Uttarakhand State Police Complaints Authority - Commonwealth ...

Step 3: Inquiry• Defendant is notified of the complaint against him and asked to submit a written statement inhis defence within a prescribed time limit;• Inquiry to be made by the Authority based on the information received from the complainantand defendant;• Authority will have the powers of a civil court;• Complaint to be heard by the Chairperson or any other member as directed by the Chairpersonor by two or more members;• Complainant may be allowed to withdraw or modify complaint;• Authority has the powers to stay proceedings if suitable grounds exist.Step 4: Conclusion of the Inquiry• Final order summarising evidence and recommendation if any;• Where a case is made out, the Authority shall recommend appropriate action to be takenagainst the errant officer to the state government;• Seek explanation from the DG Police where the complainant is dissatisfied with the inquiryconducted against the accused police officers or inquiry is taking an inordinately long time tobe completed;• On receipt of such explanation, the Authority may give orders to initiate appropriate proceedingsand taking into consideration the circumstances of the case;• Where it is of the opinion that proceedings are not being held in a fair and just manner, directthat such proceedings be restarted.As this formal procedure cannot yet be implemented in the absence of Rules, over the period of thetwo years that the Authority has been functional, a pattern of dealing with cases has emerged thatthe Authority now seems to have adopted and formalised. However the procedure is not listedanywhere.From an analysis of the complaints and the subsequent orders, the Authority’s work commenceswhen it receives a complaint. The first step it takes is to seek an inquiry report from the concernedDistrict Superintendent of Police. Based on the inquiry report of the police the Authority decides if acase is made out against the police or the complaint needs to be dismissed. If the Authority decidesto hear the complaint, notice is issued to both parties – the complainant as well as the officeragainst whom the allegation has been made. On hearing both sides, the Authority arrives at adecision and issues a final order and directions. The directions are forwarded to the state governmentfor appropriate action. The whole process takes an average of three months to complete.COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY 25