Police associations reorganisation: High Court quashes government order

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has quashed the government order seeking to reorganise police associations in the state, holding that the appointment of ad hoc committees was not legally valid. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas passed the order while allowing petitions filed by the Kerala Police Officers Association and the Kerala Police Association challenging the July 27 order of the Home Department, which sought to reduce the number of associations to two and alter their membership structure.

The government order had dissolved the governing bodies of the Police Association, Police Officers Association and Senior Police Officers Association. It directed that the Police Association be reorganised by including personnel from civil police officer to Grade Sub-Inspector, while the Senior Police Officers Association would include officers from Sub-Inspector to Superintendent of Police. This would have done away with the Kerala Police Officers Association (KPOA).

The High Court held that the government had no authority to interfere with the structure of police organisations in a manner contrary to the constitutional right to form associations and the organisations' bylaws. Under the Police (Restriction of Rights) Rules, 1966, the power to recognise or withdraw recognition of associations rests with the police chief and not the government, the court said. It also observed that the directions in the government order to transfer the membership, records, assets, liabilities and bank funds of the association being done away with to the other two associations were contrary to law and the bylaws.