Himachal Pradesh Police Act, 2007
No: 17 Dated: Sep, 26 2007
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH POLICE ACT, 2007
(ACT NO. 17 OF 2007)
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the establishment and management of the Police and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;
WHEREAS the Nation’s founding faith is the primacy of the rule of law and the Police, as guardians of the law must promote the rule of law and render impartial and efficient service to the people with due respect for human rights as well as due concern for the security of the State and the Nation;
AND WHEREAS the Police needs to be professionally organized and kept free from extraneous influences, so that it is respected by citizens and accountable to law;
AND WHEREAS it is expedient to explicitly define the role, duties and responsibilities of the Police, taking into account the emerging challenges of policing, and concern for the security of the State as well the need to ensure good governance and respect for human rights;
AND WHEREAS it is necessary to appropriately empower the Police to enable it to function as a professionally efficient, effective and responsive agency.
BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER-I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, commencement and extent.- (1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Police Act, 2007.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on 16th day of July, 2007.
(3) It extends to the whole of the State of Himachal Pradesh.
2. Definitions.- (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) “Act” means the Himachal Pradesh Police Act, 2007;
(b) “Cattle” include cows, buffaloes, camels, horses, asses, mules, sheep, goats and swine;
(c) “Commissioner” means the Divisional Commissioner of a revenue division;
(d) “competent authority” means the authority as may be prescribed under this Act or under the applicable rules of the Central Government, as the case may be;
(e) “Criminal misconduct” means such misconduct which is an offence under any criminal law in force;
(f) “District”or “revenue District”means a district constituted under the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act, 1954;
(g) “fund” means the Himachal Pradesh Police Fund established under section 130 of this Act;
(h) “Gazetted Police Officer” means a Police Officer of and above the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police;
(i) “insurgency” means waging of armed struggle by a group or a section of population against the State or the Nation with a political objective, including the separation of a part of the State from the territory of India;
(j) “internal security” means preservation of unity and integrity of the State from disruptive and anti-national forces;
(k) “Leader of Opposition” means the person recognized as such by the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, and includes a person recognized as the leader of the single largest opposition group in case there is no recognized Leader of Opposition;
(l) “militant activities” includes any violent activity of a group using explosives, inflammable substances, firearms or other lethal weapons or hazardous substances in order to achieve political or other objectives;
(m) “Magistrate” means, unless the context otherwise requires, an Executive Magistrate appointed under section 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and includes a person exercising powers of Sub-Divisional Magistrate or District Magistrate;
(n) “misconduct” means an act or omission of a Police Officer which is prohibited under this Act or by the rules made thereunder or is not in accordance with the standard of conduct specified under this Act or is not in accordance with the role, functions or responsibilities cast on a Police Officer under this Act;
(o) “notification” means a notification published under proper authority in the Official Gazette;
(p) “Non-Gazetted Police Officer” means a Non-Gazetted Police Officer of Grade-I or Grade-II appointed under section 4 of this Act;
(q) “offence” means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force;
(r) “Official Gazette” means the Rajpatra of Himachal Pradesh;
(s) “organized crime” means any crime committed by a group of persons in pursuance of a common intention of unlawful gain;
(t) “place of public amusement or public entertainment” means such public places as may be notified by the State Government to be a place of public amusement or public entertainment;
(u) “Police District” means such area as may be declared to be a Police District by the State Government, by notification, under section 9 of the Act;
(v) “Police Officer” means any member of the Police Service for the State;
(w) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(x) “police organization” means the various wings of the State Police Service constituted under this Act;
(y) “public place” means such place to which the public has access whether on payment or free of charge and includes-
(i) public buildings, markets, trains, buses and monuments and precincts thereof;
(ii) any place accessible to the public for drawing water, washing or bathing or for purposes of recreation; and
(iii) such other places as may be notified by the State Government;
(z) “Range” or “Police Range” means a Range created under section 8 of this Act;
(za) “regulations” mean regulations made under this Act;
(zb) “rules” mean rules made under this Act;
(zc) “Schedule” means a Schedule appended to this Act;
(zd) “Service Companies” mean units of the State Armed Police Battalions and District Armed Reserve which are deployed for law and order and other duties in support of the civil police;
(ze) “Service” or “Police Service” means the Police Service constituted under this Act;
(zf) “Standing Order” means a special or general order issued by the Director-General of Police in conformity with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder;
(zg) “State” means the state of Himachal Pradesh;
(zh) “State Government” or “Government” means the Government of Himachal Pradesh; and
(zi) “terrorist activity” means any activity of a person or a group of persons using or threatening the use of explosives or inflammable substances or firearms or other lethal weapons or noxious gases or other chemicals or any other substance of a hazardous nature with the aim of striking terror in society or any sector thereof, or with the intention of overawing the Government established by law.
(2) Words and expressions used in this Act but not defined specifically shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the General Clauses Act, 1897, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, or the Indian Penal Code, 1860.