(1) The State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, declare any specified service to be an essential service to the community, for a specified period, which may be extended from time to time, by a notification, as necessary.
(2) Upon a declaration being made under sub-section (1) and so long it remains in force, it shall be the duty of every police officer to obey any order given by any officer superior to him in connection with the service specified in the declaration.
43. Senior police officer performing duties of a subordinate officer A senior police officer may perform any duty assigned by law or by a lawful order to any officer subordinate to him, and may aid, supplement, supersede or prevent any action of the subordinate by his own action or that of any person lawfully acting under his command or authority, whenever the same shall appear necessary or expedient for giving more complete or convenient effect to the law or for avoiding any infringement thereof.
44. Non-core duties may be outsourced The Director General of Police, with the approval of the State of the Government, shall try to outsource as many non-core police functions as possible, to enable police officers to concentrate on core police functions.
Chapter - VI Policing in Rural Areas and Village Police System
45. Police Stations covering rural areas.
Police Stations covering rural areas shall be so organized as to be self-sufficient in matters of accommodation, amenities as well as in communication facilities, transport and police housing.
Each Police Station will also be equipped with adequate facilities of forensic science and scientific aids to investigation.
46. Security of Police Station.
Special attention shall be paid to the security of each Police Station, particularly in areas prone to violence or mass disturbances.
47. Village visits by Station House Officer/Officer-in-Charge.
The Station House Officer/Officer-in-Charge shall visit every village under his jurisdiction, as per the minimum frequency prescribed by the Superintendent of Police through a general or special order, and shall interact with as many local residents as possible so as to assess the level of public satisfaction with the police.
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48. Village visits by Supervisory Officers.
All supervisory officers including the Superintendent of Police shall visit as many villages in their jurisdiction as possible. The purpose of such visits shall be to review the general state of crime, the law and order situation and the activities, if any, of violent and militant individuals or groups in the area and to interact with as many local residents as possible so as to assess the level of public satisfaction with the police.
49. Village Defense Parties.
The Superintendent of Police shall organize a group of local respectable persons for each village for the purpose of carrying out preventive patrolling, promoting crime reduction measures and generally assisting the police in their functioning. The group will be called the Village Defense Party and may not normally consist of more than 15 members, with provision for having more than one Village Defense Party if the size and population of the village so require. The composition of the Party shall reflect the diversity of local population including adequate gender representation.
50. Members of Village Defense Party Members will be inducted into the Village Defense Parties by the Superintendent of Police in consultation with the Community Liaison Group, from amongst able-bodied persons, and with good character and antecedents, who are permanent residents of that village, who have not been convicted by a court of law or have not had charges framed against them by a court of law in a criminal case, or dismissed, removed, discharged or compulsorily retired from any employment on grounds of moral turpitude, corruption or misconduct, or are connected with any political party or any allied organization thereof.
51. Term of Village Defense Party The Village Defense Party will normally be reconstituted every three years. Members may be renominated subject to at least one third new member being inducted every year. No renewal shall, however, be granted to a person after he crosses the age of sixty years or who incurs any other condition of ineligibility specified in Section 50. However, any vacancy may be filled up as and when it occurs.
52. Removal of member of Village Defense Party.
A person may also be removed from the membership of the Village Defense Party at any time during the currency of his tenure, if he incurs any condition of ineligibility specified in Section 50.
53. Complaint against Village Defense Party In the event of any complaint against the Village Defense Party or its members, the Superintendent of Police will take appropriate action, including, if necessary, removal of the concerned members.
54. Day-to-day needs of Village Defense Party.
Membership of the Village Defense Party shall be voluntary and honorary. However, to facilitate the proper functioning of the Village Defense Party, the Officer-in-Charge/Station House Officer shall provide its members with the required equipment of day-to-day needs as well as reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, as prescribed from time to time. The District Superintendent of Police will make arrangements for necessary training of the members of each Village Defense Party.
55. Identification Badge.
The members of the Village Defense Party shall wear such an Identification Badge as issued by the District Superintendent of Police.
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