Authored By: Dinesh Gurjar

Police, prosecution, judiciary, and jails are supposed to be the pillars upon which the whole edifice of our Criminal Justice System is based. Among these four, police play a crucial role within the Criminal Justice System, and its failures may result in the breaking down of the Criminal Justice System. It may further be noted that the quality of the Criminal Justice System in the country, to a large extent, depends upon the working of the police force. The police is a state-run body mentioned in schedule 7 of the Indian constitution. Our present policing is governed by the police act 1861 enacted by Britishers to quell dissent which was intentionally designed to oppress and control the population. The act had become obsolete and outdated due to which new reforms in police became the need of the hour. 

It may further be noted that the quality of the Criminal Justice System in the country, to a large extent, depends upon the working of the police force. The significance of police reforms was firstly recognized by the ruling Janta Dal party in 1977 by setting up a national police commission. The commission was appointed for a fresh examination of the role and performance of the police both as a law enforcing agency and as an institution to protect the rights of the citizens enshrined in the Constitution. Various other bodies were also constituted from time to time like the Ribiero committee (1998), Padmanabhaiah Committee (2000), Malimath Committee (2001) but none of its recommendations were implemented due to the excessive political interference. In a landmark Judgement which brought drastic changes in the police system, Prakash Singh & Ors v Union of India, 2006, The petitioners seek that the Union of India be directed to re-define the role and functions of the police and frame a new Police Act on the lines of the Model Act drafted by the National Police Commission in order to ensure that the policy is made accountable, can work freely without any kind political pressure and no transfers on whimsical reasons which leads to a demoralizing effect on the police force. The apex Court exercising its power under article 142 to issue such directions as may be necessary for doing complete justice or matter and reiterating the guidelines of another judgment of Vineet Narain v Union of India [(1996) 2 SCC 199], related to the mechanism of appointment/selection/Transfer of policemen, issued seven directives which shall be binding on state governments. 

1. State Security Commission  

2. Selection and minimum tenure of DGP (2 years) 

3. Minimum ten of I.G of police and other officers. 

4. The investigating police shall be separated from the law-and-order police to ensure  

5. Police Establishment Board  

6. Police complaint authority 

7. National security Commission 

In another landmark case Dr. TP Senkumar IPS v Union of India 2017, DGP senkumar was removed from the post of DGP due to inept handling of a murder case and later challenged the order on the basis of Prakash Singh case guidelines which decided minimum tenure of 2 years. He was transferred out of the position of the Director-General of Police and State police chief by the Governor of the state for administrative reasons, and on the advice of the Cabinet and court acting as a supra-administrator and only Procedure but not the Decision is Subject to Judicial Review and held that courts cannot interfere in a matter of governance. 

Overburdened police force – 

The aspect of routine which nags policemen most is the long hours of work which they are required to put in. A policeman has to put in long hours of work without any break or holidays which takes a heavy toll on their mental and physical state of health. Policemen do not have adequate time to devote to his family affairs in terms of education of his children, health-care of the family, etc. Sec 22 of police act 1861 directs policemen to be considered always on duty and can be deployed in any part of the district. 

The state of the police system is no different than the Judiciary of the nation. According to a recent report Of the United Nations minimum of 222 policemen should be there on 1 lakh population but in India, it’s below 150 per lakh. 

Other Cases, Issues faced by Police and Public – 

According to Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, registration of an F.I.R is mandatory (Lalita Kumari v State of UP) under law however a common citizen finds it very difficult to lodge an F.I.R. There is also a complaint that lower-level personnel does not receive the kind of sympathy which they should, from the hands of their superiors. 

The service conditions of the police persons, especially those of the Constabulary are poor and unsatisfactory. The police can never succeed if they are not educated, intelligent, and properly trained to discharge their duties sincerely. In most cases, constables end up retiring as head constable even after working for decades. 

Police brutality has become a serious concern at the global level whether it is George Floyd of the USA or Tamil Nadu where the Father and son duo was allegedly killed in police custody for opening a shop beyond time. 

Any violation of fundamental rights as a result of police misconduct whether it’s illegal detention or custodial torture, for such violation of fundamental rights, monetary compensation can be awarded. (Rudal shah v State of Bihar AIR 1983, Bhim Singh v State of Jammu and Kashmir). 

The biggest problem faced by police today is excessive interference from Government and administration. There is a close nexus between criminals and politicians Bihar state has a large number of elected representatives who are involved in serious criminal cases and the police are seen as helpless in providing basic security to the people. 36% of Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly members have criminal charges against them. We must have a law that debars people with serious cases from entering the assemblies and parliament. 

Cases of fake encounters have exponentially risen up in the last few years and are also cheered by the public who already lost its faith in the system long back. People are shown an illusion of justice being served but who knows the actual reality. It is a public perception that Vikas Dubey and his allies were shot dead by police in a false encounter under the immense pressure of politicians. The police need to be sensitized about their role in society. In a recent Hathras rape case setting aside basic human values of dignity, the Uttar Pradesh police cremated the victim’s body in the middle of the night, in the absence of family members. They denied her dignity even after death and even manhandled female reporters. 

Conclusion –  

Commonwealth human rights initiative is an independent body that keeps a watchdog and monitors the implementation of court guidelines, in its report found that not even one state was fully compliant with the apex court directives and that while 18 states passed or amended their Police Acts in this time, not one fully matches legislative models. 

The whole edifice of the Criminal Justice System depends upon its investigating agency police. Police are entrusted with the task of protecting victims, ensuring their access to the justice delivery system, and collecting the best evidence so as to ensure just and fair investigation in the case. The police are the first and foremost agency that comes into contact with the victims of a crime. Proper and positive functioning of police helps in cementing victims’ trust in the Criminal Justice System. But the real picture is quite different from this image.