Police Establishment Board
Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A Police Establishment Board (PEB) is a board of senior police officers. It decides transfers, postings and promotions of officers up to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). It was one of the seven directives of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh (22 September 2006). The aim is to take these decisions out of politicians' hands, because transfers are the main way politicians put pressure on the police.
Example
Under this directive, an SHO's transfer should be decided by the state's PEB, not by a local politician's request. The SHO also gets a two-year tenure. States resist this because they lose control over police transfers.
Don't confuse with
- Civil Services Board: this board was set up after T.S.R. Subramanian (2013). It recommends transfers and postings of civil service officers, not police officers.
- State Security Commission: this body sets broad police policy rather than handling individual postings.