A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice A.V. Sesha Sai directed the State government to file a counter explaining that on what grounds it proposed to designate ward and village women protection secretaries (Mahila Samrakshana Karyadarsis) as ‘Mahila Police’, and entrust them certain responsibilities supposed to be discharged by the Police Department, within four weeks.
The court issued notices to the Chief Secretary , Principal Secretary (Home) and chairpersons of Andhra Pradesh Police Recruitment Board and Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC).
Hearing the PIL filed by A. Umamaheswara Rao of Visakhapatnam against the A.P. (Grama Mahila Samrakshana Karyadarsi / Ward Mahila Samrakshna Karyadarsi) Subordinate Service Rules, 2019 on Tuesday, the court made various observations and directed the respondents to make clear their stand on the matter in the given time.
The petitioner’s counsel Y. Balaji argued that the impugned G.O. No.129 was illegal and violative of Sections1, 6, 11, 21 of the A.P. District Police Act, 1859. He insisted that only those appointed under the said Act were to be called as police and that there was a separate board for the recruitment of the police. The home guards who are appointed on the basis of the A.P. Home Guards Act 1948 are not called police, Mr. Balaji argued.
