(1) In the cases directly inquired by the Commission, it may, upon completion of the inquiry, communicate its findings to the Director General of Police and the State Government with a direction to:-
(a) register a First Information Report; and/or
(b) initiate departmental action based on such findings, duly forwarding the evidence collected by it to the police. Such directions of the Commission shall be binding:
Provided that the Commission, before finalizing its own opinion in all such cases shall give the Director General of Police an opportunity to present the department’s view and additional facts, if any, not already in the notice of the Commission:
Provided further that, in such cases, the Commission may review its findings upon receipt of additional information from the Director General of Police that may have a material bearing on the case.
(2) The Commission may also recommend to the State Government payment of monetary compensation by the government to the victims of the subject matter of such an inquiry.
113. Reports of the Commission
(1) The Commission shall prepare an annual report at the end of each calendar year, inter alia, containing:
(a) the number and type of cases of “serious misconduct” inquired into by it;
(b) the number and type of cases of “misconduct” referred to it by the complainants upon being dissatisfied by the departmental inquiry into his complaint;
(c) the number and type of cases including those referred to in (b) above in which advice or direction was issued by it to the police for further action;
(d) the number of complaints received by the District Accountability Authorities, and the manner in which they were dealt with;
(e) the identifiable patterns of misconduct on the part of police personnel in the state; and
(f) recommendations on measures to enhance police accountability.
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(2) The annual report of the Commission shall be laid before the State Legislature in the budget session and shall be a public document, made easily accessible to the public.
(3) The Commission may also prepare special reports with respect to specific cases directly inquired into by it. These reports shall also be made easily accessible to the public.
114. District Accountability Authority
(1) The State Government may establish in each police district or a group of districts in a police range, a District-level Police Complaints Authority, named as District-level Police Accountability Authority to receive complaints of serious misconducts and misconducts against police personnel, as defined in Section 108 and take further action as provided in this Act.
(2) The District Accountability Authority shall have three members with a credible record of integrity and commitment to human rights and the chair person shall be selected from amongst retired persons with judicial experience in the rank of District and Sessions Judge, a retired senior police officer and a person having legal background or a retired senior civil servant or an eminent person from the civil society as members.
(3) The Chairperson and other members of the District Accountability Authorities will be appointed by the Government.
(4) Vacancies in the Authority shall be filled up as soon as practicable, and in no case later than three months after the seat has been vacated.
(5) In selecting members of the Authority, a transparent process shall be adopted.
(6) The conditions of eligibility, term of office, terms and conditions of service, and conditions of removal from office for the Chairperson and members of the District Accountability Authorities will be the same as that of the Police Accountability Commission.
(7) The District Accountability Authority shall be assisted by adequate legal and administrative staff with requisite skills and experience.
(8) The staff shall be selected by the District Accountability Authority, inter alia, on a contractual basis, through a transparent process.
(9) The remuneration and other terms and conditions of service of the staff shall be as prescribed from time to time.
115. Functions of District Accountability Authority, 1) The District Accountability Authority Shall :
(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 under intimation to the Commission, for further action.
(c) monitor the status of departmental inquiries or action on the complaints of ‘misconduct’ against officers below the rank of Assistant/Deputy Superintendent of Police, through a quarterly report obtained periodically from the District Superintendent of Police;
(d) 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;
(e) 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 issued under sub-section (d) above.
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(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;