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Government of Kerala Reg No cosil mcrum
KUIV(N)/12/2009-2011
Vol LVI }
nJ:JB.JJO 56
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KERALA GAZETTE
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EXTRAORDINARY
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PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
®~Wldh')tnldh(})::>CO>l LnJ<rulriDEilo;HSJalliDJ<m<ffi
lluruvananthapuram,
Wednesday
cml a> 6 rurnCTIDnJ6 a>o,
6TlJ6W<lB
20th Apnl 2011
20 11 n(ilLn.flmB 20
30th Challhra 1933
1933 6l6bJL(O)o 30
GOVERNMENT OF KERALA
Law (Legislation-E) Department
NOTIFICATION
No
}896
No 4448/Leg E 112 0 1 I /Law Dated, Thuuvananthapuram, 20th Aprtl, 20ll
30th Chmthra, 1933
In pursuance of clause (3) of art1cle 348 of the Con~t1tut10n of India, the
Governor I'> pleased to authonse the publication m the Gazette of the followmg
tiam.latiOn m English language of the Kerdla P0hce Act, 2011 (8 of 2011)
By order of the Governor,
K MADHUSUDAN/\N NAIR,
Spec!Gl Secretary (Law)
PRIN I FD ~ND PUBLI\H~D BY THr SUP[RJNl ~NDENT OF GOVFRNM[NT PRI:SS~.S
Al 1 HE GOVFRNMr'- T CioN rRAL PRF.SS. THIRU'vANANTHAPURAM 2011
33 152Q 2011 DlP
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[Translat.ton tn Enghsh of "2o11-6leJ a.e,m~ an.Joe.~1m'> ~c£bg " published under the
authonty of the Governor.]
Act 8 of 2011
THE KERALA POLICE ACT, 2011
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relatmg to the establishment,
regulatzon, powers and dutzes ·of the Polzce Force zn the State of Kerala
and for matters connected therewith and znczdental thereto
Preamble -WHEREAS 11 1s expedient to provide for a professional, tramed,
skilled, dJSCiplmed and dedicated pollee system to protect the mtegnty and
secunty of State and to ensure the rule of law w1th due transparency and by
g1Villg due regard to hfe, property, freedom, d1gmty and human nghts of every
person m accordance w1th the provisions of the ConstitutiOn of Ind1a,
AND WHEREAS, 11 IS necessary to make capable the pollee by g1vmg
adequate statutory powers and responsibJIIIles to exercise the powers and
discharge the duties efficiently,
AND WHEREAS, 11 IS necessary to have a Police system wh1ch funct10rts m
consonance w1th the modem democratic society and mamtams pubhc harmony
and law and order,
AND WHLREAS, 1t has become Imperative to ensure that the powers vested
m the Pohce shall not be abused and that the actJVJtles of the Pohce are subJect
to statutory and effective controls,
Now, THEREFORE, 1t has become 1mperat1ve to cod1fy and amend the Law
relatmg to the establishment, regulatiOn, powers and duties of Police force m
the State of Kerala,
BE, 11 enacted m the S1xty-first year of Republic of Ind1a as follows
CIIAP'J1.R I
PRELIMINARY
Short tztle, extent and commencement-( I) Th1s Act may be called the
Kerala Pohce Act, 20 ll
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala
(3) It shall come mto force at once
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~ , 2 Defimtwns -( 1) In th1s Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
( a) "Commission" means the State Secunty Commission constituted
under section 24,
(b) "D1stnct Magistrate" means the officer responsible for the executive
admmistratlon of a d1stnct, by whatever designation such officer IS called,
(c) "Government" means the Government of Kerala,
(d) "Place" includes any bulldmg, tent, booth, vehicle or other
constructiOns, e1ther permanent or temporary and any area mcludmg land, sea,
backwaters, nvers, canals and atmosphere either enclosed or open,
(e) "Pollee" means and mcludes all persons exerc1smg the duties and
functions specified under sections 3 and 4 and who are authonsed under section
88 to do so,
(f) "Pohce Force" means the pohce force referred under section 14,
(g) "Pohce d1stnct" means the local area declared under section 16,
(h) "Pohce officer" means any member of the Pohce Force and mcludes
m 1t an officer of the lnd1an Pohce Serv1ce,
(1) "Property" mcludes money, valuable secunty and all properties
e1ther movable, munovable or digital,
(J) "Pubhc place" means any place m wh1ch the pubhc have access
either as of nght or not and mclude~ m It,-
(•) any pubhc bu1ldmg, monument and premises thereof, and
(11) any place accessible to the pubhc for drawmg water or washmg
or bathmg or for the purpose of travel, recreatiOn, food, rest, treatment, trade,
etc or fo'r any other serv1ce,
(k) "Serv1ce provider" means any person or agency or employee or
person m charge of ~uch agency who provide any serv1ce to the pubhc or any
sectwn thereof w1th or Without collectmg any payment and mcludes those who
provide services such as phone, mtemet, computer, veh1cle, food, water, finance,
rent, pawnmg, hospital, laboratory, samtat1on, repa1r, electnc1ty, deposit, share,
constructiOn, secunty, trade, loan, fuel, rest, recreatiOn and any such other
agency wh1ch prov1des any service to the pubhc on demand,
(I) "Street" mcludes any highway, bndge, way, causeway, road, lane,
footpath, square, courtyard, garden path, channel or passage, etc accessible to
the pubhc whether or not 1t IS a thoroughfare,
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(m) "Traffic" means any kmd of movement of person~. ammals, ~des,
vessels or goods along any publlc place and mcludes the dtspostllon of vehtcles,
hvmg thmgs and statt:: ob_1ects etthcr temporary or permanent sttuated m or ncar
any such place affecung m any manner such movement, mdtvtdually or
collectively, of any component among them,
(n) "Velucle" means any means of tran~port whtch carnes any person,
ammal or obJect and :ncludes m 1t a carnage, cart, van, huck, handcart, boat,
b1cycle, tncycle, nckshaw, motor veh1c!e, vessel or aeroplane
(2) Words and expre"sJOns used and not defined m th1s Act, but defin~d
m the lnd1an Penal Code, 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) or m the Code of Cnmmal
Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) shall have the meanmgs re~pccttvely
ass1gned to them therem
CI!APl ER II
DU riES AND FUNCTIONS OF POLICE
3 Genewl duties of police -The Pohce, as a serv1ce funct10nmg category
among the people as part of the admm1strat1ve system shall, ~ubject to the
Constitution of Indta and the laws enacted thereunder, stnve m accordance wtth
the law, to ensure that all persons enJOY the freedoms and nghts avatlable undt>r
the law by ensunng peace and order, mtegnty of the. nat1on, secunty of the Stale
and protectiOn of human nght"
4 The functiOns of the police -The Pohce Officers shall, subject to the
prov1stons of thts Act, perfonn the followmg functtons, namely -
(a) to enforce the law tmparttally,
(b) to protect the hfe, liberty, property, human nght<> and dtgmty of all
persons m accordance wtth the law,
(c) to protect the mternal secunty of the natiOn and act vtgdantly
agamst extremist acllvtttes, communal vtolence, msurgcncy, etc ,
(d) to promote and protect ·arrangement~ en~unng public sccunty .md
mamtam public peace,
(e) to protect the pubhc from danger and nutsance,
(f) to protect all pubhc properttes mcludmg roads, ratlways, bndgcs, vttal
m~tallauons and estabhshments,
(g) to prevent and reduce crtmes exerctsmg lawful powers to the
maxtmwn extent,
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(h) to take actton to br:ng the offenders to the due process of law by
lawfully mvest1gatmg cnmes,
(1) to control and regulate traffic at all pubhc place5 where there IS
movement of people and goods,
(j) to o;tnve to prevent and resolve d1sputes and conflicts wh1ch may
1 esult :n cnmes,
(k) to prov1dc all reasonable help to persons affected by natural or
map_-made d1saster, calamity or acctdent,
(I) to collect, examme and, tf necessary, to d1ssemmate mfonnatton m
support of all actiVIties or the pol.ce c:nd m the mamtenance of secunty of the
State,
(m) to ensure the protectiOn and secunty of all per~ons m custody m
accordancl' w1th law,
(n) to obey and execute lav.fully all lawful commands of competent
authont1es and offic1al supenors,
(o) to uphold and mamtam the standards of mternal diSCiphne,
(p) to mst!l a sense of ~ecunt.v among people m general,
(q) to take charge of and ensure the secunty of persons, espec1al!y
women and children found helpleo;s and without support m any pubhc place or
o;tre~t,
(r) :o dtschargf ar.y dut1cs 1mposed by any law for the t1me bemg m
fot ce,
(s) to dtscharge o;uch other functiOns as may be lawfully ass1gned to
them by the Government, from tune to tlme
CHAI'fER Ill
THE POLICE STATION
5 E~tahl1shment of pol1ce stat ton:; -(I) The Government may, by
notificatiOn, and subjeCt to the proVISions of sect10n 2 of the Code of Cnmmal
Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) estabhsh pollee swt10ns for every local
area for the purposes of th1s Act
(2) 'I he area of JUnsdtctlon of every Pohce StatiOn and the prem1ses m
whtch 1t shall function shall be as spec1fied 111 the notificatiOn 1ssued under
sub-~ectwn (I)
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(3) A Poltce officer of such rank as may be fixed by the Governfnent
and designated as the Statwn House Officer shall supervise the functions of
each police station and that officer shall be the pfficer m charge of the Police
Stat10n.
6 Government to prov1de sufficient facilities at pollee statwns -(1) The
Government shall, subJeCt to the resources available, ensure that every Police
StatiOn has adequate manpower and Infrastructure facilities to prov1de basic
police services tQ all who need the same
(2) The facilities under sub-sectiOn ( 1) shall mclude sufficient
mfrastructure for all police personnel attached to the pohce statiOn to discharge
therr duties efficiently, receptiOn area for pubhc With adequate facilities, sufficient
storage space for the safe keepmg of articles m custody, official records and
official arms and ammunttlon, sufficient fac1httes for the safe custody of the
accused and those In custody, proper commumcauon facilities and sufficient
moblltty and sufficient equipment mcludmg secunty equipment, electromc
devtces, arms and forenstc equtpments to dtscharge adequately the lawful
responsibilities entrusted to the officers of the Police Statwn
(3) The State Pohce Ch1ef shall arrange to rev1ew every year the
adequacy of facilities available m every pohce statwn m the State and take steps
to estabhsh facthtJes wh1ch conform to proper standards
7. Cit1zens have the nght to efficient pollee serv1ce -All cJtJzens shall
have the nght to efficient pohce services from any Pohce StatiOn
8 R1ghts of the public at a pollee :;tatwn -(I) Subject to reasonable
practicality, all persons shall have the nght to receive lawful serv1ces from a
pollee statiOn and for peaceful entry and receptiOn at any t1me at any Pollee
StatiOn
(2) Any member of the pubhc shall, subject to reasonable restnctwns,
have the nght to meet the officer m charge of any Pollee StatiOn and to gtve
mformatwn on matters and th1s nght shall not be demed Without sufficient
reasons
. (3) Every pollee statiOn shall have the fac1hty for women to subm1t
complamts w1th pnvacy m the presence of women pohce
(4) Any member of the pubhc shall have the nght to receive a receipt
acknowledgmg the complamt gJVen by h1m and to know the stage of the Pohce
actiOn or mvest1gat10n m respect of the complamt
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,......_ (5) The substance of any complamt made orally or tn wntmg by any
member of the pubhc rn a pohce statwn shall be entered m a chronologJcally and
contemporaneously mamtamed permanent reg•ster kept at the pohce statiOn
(6) Any citizen shall have the nght to know whether any particular
person IS m custody at the police statwn
9 Expenses for persons 1n custody -The State Government shall prov1de
With each pohce station a sum proportiOnate to the number of persons m
custody every month and the penod of the1r custody at the ex1stmg Government
rate of half the mmunum da1ly wages for unskilled labour for g1vmg food, water
and other pnmary needs of every person m custody
10 Pollee statwns to be always functiOnal-Every pohce statwn shall
always be functional for the performance of Pohce duty and alert for those who
need pohce serv1ces
II Spec1al Polzce Statwn -{I) Government may estabhsh Spec1al Pohce
StatiOns m .any area for any part1cular penod or for any particular purpose or for
enforcement of any particular law or laws m add1t1on to the police stattons
not1fied for any area under sectiOn 5
(2) The bmldmgs m whtch such spectal pohce stattons are located, thetr
area, JUnsdtctton, purpose, penod etc shall be notified tn the manner spectfied
under sectiOn 5.
{3) Nothmg contamed tn sub- secttons (1) and (2) shall be deemed to
prevent the Government from estabhshmg a spec1al pohce statiOn m a mobile
vehtcle or m any temporary office
(4) Any act10n taken by a regular pohce statiOn shall not be mvahdated
on the ground that tt was a matter whtch could have been entrusted Wtth a
special pohce station
" (5) Each spectal pohce statiOn shall be so named as to denote tts
special purpose and spectal nature.
( 6) The State Pollee Chief may, by spec1al order, exempt the Station
House Officer of a spec1al pohce statiOn from any respons1b1hty assocmted With a
regular pollee statwn ~nd may also entrust him wtth add1ttona1 or spec1al
respons1btht1es or that are not asstgned to the StatiOn House Officer of a
regular pohce stat1on
12 Police Statwn Dwry -Every pohce statton shall keep a General Dtary
m such form as may be fixed by the Government from ttme to ttme luld record
therem the substance of all complamts made, F1rst InformatiOn Reports,
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charges, the names and details of complamants, opposite parttes a~ .:111
arrested persons, the detatls m re~pect of the offences charged agam-.t them
and the propcrttes mcludmg weapons that may have bee"n -;ctzcd from thctr
possesston or othcrwtse
13 Persons cqmpetent to verifY the statiOn dtwy and custndta! fau!tty - -(1)
All Chatrpersons and members of the State Human F tghts Commt!!Ston or the
State Women's Commtsston or the State SC/ST Conum~ston or the State or Dt!:.tnct
Poltce Complamt~ Authonttes may enter m a Pohce Statton and dtrectly venfy
the entrtes m any General Dtary mamtamcd under section 12 and the condttton
of any p~rson kept m custody
(2) Any person vtsltmg the po!tce statwn undt>r sub-sectton {I) shall
make a contemporaneou!! record of h!s VISit m the dtary and also commumcate
as soon as possible to the D1stnct Pol.ce Ch1ef the summary of h1s ob!>ervat1ons
and the D1stnct Pol:ce Chtef shall take, as soon as po%tble, further act10ns as
mdy be necessary on such observatiOns
CIIAI'f[R IV
GENERAL STRUCTIJRE OF THE POI ICE FORCE
14 Kerala Po!tce -{I) There ~hall be one umficd Pohce Force for the State
of Kerala named the Kerala Pohce and 11 may be Glvtdcd mto a< many Sub-umts,
Umts, Branches or Wmgs OIJ the basts of geogtaphtcal conven:encc or
functiOnal efftctency or any spectal purpose as may be dec!ded by the
Government fiom ttme to ttme
(2) In the Kerala Po!tce Force, !!UbJeLt to the ltm•t that there be.ng no
rank h1gher than that of the State Pohce Chtef, the officers of vanous ranks a5
may be fixed by the Govemment from ttme to time shall be mcluded and the!!e
ranks shall, m ascendmg order, be as follows -
(a) Pohce Constable,
(b) Pohce Head Constable,
(c) A!!ststant Sub-Inspector of Poltce,
(d) Sub-Inspector of Pohce ,
(e) Inspector of Pohce ,
(f) Deputy Supenr.tendent of Poltce ,
(g) Supenntendent of Pohce ,
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(h) Deputy Inspector General of Pohce,
(1} Inspector General of Police,
(J) Add1t10nal D1rector General of Police,
(k) D1rertor General of Police,
(!; D1rcctor General of Police and State Police Ch1ef
(3) The Govemment may, by general or spec1al order, ~pec1fy that an)
other phrast:s used to denote any Poilce Rank e1ther 111 the Kerala Police or any
otht>r State or Cr~ntral Govemment shall be aeemed to be eqUivalent to anyone
among the above ra;cks
( 4) Nothmg con tamed 111 sub-section (2) shall be deemed to prevent
the powe1 of the Government 111 creatmg a new rank or m g1vmg a new
de~'ignatlon to a rank spec1fied there111
15 Government to 5pectfy Po !tee Struaw e -(I) Subject to the prOVISions
of th1s Act, the Pol.ce Force ~hall cons1~t of such numbers 111 each rank and
have such 5tructure, fonn, offices. junsd1ctwnal pattems, cham of command and
such admm1strdt1ve powers, duties and functiOns as may be f1xed by the
Govemment by general or spec1al order
(2) In metropolitan areas havmg more population and complex law and
order problems, d Metropoiltan Police system hav111g more expertise, umtary
nature, lawf.Jl power and respons1bil1ty should be estabhshed
(3) Govemmcnt shdll by notlf.cation constitUte a special police structure
for metropolitan areas suffic1ent to deal w1th the probiems m such areas
(4) Jn a metropolitan are<' for the admm1strat10n of the police a Pclice
Officer not belcw the rank of a Deputy Inspector General of Police shal! be
appomted as Comm1ss1oner
(5) The Comm1ss1oner and such other cfficers under the Comm1sstoner
~hall have such pow<'tS and responstbllitles as may be fixed by the Government
Provtded that the Comm1ss1oner and other officers shall function under the
control of the Director Gt>neral of Police
(6) In areas havmg Metropohtan Pohce System the Conumss10ner may
cxerctst> all or any of the powers vested w1th a D1stnct Magtstrate under thts
Act or the." Cod~ of Cnmmal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) or any
other State Law<> subject to the term<> and cond1t10ns as may be fixed by the
Government
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16 Polzee Dzstrzet -The State Government may, by nottficat10n, d~are
from such date as may be spec1fied m the nottficat10n, any area m the State as
a Pohce D1stnct for the purposes of th1s Act
Prov1ded that m one Pohce D1stnct areaS of more than one revenue D1stnct
shall not be mc1uded
17 Dzstnet Pollee Chzef---{ I) The pohce and the pohce stations of a Pohce
D1stnct shall, subject to such orders as may be 1ssued by the Government and
subject to the supems10n and lawful command of the State Pohce Ch1ef, functiOn ~
under the superv1s1on and control of a D1stnct Pohce Ch1ef of such rank as may
be fixed by the Government and such Pohce Officers of such rank as may be
fixed by the Government shall asstst htm m the matter
(2) The Dtstnct Poltce Chtef shall not be an officer lower m rank than a
Supenntendent of Pohce •
18 State Pollee Chzef-( I) The admmtstratJOn, superv1s1on, d1rectton and
control of the Pohce throughout the State shall, subject to the control of the
Government, be vested m an officer destgnated as the State Poltce Chtef
(2) The State Pohce Chtef shall be appotnted by the Government from
among those officers of the State Cadre of the lndtan Pohce Servtce who have
already been promoted to the rank of Dtrector General of Pohce, takmg mto
account the ab1hty to lead the Pohce Force of the State, the overall htstory of
servtce, professional knowledge and expenence
Provtded that where m a case or d1sctphnary proceedmgs, for and on
behalf of the State a change has been gtven or 1s pendmg agamst an officer
before any Court or Tnbunal or departmental agency, that officer shall not be
appomted as the State Pohce Chtef
(3) Any person who performs any functtons of the pohce m the State
of Kerala m exerctse of the powers Wlder thts Act shall be officers subordmate
to the State Pohce Ch1ef
(4) Such number of officers of dtfferent ranks as may be dectded by
the Government from time to ttme shall asstst the State Poltce Chtef
, (5) No officer semor to the State Pohce Chtef shall be appomted m the
Kerala Poltce
19 Co-ordznatzon by Dzstnet Magzstrate -( 1) In order to ensure the
effictent general admtrustratJOn of the Dtstnct, the Dtstnct Magtstrate shall have
the authonty to co-ordmate the functtOllfng of the Pohce m the followmg matters
With other agenc1es connected wtth the admmtstratJOn of the Dtstnct -
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......_ (a) matters relatmg to the promotiOn of land reforms and the settlement
of land d1sputes,
(b)"matters relatmg to extens1ve disturbance of the pubhc peace and
restoratiOn of tranqu1hty,
(c) matters relatmg to the conduct of electiOns to any public body,
(d) matters relatmg to handling of natural calam1t1es and the
rehabll1tali.on of the persons affected by natural calamity,
(e) matters relatmg to s1tuat1ons ansmg out of any external aggressiOn,
and
(f) any other s1m1lar matters that does not come w1thm the purv1ew of
any one department and affectmg the general welfare of the people of a D1stnct
(2) For the purpose of such co-ordmat10n the D1stnct Mag1strate may,
( a) call for mformat10n of a general or spec1al nature, as may be
necessary, from the Police and other agenc1es connected With the general
adrmmstrattOn of the D1stnct,
(b) call for a report regardmg the steps taken by the Pollee or other
agenc1es m handlmg the SituatiOn,
(c) g1ve such d1rect10ns to the Police and the connected agencies m
respect of matters as the D1stnct Magistrate deems necessary,
(d) for the purpose of co-ordmat10n, the D1stnct Magistrate may ensure
that all departments of the D1stnct whose assistance 1s requ1red for the effic1ent
funct10mng of the Police 1s rendenng all necessary assistance to the D1stnct
Pohce Ch1ef
20 Pollee Manual--{1) The State Pohce Ch1ef may, from trrne to trrne, 1ssue
and comp1le, subject to the power of the Government to mod1fy or annul,
standmg orders and gu1delines, not mcons1stent w1th th1s Act and the rules
made there under, generally for the effic1ent d1scharge "of all Police dulles and
functiOns and spcc1aily for the ~perv1s1on of the Police, admm1strat1on of the
pollee force, the spec1al dut1es of the members or of each rank or of ,each
category of the police force, mternal system of mspect10n, records to be
mamtamed, arms, equ1pments, objects necessary for the executiOn of dut1es,
collectiOn and commumcat10n of mtelhgence and mformat10n, the manner of
performance of dut1es and the manner of preventiOn of abuse of power and the
fa1lure m the performance of dut1es
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(2) The compilatiOn of such orders and gmdehnes Issued by the ~ate
Police Chief, and of i'ny orders and directiOIIS Is::,ued by the Government m
respect of the same shall be known as the Poiicc Manual
(3) lhe State Police Chief may, subject to the approval of the
Government, amend any provision m the Manual, If c1rcumstances so warrant
21 Specwi Wmgs, Umt~. Branches, Squads--(1) Government may, m order
to ass.st the State Po!Ice Chief or other Police functwnancs or Distnct Police
Chiefs or to as<;I<;t the police m general m their duties and functions, by general '
or special order, create dnd mamtam any Wmg or Special l.Jmt, Specialized Branch
or Special Squad, etc of such strength, mtcrnal umt<;, powers, dutlc5, JUn:.dlctiOn
and mternal or external supcrvi<;ory structure a:, may be fixed by the
Government by order
{2) The Government may create umts or make special arrangements
mter aha. for the followmg matters, r.amcly -
(a) collec,tJon of mtelhgence directly or mdirectly affectmg NatiOnal
Secunty, secunty of the State, mamtenance of law and order, ma:ntenance of
public safety, prevention of cnme, ~ecunty of vital mstallations dnd mdivlduals
facmg grave threats. from terronsts or extremists,
(b) mvestigation of complicated, hemous, s:::nsationai or spe:.:Ially
m1portant cnmes,
(c) traffic control,
(d) police service related to coastal. nver and backwater area'> and
police servic.e for the protection of tounsts aPd pil~nms,
(e) pollee service on the Railways,
(f) collectiOn, collatiOn, mdexmg and analysis of data and mtelhgence
relatmg to cnme and cnmmals and the functiOning of a Bureau of M1s:,mg ..
Persons,
(g) Juvemle Police Umts for the special protectiOn of children who
reach the Police StatiOn either as accused or as v1ct.ms of cnme
(h) helpmg Pohce offices dnd officers m :,e!rctmg, usmg and uhhzmg
computers and other digital services and developmg software nec-.:ssary for the
purpose,
(I) mamtenance of the tclecommumcatwn and digital communication
networks for Pollee purposes,
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.....__ (J) identificatiOn of md1vtduals and obJects oy means of fingerpnnts,
photography or any d1g1tal or b10metnc techmque;
(k) ma1ntamwg a wel!-tramed reserve force w1th proper cham of
command to be deployed whenever and wherever the d1stnct police or the local
pohce statiOns fall <>hart of manpower for the proper dt-;charge of any police
functiOn,
(I) trammg of recruits and of those m serv1ce, m respect of general
matters related to poh"e servtces and for any other md!Vldual or group as may
be fixed. by the Govcrninent,
(m) spec1ahsed response umts like cor.trol ro..>ms eqUJpped to respond
to cnme, calamity or ac::1dcnt etc,
(n) enforcement of any local or spec1al law or spec1al enforcement of
Jaw m·any ared,
(o) digital and cyber pohcmg,
(p) forens1c <>upport serv1ces for effectively ass1stmg m the dut1es
and functiOns of the police,
(q) admmtstrat1ve support serv1ces for Pohce funcuonmg m term~ of
processmg of matters of admm1strauon, finance and documentatiOn,
(r) general support serv1ces nece<;sary to help m the funct10nmg of •
Pollee mst1tUt10ns and off1ces of vanous types and to d1scharge essent1al
functiOns hke cleamng, groommg, cookmg, mamtenance of equ1pments and areas
etc,
(s) <>tud1es. research and development support for vanous pohcmg
related ~oc1al and professiOnal matters and for the development of modem Pohce
~erv1ce~ and preventlve-mvestlgatlve techmques
(3) The Government shall eqUip these umts and arrange necessary
trammg to.. officers to enable such umts to functlCn at a h1gh level of tecluHcal
and professional competence
( 4) The Umts constituted under sub-sect1on (I) may cons 1st of Pollee
Officer<; of de<;1gnated ranks or non-pohce personnel or both as may be spec1fied
by the Government and the Government may prescnbe the1r conditions of serv1ce,
spec1al allowances payable to them, spec1al quahficat1ons and sk11ls necessary
and spec1al fac1ht1es to be made ava1lable to them mdtvldually or collectively
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22 A Pollee Officer may hzmself perform the dutze!> of hzs subordmrfl'e
A Pohce Officer may perform any duty assigned by law or by a lawful order to
any officer subordmate to h1m and m case of any duty Imposed on such
subordmate a supenor Police Officer may a1d, supplement, supersede or prevent
any actiOn of such subordmate by h1s own action or that of any person lawfully
actmg under h1s command or authonty, whenever the same shall appear to him m
good fa1th to be necessary or expedient for g1vmg more complete or convemcnf
effect to the law or for avmdmg an mfnngement thereof
23 Separatwn of mvestzgatwn from law and order-( I) The Government
may, havmg regard to the populatiOn of an area or the circumstances prevallmg m
an area, by order, separate the mvest1gatmg Pohce from the law and order Pohce
m such area as may be spec1fied m the order to ensure speedy, effective and
professional mvestigatwn
(2) The District Pohce Chief shall ensure the full co-ordmatlon between
the two wmgs of the Pohce separated under sub-sectton ( l)
• 24. State Secunty Commzsswn.---{ l) The Government shall, by notification
m the official Gazette, constitute a State Secunty CommiSSIOn for d1schargmg
such functiOns and duties ass1gned under th1s Act
(2) The Comm1ss1on shall constst of the followmg members, namely
(1) the Mm1ster m-chargc of Home Department who shall be the
Chatrman,
(u) the Mm1ster m-charge of Law,
(m) the Leader of OppositiOn,
(1v) a ret1red Judge of the H1gh Court nommated by the Ch1cf Justice
of the H1gh Court of Kerala,
(v) the Ch1ef Secretary- ex-officto,
(vt) the Secretary to Government, Home Department- ex-offic1o,
(vu) the State Pohce Ch1ef- ex-offic1o,
(vtu) three non-offic1al members, who shall be persons of emmence m
pubhc hfe w1th wtde knowledge and expenence m mamtenance of law and order,
admm1stratwn, human nghts, law, social serv1ce, management of publtc
admmistrauon, nommatcd by the Governor of whom one shall be a woman
(3) The State Pohce Ch1ef shall be the Secretdry of the CommiSSion,
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...._ (4) Every nommated member shall, unless they vacate therr offices earher
by res1gnatwn, death or otherw1se, hold office for a penod of five years and shall
be ehg1ble for re-nommat10n
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(5) If a nommated member of the CommiSSion IS absent w1thout suffic1ent
cause for more than three consecutive meetmgs thereof, the Cha1rman of the
CommiSSion may remove such member from the membership of the Comrmsswn·
Prov1ded that no member shall be removed under the proVISIOns of th1s
sub-section except after g1vmg h1m a reasonable opporhmlty for showmg cause
agamst such removal
(6) Any nommated member of the CommiSSIOn may res1gn h1s office by
g1vmg not1ce m wntmg of h1s mtentwn to do so to the Cha1rman and on such
resignation bemg accepted, he shall be deemed to have vacated h1s office
(7) The vacanc1es ansmg m the Secunty CommiSSion shall be filled up
w1thm three months
(8) The Comm1ss1on shall regulate Its own procedure and the conduct of
the busmess transacted by 1t
(9) The fees and allowances payable to the nommated members of the
State Secunty Commtsswn and the1r cond1t1ons of serv1ce shall be such as may
be prescnbed
25 Functzons of the Commtsswn -(I) The Commtsswn shall have the
followmg functwns, namely -
(a) to frame general pohcy gUJdelmes for the functwnmg of the Pohce
m the State,
(b) to 1ssue d1rectwns for the 1mplementat10n of cnme preventiOn
tasks and serv1ce onented act1v1t1es of the Pohcc,
(c) to evaluate, from trrne to time, the performance of the Pollee m the
State m general,
(d) to prepare an annual report of the actLvltles of the CommiSSIOn
and submit 1t to the Government,
(e) to prepare the gu1delmes for the changes to be earned out, from
time to ume, m the State Pohce, and
(f) to d1scharge such other functiOns as may be ass1gned to 1t by the
Government
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(2) The teport submttted by the Commtsston under clause ~ nf
sub-sectiOn (I) shall, on recetpt, be placed before the Legtslattve Assembly
(3) No Act or Proceedtngs of the Commi'\SIOn sha!l be deemed to he
mvahd merely by reason of any vacancy m the CommiSSion at the time any such
Act or Proceedmg-. was done or Issued
(4) Notw1thstandm~ any gUJdehne~ or d1rectwns 1~sued by !he
Comnusswn, !he Government may lawfully l~'>UC such d1rect10ns as 1t deems
necessary on any matter, 1f the SituatiOn so warrants, to meet any emergency
(5) fhe d1rect10ns of the Cornm1sswn shall be bmdmg on the Pollee
Department
Prov1ded that the Government may, for reasons to be recorded m wntmg,
fully or partially, reJect or mod1fy any recommendatiOn or dm~ctwn of the
C Omi111SSIOn
26 E\(1/uatwn of Pol tee performance-( 1) The State Secunty ComrniS!-.IOn,
shall every year, appomt a panel of three experts, famthar with the functiOnmg of
the Pohce or public admm1strat10n or soewlogtcal or <.,nmmologlcal ~tud1e!-, to
evaluate the performance of the Pohce 111 the prevwus financial year and to
suggest the pcrfom1ance standardo; for the succeedmg financ1al year
(2) The members of the panel appomted under sub-~ecuon (I) ~hall not
be contmued as members contmuously for more than two terms
(3) The State Secunty Comn11S!>IOn may fix the cntena for evaluatmg the
perfonnance of Pohce actiVIties by d1scouragmg the preparatiOn by Pohce the
cnme ~tatlstiCS by conscwusly hmttmg the reg1strat10n of cnmes and takmg care
to avo1d constdenng such statt!>tiC~ as proof of reductton of cnmc and taking
care to evolve standards o~ quahtatJve excellence 111 relatiOn to manpower
utthzauon and resource utihzaiion m the Pollee Department, d1fferent <;ervJccs
rendered by Pollee and Pohce actiVttle<; m all fields
(4) The State Secunty Commt~ston shall every year fix pc1 fonnapce
standards to be attamed by vanous umts and branches m the ~ucceedtng
financial year and the same shall be commumcated to the concerned before the
first day of March m the current finanCial year
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CHAPTER v .
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ·A POLICE OFFICER
27" Duty of a Pollee Officer.-It shall be the duty of every Pollee Officer
to undertake all reasonable and lawful actiVIties for the effic1ent and effecuve
d1scharge of pohce dut1es spec1fied under th1s Act m respect of the d1scharge
of dut1es entrusted w1th h1m •
28 Response of a Polzce Officer-Every Pohce Officer on duty shall remam
m a state of mental and phys1cal alertness and respond as qUickly as practtcally
poss1ble to any SituatiOn that, comes to h1s not1ce m respect of wh1ch Pollee are
lawfully n;qUJred to d1scharge thetr duttes
29 Behavwur of Pollee Officers -(1) All Pollee Officers on duty, m the1r
dealmgs wtth the publtc, shall exh1b1t courtesy, propnety and compassJon
appropnate to the occasiOn and use pohte and decent language.
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(2) The fohce Off1cers shall not use force agamst anybpdy or
threaten that force be used or take any adverse pohce actiOn or legal actiOn
unless 1t IS necessary to carry out aqy lawful purpose
(3) The Pohce Officers shall exh1b1t spec1al sympathy m theu deahngs
with the v1cttms of cnmes and g1ve due cons1derat10n to the spec1al needs of
women, ch1ldren, semor c1ttzens and the d1fferently abled
(4) The Poltce Officer shall g1ve up unnecessary show of aggressiOn
and av01d mtemperate behav1our even on provocation
(5) The Poltce Officer shall not m1sbehave or use mdecent language to
anyone m the1r care or custody
(6) The Pohce Officer ~hall ensure themselves that they appear m publtc
1 • place m good phys1cal groommg and are not m a sloppy or unclean or untidy
~state, unless the same was caused by the d1ltgent performance of any duty at
that t1me
30 Pollee Officers to mmntam good health -( 1) All Pohce Officers shall
m<~mtam good phys1cal and mental health •·
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(2) The State Pohce Ch1ef may, s~bJect to any duectJOn that may be
1ssued by the Government m th1s regard, spec1fy the standards of phys1cal and
mental eff1c1ency to be matntatned by a Pohce Off1cer, by g1vmg due
cons1derat10n for age, gender, nature of dut1es• and ·the rgeneral standards
prevalent m the soc1ety '• ' L I.
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I .... ' (3) No Police Officer sha I be d1scnmmated by reason of failure m
mamtammg the physical health standard accordmg to the standards spec1f1ed
under sub-section (2) due to any InJUry or the circumstances faced m the
discharge of duty or a long time chrome ailment • . .
Provided that subject to the norms and procedures prescnbed by the
Government, a person who IS phys1cany and mentally,unfit to discharge Pollee
duties shall be discharged from <>erv1ce by g1vmg compulsory pensiOn or special
·benefits
(4) Government shall, subject to resources, proVIde special arrangement<>
for g1vmg mcent1ves and mfrastructure facilities for the promotiOn of phy:,1cal
and mental health among members of the Kerala Pollee
31 Pollee to keep 1njormatwn conjidentwl--{ I) All mforn1dt1on collected
by the Police m respect of • the actiVIties of any mdiviCiual or m~;tltutiOn, 1p the
course of discharge of their duties shall be kept confidential except for the
purpose of usmg such mformatlon for any official needs
(2) Official purposes shall mclude publication of the sa1d mfonnat10n
for the detection of or prevention of cnmes
(3) No persons m custody shall be paraded or allowed to be
photographed an'd no press confereqce shall be conducted without the
permiSSion of State Police Ch1ef for the purpose of pubhshrng the same m the
news paper or m any visual med1a
32 Pollee Officer!> liable to explam -(I) Any person or h1s representative
m mterest shall have the nght to seek and be mforrned of the reason for any
pohce action wh1ch adversely affected hi'> body or property or reputatiOn
(2) A Police Officer while performmg any act wh1ch 1s hkely to
endanger or adversely affect the body, property or reputation of any person,
shall, as IS reasonably practicable under each particular circumstance, mamtam
records of h1s actiOns wh1ch are done under any law or order of the State Pohce
Cluef wh1ch governs such acts as may be prescnbed by any law go\emmg such
act or as ordered by the State Pollee Chief
Provided that nothmg 10 th1s section shall prever.t the demal of fum1shmg
mforrnat10n to any person on the ground that 1t will be preJUdiCial to the mtere~t
of an ongomg mvest1gat10n or tnal or secunty of the State
33 Pollee and public may keep audw or v1deo or elecl!omc rGcords
(I) The Pohce may make and keep aud1o or v1deo or electromc records of any
activity performed by them dunng the discharge of their duties and such records
may be used m any proccedmgs m wh1ch the correctness of Pollee action 1s
called m questiOn •
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(2) No Police Officer shall prevent any member of the public from
lawfully makmg any audio or video or electromc record of any Police action or
activity earned out m a public ot pnvate place
34 How to make complamt~ to the Pollee -Subject to the. provisions of •
the Cnmmal Procedure Code, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974), a complamt to the
Police may·be made orally or m wntmg or by. gestures or by signals or b'y digital
or electronic means and the concerned Police Officer IS bound to take
appropnate legal action thereon
35 Po!tce to behave decently towards wllnes~es -(1) Where any person
who IS acquamted with the facts and circumstances of any matter which IS to be
legally enquired mto by a Police Officer m h1s official capacity may take steps
to seek and understand that matter from such person, ensurmg that such person
1s not unnece~sanly disturbed
• (2) All such persons shall, nom1ally, be approached at their residence or
place of work when they are available there and no children, women or semor
Citizens shall be summoned to the police statiOn for the purpose
(3) Any such person who put to senous mconvemence leadmg to
the loss of h1s wages for any day on account of ass1stmg the Pohce for scekmg
and understandmg any fact or Circumstance, shall be pa1d an amount from the
Cnmmal Justice Miscellaneous Expenses Fund as may be determmed by the State
Pohce Ch1ef, subject to the norms as may be prescnbed
36' Personal details for Ldentzjicatwn be furmshed on demand---{ I) Every
person shall fum1sh h1~ personal details to Identify him 1f so requrred by a Pollee
Off1cer on sufficient reasons
(2) Such Pollee Officer may take appropnate and reasonable steps for
estabhshmg the Identity of a person and for th1s purpose, such Pohce Officer may
create and prepdre such personal Identification records as may be appropnate for.
each Circumstance
(3) No person shall, by reason of the authonty under this sectiOn, be
arrested or kept m custody or subjected_ to any restnctwn on movement m any
manner, merely on the ground that the details of 1dent1ty furnished by such
pcr<>on needs to be venfied
( 4) All Pohce Officers exercising authonty under th1s sectiOn shall wear
1dentlly badge or card m such a manner as to be VISible to others and show such
official 1dent1ty record on demand by any person
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37 Entry of polzce m pnvate place!. -Every Police Officer, 1f he has good
and suffic~ent reasons, for wh1ch he shall be accountable and respons1ble, shall
have power to enter m any pnvate place by g1vmg due cons1derat10n for
custom, decency, pnvacy and propnety, for the purpose of ensunng secunty or
for preventmg unmment danger ...
•
Prov1ded that the Pohce Officer shall, as far as poss1ble; stnve to obtain the
co-operation and consent of the person m charge of the bUildmg and prem1ses
before exerc1smg the sa1d power ·
38 Polzce to mterfere for preventing offence --(1) Any Pohce Officer shall
• • lawfully mterfere to prevent and stop to the best of h1s ab1hty any offence gomg
on nr about to take place m h1s presence or VICinity
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' (2) For this purpose, he may lawfully demand and accept the servH.:~s
of any able-bod1ed adult person on the place and no person shall d1sobey,
w1thout reasonable cause, the lawful and reasonable d1rect10ns so g•ven by the . .
said Officer present at the place
(3) No Pollee Officer shali arrest or remove a person so.lely on the
ground that he d1sobeyed such d1rect10ns Moreover, no legal proceedmgs shall
be ll:lltiated agamst such person Without the pnor permiSSion of the D1stnct
Pohce Ch1ef, on the ground that he failed to render the serv1ces sought for
39 Lawful dzrect10ns of polzce to be complzed wllh --( 1) A:ll pen;ons shall
comply w1th the lawful directions g1ven by a Police Officer for the d1s:harge of
h1s funct1ons under the Act
(2) For ensunng the compliance of aQY lawful d1rect10n dunng the
discharge of any lawful duty conferred on any Polloe Officer under tQIS Act or
any Rule, regulatiOn or order made thereunder, a Pohce Officer may,-
{a) warn a person, who IS about to commit an offence pumshable
under any law or any rule or order made under any law, for preventmg the same, '
(b) reqUire any person to comply with any law ·wh1ch spec1fies the
manner qt wh1ch such person shall act on h1s own matter or m the matter of
another person or 'on any matter under h1s charge,
(c) subJect to the prov1s1ons of clauses (a) and (b), a Pohce Officer
may arrest any person who IS comm1ttmg an offence or has committed an
offence m h1s presence 1f such arrest IS cons1dered lawfully neces~ary,
(d) se1ze any articles wh1ch IS used or about to be used for
comrmttmg the offence,
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)... (e) seize any article relatmg to which an offence has been
committed, If such seizure of that article IS necessary for preventmg such
offence or for mvestigati!lg such offence •
40 Removal by pollee -.--(1) Where five or more persons, at a place where
the public are .Present, resist, refuse or fails to comply w1th any directiOn g1ven
by a Police Officer, such Pohce Officer may, w1thout prejudice to any other action
he may take under any provision of thts Act or any other law remove such
persons to.a nearby and adverttsed are'!~ where the publtc have entry and
they shall be released at the earhest after seekmg and recordmg the1r names
and addresses
Provided that under any circumstance, the persons so removed shall not
·- be kept for more than, three hours
(2) Such mass removal and release thereof wtthm three hours shall not
be deemed to be an arrest m respect of an offence
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41 Pollee actwn m offences requ1rmg !>pecwl "authonsatwn -(I) A Pohce
Officer, who IS not authonsed by rank or jUnsdictiOn under any spectal law to
arrest or setze a person or object who had mamfestly mvolved m a cogmzable
offence, may keep that person or object for a maxtmum penod of SIX hours so
as to render ·It posstble for another legally 'Competent Police Officer or authonty
to come and take lawful action
(2) The authonty under sub-sectiOn (1) shall be used by a Poltce
officer only m circumstances under wh1ch there ts the reasonable posstbtlity
that the accused ts likely to escape or that evtdence may be destroyed due to
the absence of competent officer or authonty, unless he acts as such
(3) A Police Officer actmg as. s.uch shall, subject to legal practtcabthty,
m the presence of competent wttnesses avatlable, keep the person or the object
at a place whtch IS reasonable, sut.table and appropnate under that spectal
circumstance
-42 Mamtenance of law and order and prevention bf danger- (I) .In
order to prevent senous disorder or breach of peace or mamfest and tmmment
danger to persons assembled at any place, any pohce officer present at such a
• place havmg JUnsdictiOn may give such lawful directiOns m respect of· the
conduct of pt'rsons '!I such places as he constders necessary and all persons
shall be bound to comply with such directiOns •
(2) Any Police Officer shall for ~IVlng effect to the prov1stons of sub
section (I) have free entry m every public place mcludmg pnvate
establishments whe~e members of the public are present
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43 Pollee uniform to be dtstmc.llve, exclustve and eastly tdenttfia'l11e
(1) The State Police Ch1ef may, w1th the pnor approval of the Govemment,
specify the umfonn of all ranks and Cdtegones of Pohce Otlicers kecpmg m v1ew
the need that such umfonn shall be distmctive, exclusive and easily Identifiable,
(2) The State Pohce Ch1ef may specify the occasiOns and the 1nanner
of wearmg the umfor.n and the duties for whH,h umfonns are to be compubonly
worn, optiOnally worn or not worn •.
(3) A Pohce Officer shall alW'!lys mamtam h1s umfonns neatly, properly,
suitably and m a state of good repair .
"
(4) No person other than a Pohce Officer d1schargmg official purpo~e
shall, except fqr artistiC or scientific purpose, wear any pohce umfom1 or any
dress which IS hkely to have a feelmg that It IS a pohce umfonn
(5) An officer authonsed by the State Pohce Ch1t:fExcerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.
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