A public interest litigation (PIl) has been filed at the Odisha High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Odisha Industrial Security Force Act (OISFA), 2012 as amended in 2013, The PIl filed by Global Human Rights Communications executive director Subhas Mohapatra maintained that the State Government transfers its Constitutional responsibility, i.e., “public order” to private entities through this Act.
The petition, which came up for hearing on Wednesday before a Division Bench of Chief Justice DH Vaghela and Justice Pradip Mohanty, was posted for next week.
The petitioner alleges that the OISF is "arbitrary and inconsistent with constitutional provisions”.
“It infringes on the basic structure of the Constitution of India as the State transfers its constitutional responsibility (public order) to private entities," the PIl contends.
According to the provisions of the OISF Act, the industrial undertakings and borrowing units will bear the cost as and when they requisition the force.
“The force shall be deployed on request from the management of industries and other vital installations in the private sector on payment. Once deployed, the force will be under the administrative control of the industrial undertaking,” the petition says. It, however, contends that “it was beyond the legislative competence of Odisha Assembly to pass the Bill.”
The Bill was passed on August 28 2012 in the Assembly and the then Governor had given his assent to the Bill on October 8, 2012.
The petitioner contends that the OISFA also empowers the force to search a person or somebody’s house even without any warrant.
“Immunity will be provided to the members of the force for the acts during discharge of duty under the rules to be framed under the new law. No court shall take cognizance of an offence against any member of the force without prior sanction of the State Government,” the petitioner maintains.