The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear a suit filed by Punjab accusing the Centre of extending the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF), allowing it to investigate “all cognisable offences” occurring within a radius of 50 km from the India-Pakistan border.
Appearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, advocate Shadan Farasat, for Punjab, said the Centre had virtually stripped the State and its police of their powers. The Constitution gives the State control of the police and public order functions.
The suit, filed in 2021, said the Centre had extended the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km by invoking Section 139 of the BSF Act, 1968. The provision authorises the Centre to confer powers and duties on members of the BSF force in respect of any Central Acts. The purpose of the particular provision was to gain a more effective control on trans-border crimes in conjunction and co-operation with the State police.
Uniform extension
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, said the jurisdiction of the BSF had been extended uniformly across all border States. The law officer said the BSF would have “concurrent jurisdiction along with the local police”. The move was made to better police crimes involving illegal entry into the country and offences under the Passport Act.
Mr. Farasat, however, countered that unlike Gujarat and Rajasthan which have large stretches of marsh land and desert, respectively, 50 km in Punjab, which is a comparatively smaller State, would include cities and towns within its ambit.
“There is a federal issue involved here… The extension of the BSF’s jurisdiction would take away our powers under Entries one and two [public order and police] in the State List,” he submitted.
The court agreed to hear the case at length and asked Mr. Mehta and Mr. Farasat to jointly frame legal issues to be heard by the court.
