(1) The State Government may establish in each Police Districts or a group of districts in a police range, a District Police Accountability Authority to enquire into cases of complaints of serious misconduct against police personnels, as defined in subsection (l) of section 78.
(2) The District Accountability Authority shall have one Chairperson and three Members with a credible record of integrity and commitment to human rights and shall be selected from amongst retired persons with judicial experience in the rank of District Judge or person having legal background having experience and qualification to be appointed as District Judge, a retired senior police officer, a retired senior civil servant and an eminent person from civil society.
(3) The chairperson and other members of the District Accountability Authority will be appointed by the Government.
(4) Condition of ineligibility, terms of office, terms and conditions of service, and condition of removal from office for the Chairperson and members of the District Accountability Authority will be same as provided in respect of Police Accountability Commission under chapter VIII.
Functions of District Accountability Authority
85.
(1) The District Accountability Authority may perform the following functions as may be notified by the Government:
(a) forward the complaints of "serious misconduct", received directly by it, to the Commission for further action;
(b) forward for further action, the complaints of "misconduct" received directly by it, to the District Superintendent of Police:
Provided that if the complaint contains allegations against any police officer of or above the rank of Assistant/Deputy Superintendent of Police, the District Accountability Authority shall forward the same to the Director General of Police of the State under intimation to the Commission, for further action.
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(c) issue appropriate advice to the District Superintendent of Police for expeditious completion of inquiry, if in the Authority's opinion, the inquiry is getting unduly delayed in any such case;
(d) report cases to the Commission where departmental enquiry into "misconduct" is not concluded in time by the police department in spite of the Authority's advice(s) to the District Superintendent of Police.
(2) The Authority may also, in respect of a complaint of "misconduct" against an officer below the rank of Assistant /Deputy Superintendent of Police, call for a report from, and issue appropriate advice for further action or, if necessary, a direction for fresh inquiry by another officer, to the District Superintendent of Police when a complainant, being dissatisfied by an inordinate delay in the process of departmental inquiry into his complaint of "misconduct" or outcome of the inquiry if the principles of natural justice have been violated in the conduct of the disciplinary inquiry, brings such matter to its notice.
Report of the District Accountability Authority