Minimum 2-year posting for cops before transfer says Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara

Home Minister G Parameshwara said the government will mandate a minimum two-year tenure for police officers before they are transferred.

The move comes at a time when the government is under attack for alleged corruption in police transfers.

In an interview to DH, Parameshwara said, “Undue interference” in transfers is “the biggest malaise confronting the police force”. He said transfers are largely dictated by elected representatives.

“Under the previous (BJP) government, political interference in the transfer of police officers was high. As a result, police transfers were being carried out every year. A one-year tenure for any officer would be short and s/he would not have any enthusiasm left to do any good work. Therefore, we have decided to review the transfer mechanism and ensure that an officer is given a minimum two-year tenure in one posting instead of present one-year norm,” Parameshwara said.

Transfer norms are important for the police to “remain agile and disciplined”, he said. “Otherwise, it will have an adverse impact on policing with the force facing newer challenges in a new world order,” he said.

Recently, the government was in for embarrassment when it had to put on hold the transfer of over 200 police inspectors after Congress lawmakers raised objections. Apparently, their recommendations were not considered during transfers.

It is said that Parameshwara was disappointed over the row. However, he clarified that he was neither disappointed nor insulted. “Though the transfer list was prepared by the police department, we both (CM Siddaramaiah and I) sat and took a collective decision,” he said.

A senior police officer who did not wish to be named lamented corruption in transfers. The officer said the Supreme Court has held that all transfers above the rank of deputy superintendent should be decided by the Police Establishment Board. “This remains only on paper. Transfers were largely insulated from corruption when Ajai Kumar Singh was the DGP,” the officer said.