Police atrocities in the country are on a never-before high. They are found persuing the objectives of those in power rather than the safety of the people and the innocent. They lack the willingness to file First Information Reports (FIRs) against the perpetrators, rather are seen filing cases against the innocent. Counterintuitive one may think, but the issue lies not in their actions, but in how they are governed.
Police Act, 1861
The Police Act of 1861 (‘the Act’ from hereon) governs most police forces in India. Some states, such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Kerala have their own legislation, but even these closely resemble the 1861 Act as they were primarily modeled on it.
This legislation was enacted by the British, as a response to the 1857 Mutiny, or India’s first war for independence. This Act, similar to other Indian administrative legislations from that time, was meant to rule and not to serve the citizens. Its purpose was not to keep people safe, rather enable an oppressive regime and crush dissent or any movement for self-government. Unsurprisingly, the word ‘safety’ does not find a single mention in the Act, whereas preserving “peace” is repeated six times.
In contrast to establishing the colonial dominance in the ruled lands, the Metropolitan London police model was of course created with very different objectives. Its main principles emphasize prevention, winning the trust and cooperation of people, integrating itself into the neighborhoods and advocate restraint on the use of force. The officers were also drawn from the local community, and therefore reflected its values rather than that of the government.
At present, the Act ensures that the police are accountable only to the state government, and not the people. This leaves the gratuitous scope for political and other undesirable interference in police work. There is no scope for consultation between police and people. While they must be seen as a provider of a key service to the people, they are currently seen as a force to subdue and subject them. Rather than being a trusted ally, they are feared, or worse condemned.
Misplaced incentives
As per the Act, their duties include to (1) obey and execute orders issued by a ‘competent authority‘; (2) communicate information that would help ‘maintain peace‘; (3) prevent public nuisances; (4) detect and bring offenders to justice by apprehending people they are ‘legally authorized’ to and when ‘sufficient’ ground exists; and (5) enter and inspect any drinking-shop, gaming-house or “other places of resort of loose and disorderly characters“. In light of knowing their established allegiances, if we take the recent incidences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, the police have acted on precisely these duties assigned to them in law. So, in principle, we cannot question their ‘competence’, but we need to question their entire being.
Even the individual personnel cannot act of free-will, because as per the Act, the subordinate personnel can be dismissed, suspended, fined, or demoted by their superiors (Inspector- General, Deputy Inspectors- General, Assistant Inspector- General and District Superintendents of Police) at any time if found negligent in discharging their ‘duties’.
And ensuring people’s safety is not among those. Nor is it an outcome that is important in their performance measures. There is no requirement to set objectives or standards, and no independent and accountable mechanism to monitor and inspect their performance. If the objective is to resolve as many FIRs filed as possible, it is only likely that the easiest of cases accusing the weak and the powerless will be filed.
Meanwhile, there’s also no incentive for any government in power to re-assess and re-design such laws because the laws as they are, ensure the power asymmetry between the government and the citizens. While the current government has spoken loud and clear about replacing the physical remnants of British legacies such as by redeveloping the Central Vista, it is time to ask them to use the resources better instead by reforming the archaic laws.
Needed reforms
The National Police Commission (NPC) appointed in 1977 gave its recommendations over eight reports, but the Model Bill based on those was never executed. Following a Public Interest Litigation filed by two police officers demanding to execute the NPC recommendations, the Ribeiro Committee was instated by the Supreme Court that also produced two reports. Subsequently, there have been a few other commissions with similar pursuits, but have largely remained on paper. Some of the recommendations enshrined in these reports, only if they were also in practice, could have avoided the misgivings following the last few weeks. A 2005 paper by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative articulates the urgent need for police reforms succinctly.
The police are an essential part of democracy: to maintain law and order essential to guarantee people’s freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. At the same time, the police are accountable for their conduct and for the service they are expected to provide. The Act must represent the ethos of a modern democratic nation that India is. The legislation must ascertain that the police have functional autonomy combined with a high performance alongside strong mechanisms of accountability directly to the people. There must be institutional provisions, such as an independent body governing the police, to insulate them from undesirable and illegitimate outside pressures, and influences, and where political control may only be limited to executive oversight.
The Act must articulate the community’s role in establishing law and order. Apart from consultation platforms, an institutionalized role of community policing could also be evolved. India might even learn from other Commonwealth nations that have evolved from a similar regime. The South Africa Police Act, 1995, establishes the Community Police Forums at the police station level to act as a liaison between the police and the community. Their Constitution itself makes it the responsibility of each province to ensure and promote good relations between the police and the community.
The Act needs to prescribe a new Charter of Duties, such that the police are not merely meant to investigate crime and apprehend offenders but their preventive role in the protection of the vulnerable in danger of physical harm and thereby maintaining a feeling of security is also fortified. The duties must include their effective working relationship with other sub-systems of the Criminal Justice System and communities. The police could also play a counseling or a mediating role in relevant situations.
The NPC prescribed additional duties on these lines including that would require the police to file all cognizable offenses, assist in preventing the vulnerable from being exploited, prevent harassment of women and children in public places, ensure that arrested persons are not denied their rights and privileges, and see that victims of road accidents are given prompt medical aid without waiting for formalities.
Effectively, a mere amendment may not be sufficient, rather the Police Act, 1861, needs to be replaced by a new code, driven with the core objective of safety and security of the civilians in the country. Instead of focusing on making a museum of democracy, let’s strive to re-write the colonial legacy laws to prove that we are.
In-spyral Café 