No more Police Officers' Association in Kerala; service bodies cut down to two

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has restructured service organisations within the state police force, reducing them to two bodies and dissolving the existing Police Officers Association through amendments to the organisations' bylaws.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Minhaj Alam issued the order, citing complaints from police personnel over practical difficulties in the existing membership structure.

Under the revised framework, the force will have only two service organisations — the Police Association and the Police Senior Officers Association. The now-defunct Police Officers Association had represented personnel from the rank of Grade Assistant Sub-Inspector (Grade ASI) to Circle Inspector (CI).
The dissolved association's bank accounts, assets, records, deposits and liabilities will be redistributed, with 60 per cent transferred to the Police Association and the remaining 40 per cent to the Police Senior Officers Association.

Membership of the Police Association has been restricted to Civil Police Officers, Senior Civil Police Officers, Grade ASIs, Assistant Sub-Inspectors and Grade Sub-Inspectors. The Police Senior Officers Association, meanwhile, will comprise personnel from the rank of Sub-Inspector up to non-IPS Superintendents of Police.

The order comes at a time when the leadership of both organisations is held by officers considered sympathetic to the Left. However, assessments within police circles suggest that fresh elections could see Congress-leaning officers gain control of the associations.
To oversee the transition, the State Police Chief has been directed to constitute ad hoc committees to coordinate the membership process and reorganisation. Elections at the unit, district and state levels must be completed by September 30, and the newly elected committees will serve a two-year term.

Elections to the Police Senior Officers Association will be conducted on the basis of one representative for every seven officers, while the Police Association will continue under the existing electoral norms. Complaints arising from the election process will be dealt with by the State Police Chief and the respective District Police Chiefs.