IS SECTION EIGHT OF
AP STATE
REORGANIZATION ACT
MEANT TO PROTECT BRIBERY?
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
It is reported in the media that AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu
Naidu had requested President and Prime Minister to frame rules and guidelines
under Section 8 of the AP State Reorganization Act vesting the Governor with
the power to maintain law and order, protect individual liberty and properties
of the citizens of Hyderabad. Before doing this he has also removed Telangana Police Force that was
stationed in front of his house as security and in its place the AP Contingency
has come. These he might have done in the light of
fear of a possible arrest in the note for vote episode in which one of his
party legislators was caught red-handed, then was arrested and subjected to
interrogation. An audio tape was telecast over several channels where
Chandrababu Naidu voice was heard trying to bribe nominated MLA Elvis
Stephenson seeking his support for Telugu Desam Party in the Telangana
Legislative Council election held on June 1, 2015. As of now, Chandrababu Naidu
has not denied that the voice in the tape is his. Against this background, Probably
Chandrababu Naidu might have thought that it is easy and legal to take shelter
under section 8 to escape arrest if it comes to that. But, is section eight
really meant to protect all those who indulge in bribery and corruption or it
has something else inherent in it? From one side he is depending upon section 8
and on the other hand he is making his own arrangements for his protection.
Going in to the content and context of Section 8 of the
Act it can be clearly understood that it has nothing to do with incidents of
bribery and corruption where the Governor’s intervention is required. As per
the Act though Hyderabad shall be a common capital for both the states, while
it is a permanent one for Telangana, for of AP it is only for a period not
exceeding ten years. Hyderabad shall remain in the geographical and
administrative jurisdiction of Telangana State and for all practical purposes it
is part of Telangana and shall be governed by Telangana Government. It is only
for the purpose of security of life, liberty and property, Governor has a
special responsibility. Further his responsibility extends to matters such as law and
order, internal security and security of vital installations, and management
and allocation of Government buildings in the common capital area. However, in
discharge of these functions also, the Governor shall, after consulting the
Council of Ministers of the State of Telangana only, exercises his individual
judgment as to the action to be taken. Nowhere in the section 8 there is a
mention to Governor’s responsibility with regards to cases of bribery and
corruption. Does bribery form part of law and order or internal security or
security of vital installations? Does bribery form part of security
of life or liberty or property? Is there a single incident during the last one
year where Governor was required to intervene to invoke his responsibilities
under section 8? Has at any point of time Chandrababu Naidu found a reason to
complain? It is only now he thought of this that too when he is figuring in the
tapes as aired in the TV channels.
While this is so, the nature of the Constitution of India
mandates law and order as a subject of the state, therefore the bulk of the
policing lies with the respective states and territories of India. Each state
and union territory of India has a state police force, headed by the Director
General of Police (DGP) and different agencies function under him like ACB.
Each state is controlled by the Chief Minister. The state police are
responsible for maintaining law and order in townships of the state and the
rural areas. It is also the responsibility of every state to provide required
security and connected arrangements to a visiting dignitary, be a Chief
Minister or a Union Minister as and when they tour in a state other than
theirs. None of them by law can take along with them their state police for
security or protection. So also should be the case with Chandrababu Naidu. As
long as he is in Hyderabad, which is part of Telangana, he has to avail the
security and protection from Telangana Police only. Posting his state police is
violation of nature of constitution. Similarly as and when any state police has
a need to enter in to other state for some investigation or to arrest someone or
any police related issue, they necessarily should consult the concerned state
police and then only initiate action. Law of the land does not permit to act
according to free will.
In India that has 70 years history of democratic
governance and where governments changed through ballot once in five years, no
one is above law however powerful one might be. Several times top people who
occupied high positions have been subjected to legal process and many a times
Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and even former Prime Ministers had to face
the interrogation and even some of them had to taste jail life too. None is an
exception before law. The law will take its own course. Instead of pleading
non-guilty prove that you are not guilty. Do not divert the issue. End
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