A committee has been formed at Police Headquarters, coordinated by AIG Rajan Adhikari, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs to propose improvements. There is dissatisfaction regarding the proposed bill increasing the authority of the Chief District Officer (CDO) while weakening police powers. Kathmandu, 6 Baisakh — After the dissolution of parliament, the Police Headquarters in Naxal has formed a committee to study the inactive Police Bill, known as the proposed Federal Police Act. The bill had become inactive following the dissolution of parliament after the Jana Andolan movement on 23 and 24 Bhadra. After the House of Representatives election on 21 Falgun, the Police Headquarters established the committee to review the bill.
The committee was formed under the coordination of Rajan Adhikari, Chief of the Crime Investigation Department and Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG). Police Headquarters sources informed that members include SPs from the legal branch and other police officers. The committee was formed after the Ministry of Home Affairs requested suggestions for improvements to the Police Bill. According to SSP and Nepal Police Deputy Spokesperson Deep Shamsher Jabara, alongside AIG Adhikari’s committee, the Police Investigation and Planning Development Directorate is also working on the matter.
Nepal Police has voiced concerns over certain provisions in the Police Bill. The Headquarters opposes the attempt to revoke powers held since the Police Act of 1956 (2012 BS). According to the draft, Section 7 outlines arrangements for deployment, direction, control, and supervision. The responsibility for peace and security in districts lies under the Chief District Officer (CDO). Under Section 8 of the Police Act of 1956, police have been working under the orders of the CDO for peace and security.
However, Section 7 (2) of the proposed bill states, “In matters relating to peace, security, good governance, crime prevention, and control, police personnel shall be under the direction, control, and supervision of the Chief District Officer.” This provision indicates that police intelligence personnel must operate under CDO direction not only for maintaining peace and security but also for crime prevention. Police officers argue that this increases the CDO’s authority while weakening the police force.
Additionally, Police Headquarters is dissatisfied with efforts to transfer police powers to the Armed Police Force. Section 8 of the proposed Armed Police Force, Nepal Bill authorizes the Armed Police to take responsibility for international border security and control border-related crimes. Subsection (t) of Section 8 allows the Armed Police to detain, search, and conduct preliminary investigations into illegal activities in the international border area and hand over offenders to relevant agencies for legal action. The police have expressed dissatisfaction with this and suspect attempts to cede their powers to the Armed Police Force.
Two laws concerning police integration were enacted in 2076 BS. The “Bill on the arrangement of integrating police personnel into Nepal Police and Provincial Police” received presidential assent on 28 Magh 2076 BS. Similarly, the “Bill relating to the operation, supervision, and coordination of Nepal Police and Provincial Police” was also ratified on 28 Magh 2076 BS. Following the enactment of the police integration laws, the necessary Organizational and Management survey (O&M) has been approved by the Council of Ministers.
According to the organizational and management survey approved by the Council of Ministers in Mangsir 2077 BS, a total manpower of 24,816 is to be allocated to the central police and 54,072 to the seven provinces. However, this process has not yet started. The issue of which level the security agencies should fall under has been repeatedly raised in previous parliaments. To resolve integration complexities, the then government registered the Nepal Police Bill in the House of Representatives on 15 Magh 2081 BS. The bill introduced by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was registered on 16 Magh 2081 BS and general discussion was completed on 5 Falgun 2081 BS.
During the discussion, MPs raised challenges related to security coordination that could arise following constitutional implementation and police integration. However, the bill did not progress on schedule and was eventually passed to the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee on 11 Falgun 2081 BS. After limited committee discussion, the bill did not become law. After the election on 21 Falgun, efforts are underway to revive this issue in the new House of Representatives. The Ministry of Home Affairs is working on four bills including the Nepal Police Bill, Armed Police Force Bill, Immigration-related Bill, and Intelligence-related Bill. It is anticipated that police integration will move forward after the Federal Police Act comes into effect, and currently, there are no legal barriers to integration.
