Power to establish system of village watchmen and municipal watchmen, and to make rules

A. Power to establish system of village watchmen and municipal watchmen, and to make rules. The [State Government] may establish a system of village watchmen or municipal watchmen in any part of the territories under its administration, and in furtherence of this object may, from time to time, make rules to provide for the following matters :-

1. (a) the definition of the limits of watchmen's beats ;
2. (b) the determination of the several grades of watchmen, and the number of each grade to be appointed to each beat ;
3. (c) the appointment, suspension, dismissal and resignation of watchmen of each grade ;
4. (d) the equipment and discipline of, and the control and supervision over, such watchmen ;
5. (e) the conferring upon them, and the exercise by them, of any power and the enjoyment by them of any protection or privilege, which may be exercised and enjoyed by a police officer under any law for the time being in force ;
6. (f) the performance by them of such duties relating to police, sanitation or statistics, or for the benefit of the village communities or municipalities within their respective beats, as the [State Government] thinks fit ;
7. (g) the exercise of the authority over, and the rendering of aid, to such watchmen by headmen of the villages or members of the Municipal Committees of the town comprised in their respective beats ;
8. (h) the performance, by the headmen of villages comprised in the beat of any watchmen, of any of the duties of a village watchman in aid of, substitution for, such watchman ;
   • (i) the exercise, by such village headmen for the purposes referred to in clauses
9. (g) and
10. (h) or by members of Municipal Committees for the purposes referred to in clause
11. (g) of this section, of any of the powers, and the enjoyment by such headmen or members of any privilege or protection, of a village watchman, or a municipal watchman, as the case may be ;
12. (j) the determination of the rate at which, and the mode in which, watchmen shall be paid, and in the case of village watchmen, of the mode in which their pay, the expenses of their equipment, and other charges connected with the village watchmen-system shall be provided for, whether out of cesses or funds already leviable or available in the villages comprised in the beat, or by a special tax in money or kind to be imposed on any class of persons residing or owning property in, or resorting to, such villages, or partly in one of these ways and partly in the other ;
13. (k) the collection with or without the aid of the village-headmen, and by any process available for the realisation of the land-revenue, of any tax imposed under clause
14. (j) of this section, and the application of, and the mode of accounting for, the same ; and generally for
15. (l) the efficient working of the system of village-watchmen or municipal watchmen : Provided- 1st, that the rules to be made regarding the appointment of village-watchmen shall allow to the headmen of the villages comprised in the beat to which such a watchman is to be appointed a power of nomination, to be exercised in such a manner and subject to such reasonable conditions as may be prescribed by such rules; 2ndly, that the rules to be made under clause
16. (j) of this section with regard to village-watchmen shall include provisions for recording and securing due consideration of the views and opinions for the matters therein referred to or the headmen of the villages comprised in each beat.