Rajasthan HC Directs Finance Department Report on Funding Police Wing Separation Pilot Across 20 Stations

Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand pressed the Rajasthan government to expedite finance approval for splitting police into investigation, law-and-order, and administration wings at twenty identified stations.

The High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur, on 21 July 2026 took stock of the State government's progress in separating police investigation duties from law-and-order duties—a reform it has been pushing in connected criminal miscellaneous petitions since 2019. Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, sitting singly, found that the Department of Home has agreed in principle to a three-wing pilot across twenty police stations in sixteen districts, but that Finance Department approval for 828 new posts is still awaited. The Court has now summoned a report from the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, impleaded that official as a party respondent, and fixed 24 August 2026 at 2:00 P.M. as the next date.

The Three Connected Petitions

The order was passed in S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous (Petition) No. 4784/2019 filed by Prem Prakash Bidyasar, along with two connected petitions: S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous (Petition) No. 5460/2019 filed by Prashant Saini and S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous (Petition) No. 4672/2020 filed by Prabha Yadav, all against the State of Rajasthan.

Mr. Jaswant Singh Rathore, Mr. Namo Narayan Meena, Ms. Aditi Chulet, and Mr. Chandra Shekhar appeared for the petitioners. Mr. Rajesh Choudhary, Government Advocate cum Additional Advocate General, and Mr. Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, Public Prosecutor, appeared for the State. Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Mr. V.K. Singh and Additional DGP (Crime) Mr. B.K. Pandey attended through video conference; Mr. Hitesh Mehta, Additional S.P. (Crime Branch), appeared in person.

Why Separation Has Been Pending

The Court has on multiple occasions observed that investigating officers assigned to criminal cases are simultaneously burdened with law-and-order duties, making it difficult to investigate expeditiously. The 154th Report of the Law Commission of India had already recommended separating the two functions to ensure speedier investigation, better expertise, and improved public rapport.

The Supreme Court's directions in Prakash Singh & Ors. v Union of India & Ors., reported in (2006) 8 SCC 1, instructed both the Central Government and State Governments to bring appropriate legislation for this separation and laid down operational guidelines to remain in force until such legislation is enacted. The Court quoted from that judgment:

“It is essential to lay down guidelines to be operative till the new legislation is enacted by the State Governments.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, followed up with a letter dated 27 April 2022 reiterating the need for compliance.

In an earlier round in this very matter—while deciding S.B. Criminal Misc. Petition No. 7231/2025 in the case of Jitendra Meena v State of Rajasthan—Justice Dhand had directed the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), and the Director General of Police, Rajasthan, to draft a policy creating two distinct wings, one for law and order and another for investigation, pending fresh legislation. The order dated 16 March 2026 in Jitendra Meena was the baseline against which compliance was being measured on 21 July 2026.

The Committee's Pilot Proposal

In compliance with earlier directions, the Director General of Police, Rajasthan constituted a committee that studied practices in four reference States—Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, and Bihar. The committee's report, titled “Proposal For Separation Of Functions Of Investigation And Law And Order At Police Station Level,” spans eleven chapters and three annexures. Its central recommendation is to reorganise each police station into three functional units: a Law & Order Unit, an Investigation Unit, and an Administrative Unit.

The committee identified twenty police stations across sixteen districts for a pilot project. As placed on record before the Court, those stations are: Mahana, Kanota, Shivdaspura, Pratapnagar, and Kardhani under the Police Commissionerate; Jawaharnagar at Shriganganagar; Mathuragate at Bharatpur; Behrod Kotwali at Kothputli Behror; Bhiwadi (Phoolbag) at Bhiwadi; Udaimandi at Jodhpur Commissionerate; Mahamandir at Jaipur Commissionerate; Gumanpura at Kota City; Pratap Nagar and Sukher at Udaipur; Chistainganj at Ajmer; Kotwali at Alwar; Udhog Nagar at Sikar; Kama at Deeg; Hanumangarh Town at Hanumangarh; and Beawar City at Beawar.

The Department of Home has partly accepted the committee's suggestions and agreed to the three-wing segregation as a pilot. To staff the pilot, 828 posts—spanning Police Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables, and Constables—are required to be created. The Department of Home has sent a requisition to the Department of Finance for sanction and approval of these posts. As of the hearing date, that approval had not been received.

Forensic Infrastructure: A Separate Concern

Beyond the structural separation of wings, the Court addressed the State's forensic capacity. The order records that adequate Investigation Labs are not available in Rajasthan, forcing the State Police to rely on forensic labs in other States. This causes delays in receiving FSL reports, which in turn delays the conclusion of investigations and the filing of chargesheets before courts. The Court observed that criminals stand to benefit from such delays.

The Court noted that the existing FSL capacity in the State is insufficient given the rate of crime, and that modern, well-equipped investigation labs with trained personnel must be established expeditiously. It framed delayed investigation caused by inadequate forensic infrastructure as a violation of the right to fair investigation and speedy trial.

Earlier orders had already directed the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to look into developing appropriate labs; compliance reports on that aspect are also pending.

What the Court Directed on 21 July 2026

Having heard the State officials and noting the progress made by the Police Headquarters and Department of Home, the Court appreciated the steps taken but found the Finance Department's approval to be the outstanding bottleneck. It issued the following directions:

• A report be summoned from the Department of Finance on the steps taken to decide on the Police Headquarters and Home Department proposal for the 828 posts.
• The Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Rajasthan, be impleaded as a party respondent; counsel for the petitioners are to file an amended cause title within three days.
• Notice be issued to the Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur.
• The Advocate General's assistance was called for to enable the Court to pass appropriate orders for better administration of justice and proper investigation across the State. The Court directed that the name of the Advocate General's associate counsel, Mr. Sheetanshu Sharma, be reflected in the cause list.
• A copy of each and every order passed in this matter be supplied to the office of Advocate General Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

The Court's directions on expeditious investigation in pending cases beyond five years, issued to the Additional Superintendent of Police, CID (CB), Jaipur and the Officer-in-Charge of the instant case, remain in force. The compliance report submitted by them was ordered to be taken on record.

Order

The matters are listed for hearing on 24 August 2026 at 2:00 P.M. Any interim order already in operation shall continue until that date. The Principal Secretary, Department of Finance is impleaded as a party respondent. Petitioners' counsel must file the amended cause title within three days of the order. The Advocate General's office is to receive copies of all orders passed by the Court in this matter.