature, and appropriately trained to discharge their duties within the four corners of constitutional permissibility. The conditions of employment of such personnel also have constitutional limitations. The instant matters, in the case of SPOs in Chattisgarh, represent an extreme form of transgression of constitutional boundaries.”
This judgment will also be applicable to the TNYSPF that Jayalalitha proposes to set up. It is highly unlikely that this force will stand the scrutiny of courts due to the above stated facts. All opposition parties and those concerned with democracy, human rights and rule of law should come forward to oppose the sinister design of Jayalalitha to thrust ADMK cadre into the State Police force and convert it into a partisan political force!
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