4

Apr

Police reforms  needed urgently, says former DGP

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Today’s Edition

New Delhi, 4 April 2024

Amod K Kanth

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Having passed the three new Criminal Laws replacing the earlier ones dubbing them as colonial, The government is all set to implement them by July. But will these new laws make a difference in a country where policing is limited only to the cities while the rural areas comprising nearly 75 per cent population of India remain without proper police geared to cater to their requirements?

I have always maintained in all my talks from various platforms and through my two books that the Indian police are accountable to the law without succumbing to pressures from anywhere.

With my experience of 30 years of policing and 35 years with Prayas JAC Society functioning in 11 States/UTs, I have been wondering aloud whether the police are meant only to protect those who can afford it or to protect the weaker, the vulnerable sections of society, the tribals, the migrants some of whom may not even have identity cards, the women, juvenile children and the elderly whose number is on the rise?

 

Unfortunately, in the Districts, the police report directly to the District Magistrate who, for all practical purposes serves his political masters. Under the Indian criminal laws implemented by the British to suppress the mutiny of 1857, the DM is legal and traditionally meant to be the representative of the crown. It's not that police officers cannot make independent decisions as they are accountable to the law but then they have to be ready to pay the price for it as I have done on more than one occasion in my tenure as a police officer in various capacities.

 

Article at a Glance

The Indian government is set to implement new criminal laws, but there are concerns about their effectiveness in a country where policing is mostly limited to cities.

The author, with 30 years of policing experience, questions whether the police are meant to protect only those who can afford it or the weaker sections of society. The new laws have been criticized as hollow, superficial, and regressive.

While the police have made advances in technology, there is a need for police reforms, including a fixed tenure for police officers and a public safety commission. The Indian Constitution and some laws like the Juvenile Justice Act and POCSO are advanced, but there is still work to be done.
 
   

 

In comparison, the police are more effective and have breathing space in cities where the Police

A Commissioner system has been introduced.

Coming back to the new Criminal Laws that have been introduced with great fanfare I would say they are hollow, superficial and in some cases regressive and violative of human rights which means that they are worse than the earlier ones. Plus, they are as colonial as the ones that have been supposedly replaced.

Those of us who were expecting an overhaul of the police system are disappointed. We all know how the governments have been so tardy in implementing police reforms recommended by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh Judgment of 2006.

Hardly 25 per cent of the reforms have been implemented but today in 2024 we can say that the world has moved on and now even if 100 per cent of those reforms are implemented it will not be enough.

It's not as if the police have not achieved anything. I am proud of their role in dealing with insurgency, terrorism from across the border and the Naxal problem in various states which have resulted in heavy casualties of both civilians and the para-military forces.

With the Home Ministry taking care of their requirements on a priority basis they have made sufficient advances as far as technology is concerned to be able to tackle the new age criminals.

I have always maintained that the Indian Constitution is much more advanced than what the justice system delivers. Some of our laws like the Juvenile Justice Act and POCSO for instance, are among the best in the world. In the US the most powerful democracy in the world, children as young as 8 are put in jail for as many as 20 years. This is unthinkable in India where children are never even handcuffed when arrested. But much remains to be done.

There are a few suggestions in the Prakash Singh Judgment itself that could make a difference if implemented seriously. Setting up a public safety commission with representation from both the Ruling Party and the Opposition parties.

There should be a complaint authority Separation of crime and law and order work Most importantly, a fixed tenure for police officers that is not dependent on the change of Government or the Ministry.

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