Delhi Police Act, 1978 | Act 34 of 1978
Section 150 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978: Continuation of Police Force and Pending Proceedings
Section 150 provides transitional arrangements for the Delhi Police force, its officers, ongoing investigations and certain proceedings transferred from magistrates when the Delhi Police Act, 1978 came into operation.
Text of Section 150
Police force functioning in Delhi immediately before the commencement of this Act to be deemed to be police force constituted under this Act.
Without prejudice to the provisions contained in section 149,
(a) the police force functioning in Delhi immediately before the commencement of this Act (hereafter in this section referred to as the existing police force) shall, on such commencement, be deemed to be police force constituted under this Act and every member of the existing police force holding the office mentioned in column (1) of Schedule III, immediately before such commencement, shall be deemed to be appointed, on such commencement, to the office mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (2) of that Schedule;
(b) all proceedings (including proceedings by way of investigations) pending before any police officer of the existing police force, immediately before the commencement of this Act shall on such commencement be deemed to be proceedings pending before him in his capacity as the holder of the office to which he is deemed to be appointed under clause (a) and shall be dealt with accordingly;
(c) where any power or function which may be exercised or discharged under any law by a District Magistrate or Executive Magistrate immediately before the commencement of this Act has been conferred on the Commissioner of Police or any other police officer by or under this Act, all proceedings in relation to or arising from the exercise of such power or the discharge of such function pending immediately before such conferment before the District Magistrate, or the Executive Magistrate, as the case may be, shall, on the conferment of such power or function on the Commissioner of Police or other police officer stand transferred to the Commissioner of Police or other police officer, as the case may be, and the officer to whom such proceedings stand so transferred shall either proceed de novo or from the stage of such transfer.
Meaning and legal effect of Section 150
Clause (a): Continuity of the existing police force
The police force already functioning in Delhi immediately before commencement was legally treated as the police force constituted under the 1978 Act. Officers holding designations listed in column (1) of Schedule III were deemed appointed to the corresponding offices in column (2). This statutory deeming provision avoided the need to reconstitute the entire force solely because the new Act commenced.
Clause (b): Continuation of pending investigations
Investigations and other proceedings pending before existing police officers did not automatically lapse on commencement. They continued before those officers in their deemed new capacities under clause (a), subject to applicable law.
Clause (c): Transfer of magistrates' proceedings
Where a power previously exercised by a District Magistrate or Executive Magistrate was conferred under the Act on the Commissioner of Police or another police officer, proceedings pending immediately before that conferment stood transferred to the appropriate officer. The receiving officer could either start the proceeding afresh (de novo) or continue it from the stage at which it was transferred.
What is Schedule III?
Schedule III sets out corresponding old and new police offices for the purposes of clause (a). For example, the Inspector General of Police corresponds to the Commissioner of Police; the Deputy Inspector General of Police corresponds to the Additional Commissioner of Police; and the Superintendent of Police corresponds to the Deputy Commissioner of Police. Consult the official Act, including Schedule III for the complete designation table.
Relationship with Section 149
Section 149 deals with the cessation of specified earlier enactments and the saving of existing actions, rights, liabilities and proceedings. Section 150 adds specific rules for police personnel, police investigations and proceedings transferred following the conferment of magistrates' powers. The words "without prejudice" mean that Section 150 operates alongside the protections in Section 149.
Practical significance
Section 150 principally addresses the historical transition to the Delhi Police Act in 1978. It does not, by itself, establish a general modern power to transfer every magistrate proceeding to the police. Any current power, investigation or transfer must also be examined under the relevant substantive and procedural law.
Official legal reference
Read the Delhi Police Act, 1978 (India Code, Government of India), particularly Sections 1, 149 and 150 and Schedule III. Check applicable amendments and notifications when relying on the provision in a specific matter.