PSARA Act, Rules and Regulatory Framework
Scope of the PSARA framework
This domain tests how well you know the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act, 2005 and the state rules that sit under it: who needs a licence, what the Controlling Authority does, what records and training are compulsory, and where a guard's authority stops.
Core rules
- A private security agency must hold a valid licence from the state Controlling Authority before supplying guards. The licence is agency-specific, not a personal guard licence, and is normally displayed and renewed before expiry.
- Guards must meet the eligibility conditions in the Act and applicable state rules, complete prescribed training, carry photo identification, and wear a uniform that identifies the agency without resembling police or military dress.
- Agencies maintain registers of guards, clients, deployment, training and incidents, and produce them for inspection. Records support licensing checks and investigations.
- A security guard has no police powers. The guard may use citizen's arrest where law permits and private defence, using only minimum force, then hand the person to police.
Worked example
An agency deploys guards at a mall in a neighbouring state using its home-state licence. The guard detains a suspected thief and searches his bag. Reasoning: the deployment is unlicensed unless the agency holds the required state licence or authorisation; the detention may be supportable only as a lawful citizen's arrest with immediate police handover, and a personal search by an untrained guard creates legal and safety risk. The correct action is to detain without force if safe, call police, preserve the scene, and report to the supervisor.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming one licence covers every state; treating a guard as a police officer; using police-style badges; ignoring renewal dates; and forgetting that state rules can add local conditions.