The Kerala High Court gives the state four weeks to appoint a chief investigator at the SPCA

The Kerala High Court has given the state government four weeks to appoint a Chief Investigating Officer (CIO) in the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA), set up under the Kerala Police Act, 2011, to look into complaints against police officers.

Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice VM Syam Kumar were considering a public interest litigation regarding the effective functioning of the SPCA and the delay in the appointment of the CIO.

The state informed the court on Wednesday that the Ministry of Home Affairs had constituted a three-member search and selection committee to facilitate the appointment and that the committee was asked to finalize the criteria for the appointment keeping in mind the nature and responsibility of the post.

The petitioner, Jaffer Khan of Ernakulam, had earlier approached the court and alleged that the state had not appointed a CIO for long to assist the SPCA in its investigative functions. In this case, the court ordered the state to complete the tender process within 60 days from 1 April 2022. This petition said that although several years have passed since the order was issued, the Kerala Police Act’s requirement of an adequate investigative mechanism for the SPCA has not been met.

Published – 24 Sep 2026 07:00 IST