Odisha Empowers SPs, DIGs and IGs with Executive Magistrate Powers Under BNSS

Odisha Empowers SPs, DIGs and IGs with Executive Magistrate Powers Under BNSS

Policing in Odisha has received a significant boost as the state government has decided to grant executive magistrate powers to Superintendents of Police (SPs), Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), and Inspectors General (IGs) under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Under the new mandate, all SPs in Odisha, along with the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police for Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, will now serve as special executive magistrates for cases under Sections 126, 127, 128, 129, and 163 of BNSS. Similarly, DIGs and IGs of various police ranges—Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, North-Central, Southern, and South-Western—have been vested with powers under Section 163 to impose prohibitory orders.

Previously, executive magistrate powers were exclusively held by senior officers of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department. As a result, police officials had to rely on revenue officers for executable orders in situations requiring urgent enforcement, such as law and order maintenance, preventive arrests, or issuing bonds. With this change, law enforcement officers can now act independently and swiftly in such matters.

A notification to this effect was issued on Thursday by the Home Department, with approval from the Additional Chief Secretary. By invoking Section 15 of the BNSS, the notification designates SPs, DIGs, and IGs as special executive magistrates within their respective jurisdictions.

Key Provisions of BNSS

• Section 126: Allows for preventive arrests to maintain public peace and order.
• Section 127: Empowers magistrates to seek bonds from individuals for good behavior.
• Section 128: Authorizes action against persons suspected of waiting to commit a cognizable offense.
• Section 129: Grants the power to demand security bonds from habitual offenders.
• Section 163: Permits the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent potential disturbances.

Reliable sources indicate that between 2021-22 and 2022-23, Inspectors-in-Charge (IICs) of various police stations in Rourkela submitted applications to the Panposh and Bonai Sub-Collectors seeking executive magistrate action against nearly 280 habitual offenders.  In cases involving bond-seeking under Section 107 of the CrPC, particularly in land disputes among neighbors and relatives, Rourkela police had submitted approximately 1,100 applications to the concerned executive magistrates. However, action was taken against only about 130 individuals due to procedural constraints.