Editorial
RAB draft rules
Right to appeal should be included
Typically, if an offence has been committed by any member of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) he would be sent back to his parent organisation. RAB itself has not had any authority to deal with him. To overcome this disability, some new rules have been drafted by RAB itself seeking consideration and approval of the same by the government. Once they take effect, the 'elite' force will have two special courts to try any unruly member of the force -- summarily in the manner of court martial. All these point to creation of an internal deterrence mechanism against any crime-prone RAB members. Such a built-in apparatus in the shape of two special courts -- one dealing with some specified 'major offences' and the other with 'minor offences' -- is likely to bring discipline in the RAB operations. We are not too sure if all manner of excesses will be covered under the new rules. The fact that RAB has been given enormous power to deal with crimes, makes it imperative that there are checks and balances in the exercise of its authority. The move to introduce new rules shows that RAB has become cognizant of a certain waywardness on the part of some of its members and is proving responsive to media criticism on that account. This is good sign, we would say. But we note that those found guilty will not have any recourse to judicial remedy. For the sake of fairness and justice, however, we hope that the authorities will have second thoughts on this and incorporate a provision whereby the convicted will be able to appeal before the judiciary. One more point: the focus now seems to be on RAB only, away from the police force. We urge the government to take steps to transform the police into a modern and effective force through appropriate reform and re-equipment.
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