Himachal Pradesh Bill shielding public servants from arrest without government sanction receives President's assent
The President of India has assented to a Bill passed by the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, which shields public servants from arrest without government sanction.
The Himachal Pradesh Police (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by the Congress-ruled State Assembly on December 20, 2024. The Bill was opposed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in the State Assembly on the grounds that it would protect corrupt government officials.
State legislation is examined from three corners — inconsistency with Central laws, deviation from national or Central policy, and legal and constitutional validity.
After inter-Ministry consultations, State Bills are rejected, assented to, or returned with comments by the President of India based on the advice of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Himachal Pradesh Police (Amendment) Bill, 2024 amends Section 65 of the Himachal Pradesh Police Act, 2007 by inserting a new provision which reads: 'No Police Officer shall arrest a public servant for any act done while discharging his duties as public servant except with the prior sanction of the Government.'
In the statement of objects and reasons, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said that the amendment was being brought 'to enable public servants to discharge their duties fearlessly', and the Bill proposed to grant them protection from arrest.
The Bill has two other provisions — it paves the way for recruiting non-gazetted Grade II police officers to the State cadre through the Police Recruitment Board, removing the need for a separate district cadre; it allows the State government to nominate junior officers for the constitution of the District Police Complaint Authority in case senior officers are not available.
On April 8, the Supreme Court ruled on judicial intervention prevailing if Governors withheld legislative Bills for indefinite periods, and also prescribed a three-month timeline for the President to decide on Bills referred by the Governor.
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