Deputy Commissioner (India)
Encyclopedia
The deputy commissioner (DC) or district magistrate (DM) or district collector or district magistrate and collector is the head of the revenue administration of an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n district. The DC is required to be an Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....

 (IAS) officer who is in charge of governmental assets in his district of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

. The DC is responsible for collecting revenue within the district as it pertains to various Governmental enactments
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 such as Stamp and Registration Act, Land Reforms Act, Irrigation Act, Excise Act and Public Health Act. When executing duties with regards to revenue collection, the DC can exercise quasi-judicial functions.

Overview

The responsibility of general administration of the district lies with the deputy commissioner. He is the executive head and has threefold roles as (i) deputy commissioner,(ii) district collector and (iii) district magistrate.

He is assisted by the following officers for carrying out day to day work in various fields:--
  1. Additional deputy commissioner
  2. Assistant commissioner (general)
  3. Assistant commissioner (grievances)
  4. Executive magistrate
  5. District revenue officer
  6. District transport officer
  7. District development and panchayat officer
  8. Civil defense officer
  9. Urban ceiling officer


The deputy commissioner is the chief revenue officer as district collector and is responsible for collection of revenue and other government dues recoverable as arrears of land revenue. He deals with the natural calamities like drought, unseasonal rains, hailstorms, floods and fire etc.

Under the Registration Act the district collector exercise the powers of registrar of the district and he controls and supervises the work of registration of deeds. He also function as marriage officer under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Further under the Cinematograph Act, the district magistrate is the licencing authority in his jurisdiction. The administration of the police in a district is vested in the district superintendent, but under the general direction of the district magistrate as per provisions of section 4 of the Indian Police Act, 1861.

Rule 1.15 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934, also provides the powers of district magistrate as under:--

The district magistrate is the head of the criminal administration of the district and the police force is the instrument provided by government to enable him to enforce his authority and fulfill his responsibility for the maintenance of law & order. The police force in a is, therefore, placed by law under the general control and direction of the district magistrate, who is responsible that it carries out its duties in such a manner that effective protection is afforded to the public and against lawlessness and disorder."

The district magistrate is thus responsible for the maintenance of law & order within the limit of his jurisdiction. He is conferred with very wide powers by the law, which if used prudently can be very effective in maintaining peace and tranquillity. The police force is mainly an instrument provided by law for the district magistrate. He can impose restriction on the movement of unlawful assembly under Section 144 Cr.P.C. and can also impose curfew keeping in view the situation.

He is authorised to inspect the offices/courts of sub divisional officers (civil), tehsildars, naib tehsildars, treasuries, sub treasuries, jails, hospitals, dispenseries, schools, blocks, police stations, second class local bodies, improvement trusts and all other offices of Punjab government, the A.C.Rs of whose heads of offices he is required to write. In this way, he has effective control over the administration.

The deputy commissioner holds courts and hears appeals under the following acts against the order of sub divisional officer (civil), passed as assistant collector 1st grade and sales commissioner and settlement commissioner:--
  1. Under the Land Revenue Act,1887.
  2. Under the Punjab Tenancy Act,1887.
  3. Displaced Persons (Compensation & Rehabilitation) Act,1954.
  4. Punjab Package Deal Properties (Disposal) Act,1976.
  5. Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulations) Act, 1976.


Besides it, he decides the lambardari cases.

Additional deputy commissioner

The post of additional deputy commissioner has been created to assist the deputy commissioner in his day-to-day working. The additional deputy commissioner enjoys the same powers as that of deputy commissioner under the rules.
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