THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major setback to efforts by police to elevate Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi as metropolitan police systems, the law department has informed the government that such a move will not stand legal scrutiny as it will flout the population criteria.Under metropolitan police systems, the police commissioners will have magisterial powers.In a legal opinion given to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan , law secretary B G Harindranath has said that as per the provisions of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) and the Kerala Police Act, 2011, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cannot be declared as metropolitan areas.“As per sub-sections (2) and (3) of the section 15 of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, the state government can by notification establish in any metropolitan areas having more population, a police system having more expertise, unitary nature and lawful power and responsibility. Though the expression ‘metropolitan area’ has not been defined under the act, as per sub-section (2) of the section (2), the words and expressions used and not defined in the Kerala Police Act, but defined in the CrPC shall have the same meaning assigned to it in the CrPC,” it said.The section (2) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 also says that “words and expressions used and not defined in this Act, but defined in the Indian Penal Code , 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them therein”, which means that the metropolitan police system can only be framed within the ambit of the CrPC.The section 8(1) of the CrPC empowers the state government to declare a town or a city where population exceeds one million as a metropolitan area.However, the law department points out that the state government can only declare such areas as metropolitan areas in which as per the last census, the population exceeds one million.As per the 2011 census, the total population of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is only 7,52,490 and that of Kochi 6,01,574. Therefore, going by the definitions in the Kerala Police Act and the provisions of CrPC, the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cannot be declared as metropolitan areas, it said.The demand for conferring magisterial powers to police commissioners of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram has been a major demand from the police.The government had already come up with an order (GO (Ms) No 29/2013/Home) in 2013, deciding to set up metropolitan police system for Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi that would empower the police commissioners of the two cities to exercise magisterial powers. The powers to implement Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act 2007 (KAAPA) and the powers like preventive detention under the CrPC section 107 can be exercised by the police once it is in force.

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