SC Orders Punjab Govt to Resolve BSF Jurisdiction Issue Peacefully

In the matter of increasing the jurisdiction of BSF in Punjab from 15 kilometers to 50 kilometers, the Punjab Government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Central Government. In this case, the Supreme Court told the lawyer of the Punjab Government to hold a meeting with the Solicitor General regarding the issues on which you have problems and decide the issues for debate, after that the Supreme Court will hear.

Arguments from both sides

During the hearing, the Solicitor General said that this is a sensitive area. BSF’s jurisdiction in Gujarat is 80 kilometers. In the court, the lawyer of the Punjab government said that this is unfair, Gujarat and Rajasthan are big states whereas Punjab is a small state and many cities fall within its scope. Solicitor General of India (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central government, highlighted that the expanded jurisdiction includes powers concurrent with local police and the powers will not be exclusively vested with the BSF.

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Punjab government’s lawyer Shadan Farasat told the court that Punjab’s relatively small size and the existence of parallel jurisdictions reduce the state’s authority. On this, Mehta clarified that the notification under challenge does not include all cognizable crimes. Farasat argued that the extended jurisdiction significantly impacts Punjab, especially in key law and order sections.

Mehta also clarified that the jurisdiction of the local police has not been taken away and instead, there is concurrent jurisdiction. The court said that the power of investigation has not been taken away from Punjab; Instead it is concurrent with the BSF. The court directed the Center and the state to resolve the issue before the next date of hearing of the case..

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Small states are also within its scope

Let us tell you that the Punjab Government has challenged the Central Government’s notification of November 2021 in the Supreme Court. In this case, the Solicitor General said that many cities of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur come under this jurisdiction and these are also small states.