Centre revives plan for police university
NEW DELHI: The government has revived a proposal to set up a national university for police that will help overhaul training and drive R&D and policy making pertaining to policing issues in the country, said sources.
According to the plan, the institution will teach skills to deal with new policing challenges such as cyber crime and better mechanisms to maintain law and order, and investigation abilities.
“The matter came up for discussing on Wednesday in the home ministry. It is still at a conceptual stage and plan is being firmed up,” said a government official. The cabinet approved a proposal for a National Police University in 2008 but two years later, the then minister of state for home, Ajay Maken, said in a Parliament reply that the proposal stood withdrawn in view of the “inherent merits in conducting such courses through existing universities“.
Experts said a dedicated university is needed. “It’s a step in the right direction. There is an urgent need to have institutional study of issues like terrorism, organised crime, money laundering, etc. We are talking about smart cities but they can only come with smart police and this university will help achieve that objective,” said Prakash Singh, former BSF chief and Uttar Pradesh director general of police.
If the proposal goes through, the university may provide degrees for courses related to policing issues.
“But there are issues that need to be hammered out, like whether degree holders from the universities will be absorbed in police forces across the country. We have to bear in mind that policing is a state subject and hiring is done by respective states. And also, if students are absorbed by the private sector, the university may have to offer courses that suit the requirement of jobs in private sector,” said the ministry source.
The university will also act as a repository of data on policing in the country. It may as well conduct research on various challenges and prepare policy suggestions. At the moment, there is a National Police Academy that offers shot-term courses and training, but mainly for Indian Police Service officers.
There is also a Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice in Jodhpur that was established by the Rajasthan government. TORONTO: A delegation led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra held discussions in Ottawa with his Canadian counterpart Beverley Mclachlin on several issues, including extradition between the countries.
CJI Misra led the judicial delegation that participated in the Sixth Indo-canadian Legal Forum. Among the issues discussed were Canada-india extradition proceedings, environmental courts in India, and alternate dispute resolution mechanisms.
The Indian delegation included justices Kurian Joseph, RK Agrawal, Uday Umesh Lalit, additional solicitor general PS Narasimha, and secretary general of Supreme Court Ravindra Maithani. A release from the Indian high commission in Ottawa stated, “India and Canada share a similar legal system and, in the last 50 years, each has independently developed an unwritten Constitutional jurisprudence that bears a striking resemblance to that of the other. There is considerable appreciation in Canada for the ... judgements by the Supreme Court of India...”