In
exercise of the powers conferred by section 19 of the Karnataka Village Defence
Parties Act 1964 (Mysore Act 34 of 1964) the Government of Mysore hereby make
the following rules. These
rules may be called the Karnataka Village Defence Parties Rules, 1965. In
these rules, unless the context otherwise requires. (a)
"Act" means the Karnataka
Village Defence Parties Act, 1964; (b)
"Dalapathi" means a member
of the Village Defence Party appointed as Dalapathi under Section 9 of the Act (c)
"Form" means a form appended
to these rules; (d)
"Member" means a member of
the Village Defence Party appointed under Section 8 of the Act; (e)
"Section" means a section of
the Act; [1][(e1) "Village" shall have the meaning assigned
to it in the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (Karnataka Act 12 of 1964);] (f)
"Village Defence Party"
means a Village Defence Party constituted under Section 6 of the Act. On
the issue of a notification under Section 3, Village Defence Parties shall be
constituted by the Superintendent in such villages or groups of villages as he
considers necessary. As far as possible ten per cent of the population of such
villages or groups of villages shall be appointed as members and each Village Defence
Party shall consist of not more than forty-eight members. For every Village
Defence Party there shall be a Dalapathi. Every Village Defence Party within
the jurisdiction of a Police Station shall be subject to supervision and
control by the Station Sub-Inspector who shall be appointed as the Station
Village Defence Officer. All Village Defence Parties in a District shall be
subject to supervision and
control by a Police Officer not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector appointed by
the Superintendent as District Village Defence Officer. In
making appointments of members and Dalapathis, the Superintendent shall be
assisted by a Committee consisting of the following persons, namely. [2][(1) Assistant or Deputy Superintendent of Police having
jurisdiction over the village concerned;] [3][[4][(2)
The Circle Inspector of Police; (3) The Station Village Defence Officer.]] (1)
No person shall be appointed as a
member. (a)
unless he has attained the age of
twenty and has not completed and age of fifty years and is residing in the
village; (b)
unless he has passed the fourth
standard examination in any language; [5][xxx] (c)
unless he has been medically examined
in accordance with the directions of the Superintendent and is found physically
fit; [6][and] [7][(d) if he is a member of or is otherwise associated with
any political party or any organisation which takes part in politics or is
engaged in political movement or activity of any other character:] Provided
that the Superintendent may in the case of any person relax the condition
regarding the educational qualification, if that person is otherwise capable of
understanding the duties, functions and responsibilities of a member: Provided
further that the State Government may by order published in the Official
Gazette, direct that in respect of any area the conditions regarding the
educational qualification for appointment as a member shall be such as it may
specify in such order. (2)
In making appointments under sub-rule
(1), the Superintendent shall consider, among others. (1)
the character and antecedents of the
person; (2)
his civic sense of responsibility
towards others in the village; and (3)
his reputation and social influence; (3)
Persons having previous convictions
under Chapters XII and XVII of the Indian Penal Code or other offences
involving moral turpitude shall not be appointed. A
person desiring to be appointed as a member shall make an application in Form
'A'. Every
person appointed as a member shall receive a certificate of appointment in Form
'B' which shall be issued by the appointing authority. Every
person before his appointment as a member shall attest a pledge in Form 'C'
before the appointing authority or an officer authorised by him. (1)
The term of office of a member shall
be five years: Provided
that if any such member is found to be medically unfit to continue as a member,
his appointment may be terminated before the expiry of the term of his office: Provided
further that a member shall after the expiry of the terra be eligible for
reappointment Provided
also that the services of a member may be terminated at any time by the
Superintendent after giving one month's notice [8][x
x x] [9][or
may be suspended from membership of the Village Defence Party for such period
as may be specified by him.] (2)
A member may with the approval of the
Superintendent resign his office after giving one month's notice. (1)
Every member while on duty shall wear
the uniform and equipment, if any, supplied to him by the Government. (2)
Every member shall be supplied with a
rectangular aluminium badge two inches in length and one and a half inches in
width, bearing the letters "VDPM". (1)
Every person who, for any reason
ceases to be a member or resigns his membership, shall forthwith deliver up to
the Superintendent or to such person and at such place as the Superintendent
may direct his certificate of appointment or of office, and the arms,
accoutrements, clothings and other articles which have been issued to him as
such member. (2)
Any Magistrate and for special reasons
which shall be recorded in writing at the time, any Police Officer not below
the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Superintendent of
Police, may issue a warrant to search for and seize wherever they may be found,
any certificate, arms, accoutrements, clothing or other necessaries not so
delivered up. Every warrant so issued shall be executed in accordance with the
provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, by a Police Officer, or if
the Magistrate, or the Police Officer issuing the warrant so directs, by any
other person. (3)
Nothing in this section shall be
deemed to apply to any article which under the orders of the Superintendent has
become the property of the person to whom the same was issued. Any
person appointed as a member, who during the term of his office is convicted of
an offence under Chapter XVI or Chapter XVII of the Indian Penal Code or any
other offence involving moral turpitude, shall cease to be a member. (1)
From amongst the members constituting
a Village Defence Party the Superintendent shall appoint a person as a
Dalapathi. (2)
In making appointments under sub-rule
(1), the Superintendent shall consider, among others. (a)
the ability of the person to command; (b)
his reputation with the other members
of the party and the esteem and regard they have for him; (3)
Every member appointed as Dalapathi
shall receive an additional Certificate of appointment in Form 'B' which shall
be issued by the appointing authority. (1)
The whole Village Organisation in a
district shall be under the control of and be subordinate to the
Superintendent. (2)
The Dalapathi and the members of the
Organisation shall discharge such duties as may be assigned to them by the
Superintendent or an officer authorised by him. (3)
When a Village Defence Party is acting
in conjunction with the ordinary police force, the senior officer of such party
present shall be under the immediate control and be subject to the directions
of the senior officer of such police force. (4)
If any Dalapathi or member is found
unfit to discharge his duties or is found to be indisciplined, he may be
removed by the Superintendent by a written order recording his reasons
therefor: Provided
that no such order shall be made except in accordance with the provisions of
clause (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution of India. The
Dalapathi shall have authority to require all members of Village Defence Party
in whatever capacity ordinarily employed, to aid in performing the duties
entrusted to him and it shall be the duty of the members of Village Defence
Party to help the Dalapathi.][10] The
training of members shall consist of. (a)
assembling at a given place quickly at
a given signal; (b)
Night rounds; (c)
Lathi drill; (d)
Musketry for a few men selected by the
Station Village Defence Officer. Each man selected will be given training to
fire ten rounds of ammunition in the first year and five rounds every
subsequent year. (1)
The functions and duties of the
members shall ordinarily consist of. (a)
guarding of the village; (b)
patrolling for the purpose of
prevention of crime; (c)
protection of persons and property in
the village; (d)
assisting when necessary the ordinary
police in maintaining public order and peace; (e)
performing such other duties as may be
assigned to them from time to time by the State Government or the
Superintendent. (2)
A member appointed for any area of a Taluka
shall in the case of an emergency, be liable to serve in any other area in the
same Taluka. It
shall be the duty of the Dalapathi and every member to communicate forthwith to
the nearest Magistrate or to the Officer-in-charge of the nearest Police
Station, whichever is nearer, any information which he may possess respecting. (a)
the permanent or temporary residence
of any notorious receiver or vendor of stolen property in any village of which
he is the Dalapathi; (b)
the resort to any place within, or the
passage through such village of any person whom he knows, or reasonably
suspects to be thug, robber and escaped convict or a proclaimed offender; and (c)
the commission of, or intention to
commit in or near such village any offence/punishable under Sections
143,144,145, 147, 148, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 302, 304, 379,
380, 381, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450,
457, 458, 459, 460, 489-A, 489-B, 489-C, and 489-D of the Indian Penal Code. (1)
A Dalapathi receiving information that
a person. (a)
has committed suicide; or (b)
has been killed by another or by an
animal or by machinery or by an accident; or (c)
has died under circumstances raising
reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence, shall
after communicating that information to the officer-in-charge of the nearest
Police Station. (i)
proceed to the spot and arrange for
guarding the corpse and its surroundings; (ii)
assist the Magistrate or the Police
Officer as the case may be in any inquest, inquiry or investigation which may
be held in that behalf, (iii)
when called upon by the Police
Officer, aid him by providing a conveyance for taking the corpse to a hospital
for post-mortem examination or arrange for the disposal of unclaimed dead
bodies. (2)
The Dalapathi shall be entitled to the
payment of reasonable expenses incurred by him in providing a conveyance or
disposing of the corpse as the case may be. Subject
to the orders of the Superintendent, the Dalapathi shall perform all the duties
prescribed by the Act and the rules and in particular. (i)
act under the orders of the
Officer-in-charge of the Police Station and Police Officers superior to him; (ii)
furnish any reports or information
called for by such Police Officers; (iii)
keep the officer-in-charge of the
Police Station constantly informed as to the state of crime and all matters
connected with the Village Defence Party; (iv)
communicate to the officer-in-charge
of the Police Station any information which he may receive of gangs of robbers,
or suspicious persons who have entered his own or any other village, and to
co-operate in all matters and ways for the general security of the village; (v)
report to the officer-in-charge of the
Police Station the arrival in his village of suspicious strangers and all
information which he may be able to collect regarding such persons; (vi)
in the likelihood of any breach of the
peace taking place, give immediate intimation to the nearest Police Station
with a view to examine the steps being taken to prevent its occurrence. (1)
Every Dalapathi of a village in whose
jurisdiction any aircraft accident occurs shall forthwith send a report to the
nearest Police Station and if any person is injured thereby, to the nearest
Medical Officer. (2)
After sending a report as required by
sub-rule (1) the Dalapathi shall take steps. (i)
to guard the wreckage; (ii)
to prevent meddling by unauthorised
persons; (iii)
to prevent tracks and marks caused by
the aircraft on the ground from obliteration; (iv)
to ascertain and record the names and
addresses of all eye witnesses; (v)
for the removal of the aircraft or any
parts thereof to such an extent as may be necessary for bringing the wreckage
to a place of safety when the aircraft wrecked in water; and (vi)
for the removal of the aircraft or any
parts or contents thereof as may be necessary for. (a)
extricating persons or animals; (b)
preventing the destruction of the
aircraft or its contents by fire or any other cause; and (c)
for preventing any danger or
obstruction to traffic. On
receiving information that a police constable has arrived in the village for
the performance of beat, the Dalapathi shall communicate to him all information
concerning the state of crime and the peace of the village. It
shall be the duty of every member of Village Defence Party. (a)
to obey and execute all orders
lawfully issued to him by the Dalapathi and any Police Officer; (b)
to endeavour by all lawful means to
give effect to the lawful commands of his superior; (c)
to the best of his ability to obtain
intelligence concerning the commission of cognisable offences or designs to
commit such offences; (d)
to lay such information and take such
other steps consistent with law- and with the order of his superiors as shall
be best calculated to bring offenders to book and to prevent the commission of
offences; (e)
to prevent to the best of his ability
the commission of public nuisances; (f)
to aid a Police Officer or another
Village Defence Party Member when called on by him or in case of need, in the
discharge of his duties in such ways as would be lawful and reasonable on the
part of the Police Officer or the Village Defence Party Member. (g)
to use his best endeavour to prevent
any loss or damage by fire; (h)
to use his best endeavour to avert any
accident or danger to the public; (i)
to report forthwith to the Dalapathi
all matters which, under these rules, the Dalapathi is required to report to
the Officer-in-charge of the Police Station; (j)
to patrol any part of the railway line
as may be allotted to him by the Superintendent irrespective of the village to
which he belongs; (k)
to report to the Dalapathi the
movements of criminals entered in the register maintained by the Dalapathi; (l)
to report to the Dalapathi the
presence of suspicious strangers; and (m)
to discharge such duties as are
lawfully imposed upon him by the Dalapathi. Police
Officers of all ranks shall treat the members and Dalapathi with special
consideration and endeavour to the best of their ability to maintain the
dignity of the Village Defence Party. Except
with the written permission of the Superintendent of Police or other officer
authorised by the Superintendent of Police in this behalf, no member or
Dalapathi shall resign his office or withdraw himself from the duties thereof. (1)
Every Dalapathi shall be paid such
honorarium as may be fixed by order by the State Government from time to time. (2)
The payment of honorarium to the
Dalapathi under sub-rule (1) shall be subject to proper maintenance of the prescribed
records and satisfactory discharge of the functions enjoined on him under the
Act or any other enactment and these rules or any other rules. (3)
Every claim by a Dalapathi for his
honorarium, shall be supported by certificate issued by the Assistant or Deputy
Superintendent of Police having jurisdiction over the area for which the
Dalapathi is appointed and be countersigned by the Superintendent of the
Districts.][11] If
a member suffers any damage to his person or property while under training or
on duty, he shall be paid such compensation as may be determined by the State
Government provided that such damage is not caused by his own negligence or
wilful act or omission in contravention of any of the provisions of the Act or these
rules or orders or directions issued by his superior. (1)
Every Dalapathi shall maintain the
following registers. (i)
Village Defence Party Membership
Register in Form 'D'; (ii)
Muster Roll in Form 'E'; (iii)
Visit Book in Form T'. [12](iv) Register of
known depredators, notified offenders and persons ordered to notify residence
under Section 356 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act No. 2 of
1974) in Form 'G'; (v) Register of
suspicious strangers in Form 'H'; (vi) Stray cattle
Register in Form 'J'] (2)
The registers shall be produced for
inspection by the superior officers. The
rules governing the Village Defence Parties, as in force in the Bombay area are
hereby repealed; Provided
that provisions of Sections 6 and 24 of the Mysore General Clauses Act, 1899,
shall be applicable in respect of such repeal as they apply in respect of
repeal and re-enactment of a Karnataka Act. [1] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [2] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [3] Renumbered and Omitted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f.
21-8-1975. [4] Substituted by GSR 117, dated 18-6-1982, w.e.f. 8-7-1982. [5] Omitted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975. w.e.f. 21-8-1975. "and" [6] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [7] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [8] Deleted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. "full stop" [9] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [10] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [11] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975. [12] Inserted by GSR 242, dated 7-8-1975, w.e.f. 21-8-1975.KARNATAKA VILLAGE DEFENCE PARTIES RULES,
1965
PREAMBLE