BSF jurisdiction case: Supreme Court directs Centre, Punjab to frame issues to be heard by Court

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central government and the Punjab government to frame the issues/ questions to be considered by the Court regarding the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) within the State..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the parties to holds discussions and frame the issues."It is a suit. So issues can be exchanged between you both. Parties shall exchange issues so that issues can be settled before next date of listing," the Court said..The Court was hearing a 2021 suit by the Punjab government challenging the Centre's decision to expand the jurisdiction of the BSF.The central government's decision allows the BSF to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50-km stretch from the international border in Assam, West Bengal, and Punjab as opposed to the previous 15 km..Solicitor General (SG) of India Tushar Mehta, representing the Central government, highlighted that the expanded jurisdiction involves concurrent powers with the local police and the powers will not be vested exclusively with the BSF. He also emphasized that only some offences such as passport-related issues fall under the shared jurisdiction. Mehta also pointed out that the situation has changed since the suit was filed in 2021.On the other hand, the Punjab government through advocate Shadan Farasat argued that Punjab's relatively smaller size and the existence of parallel jurisdiction diminish the State's authority. In response, Mehta clarified that the notification under challenge did not cover all cognizable offences.Farasat, however, contended that the expanded jurisdiction impacts Punjab significantly, especially in core law and order sections.Mehta reiterated that the local police's jurisdiction has not been taken away and instead, there was concurrent jurisdiction..The Court noted that the power of investigation has not been taken away from Punjab; instead it is concurrent with BSF. "The power of investigation is not taken away from Punjab police," the Court said.The Court subsequently, directed the the Centre and the State frame the issues before the next date of listing of the suit. The Court also directed the Advocate General of Punjab (AG) to join the meeting of parties.SG Mehta welcomed the AG to have discussion in his chamber."The AG should meet me in my chamber," the SG said."Grateful for the hospitality," AG replied as the hearing drew to a close..[Read Order]