BPR

1
BPRD Colloquium18th to 20th Dec. 2007Police
Reforms

• Dr UNB RAO,IPS(R)
• Consultant, MHA
• Formerly Secretary, Police Act Drafting Committee

2
Indian Police

• Police Act , 1861
• In the wake of First War of Independence
• (Sepoy Mutiny)
• Earlier Jamindari Police Systems
• Degenerated and highly Ruler supportive
• British introduced Irish Model
• Oppressive and regimental

3
Preamble for 1861 Act

• Whereas it is expedient to
• reorganise the police and to
• make it a more efficient for
• the prevention and
• detection of crime
• 
  
  Extremely limited role?

4
Provisions of 1861 Act

• 47 Sections (6 Secs. were soon repealed)
• Superintendence and Administration enmeshed and
  unclear
• SP( who were generally from Armed Forces) to
  function under the general power and control of
  the DM
• Mostly procedural police always on duty
• Levying cost on inhabitants in disturbed areas!

5
Police Commission,1901-03

• Observed that
• there can be no doubt that the
  Police force through out the country was in a
  most unsatisfactory condition, that abuses were
  common everywhere, that this involved great
  injury to the people and discredit to the
  Government, and that radical reforms were
  urgently necessary

6
Comment on Indian Police

• In India, a dual system of Criminal Justice has
  grown- the one of the Law and the other of
  Politics.
• With respect at least to the
  police,
• decisions made by the police officials
  about the application of law are frequently
  subject to partisan review or direction by the
  elected representatives
• -
  Prof. David H. Bailey.

7
Comment on Indian Police(Contd..)

• Police officials throughout India have grown
  accustomed to
• calculating the likely political effect
  of any enforcement action that they contemplate.
• Fearing for their careers and especially
  their postings, they have become anxious and
  cynical
• - Sh Joginder Singh, former
  Director, CBI.

8
Comment on Indian Police(Contd..)

• A coercive arm of the (State) leaders
• A necessary evil
• a strange concoction of Evil, yet
  necessary
• Selectively efficient,
• unsympathetic to the under privileged,
  and corrupt.

9
Status of Policing

• Lack or bad policing lead to
• newer forms of crime
• 15 years of waiting after independence..
• 1960s..Naxalism
• Naxalbari Srikakulam
• 1980s .. Telangana and all over ..
• 200 districts of India!
• Veerappans..Ayodhya demolition..Gujarat
  riots
• Police Subculture !!??

10
Commissions/Committees

• 1959-71 Ten State Commissions
  (Kerala,WB,Bihar,Punjab,Maharastra,MP,Delhi,Assam
  and Tamilnadu)
• 1984 Andhra Pradesh
• Headed by 3..ICS 3..Retd Judges
• 2..IP/IPS
  1..MPJudg
• 1..Senior Advocate

11
Commissions/Committees(contd)

• National Level Commissions/ Committees
• National Police Commission, 1977 - 81
• Ribeiro Committee(as directed by the Supreme
  Court), 1998
• Padmanabhaiah Committee(for structural changes
  in police), 2000
• Malimath Committee on Reforms in Criminal
  Justice System, 2001
• MHAs Review Committee(to cull out vital recs.
  from ), earlier commissions), 2004
• Sorabjee Committee (to draft a new Police
  Act),2005-06
• Menon Committee,2006 (Policy on CJS)

12
Supreme Court Judgment (22nd Sep. 2006)

• Recalled various commissions/committees and their
  recommendations
• 1996 Petition under Art. 32 (violation of human
  rights non enforcement and discriminatory
  application of laws non accountability even
  after blatant violations)
• Letter dtd 3rd Aug.1997 of the then HM
• NHRCs Observations of May,2002 on Police Reform

13
Supreme Court Judgment (contd.)

• Pointed to convergence of views..
• Whether the Court to further wait?
• Lay down guidelines to be operative till the new
  legislation is enacted..
• Under Art.32,read with Article 142
• All the authorities are mandated to act in aid of
  the orders.. under Art.144

14
Supreme Court Judgment (contd..)

• 6 directions to States
• State Security Commission
• NPC and Malimath (Statutory) ,Rebeiro
  and Sorabjee (Recommendatory)
• 2. Selection and Tenure for Police Chief
• NPC(4 years) and Padma.
• 3. Tenure for Key Functionaries
• NPC (Talked of mechanisms) and
  Padma.(2yrs)

15
Supreme Court Judgment (contd..)

• Separation of Investigation
• NPC (adequate manpower) all others incl.
  Law Commission
• Establishment Boards for Transfer /postings
• Rebeiro and Group of Ministers
• Complaint Authorities
• Rebeiro and Padma

16
Supreme Court Judgment (contd..)

• One for Central Government
• - National Security Commission
• Sought Views
• on entrusting investigation of Crimes of
  inter state and international ramifications
  to CBI
• NHRC,BPRD and Sorabjee Committee
• Recommended Central Agency
• Central Govt. consulting State Governments and
  requested for time
• Malimath and Padma. also talked of Federal Crime

17
Police Act Drafting Committee

• October 2005 to October 2006
• Headed by Sh Soli Sorabjee
• 2 legal luminaries,4 IAS,3 IPS,One expert from
  Civil Society
• 40 sittings, wide range of discussions and more
  than 1100 inputs from outside
• A comprehensive Act with16 Chapters and 221
  Sections

18
Salient Features of MPA,2006

• Police is to be known as a Service, not as a
  Force
• Ensuring functional autonomy for police.
• Creation of a State Police Board( instead of
  State Security Commission) A Recommendatory
  Body
• - Merit based selection of DGP panel
  prepared by State Police Board, not UPSC
• - 2 year tenure for DGP, irrespective of date
  of superannuation
• - Only one DGP TO BE THE SENIOR MOST ,Others
  senior to him , if exist, to be posted out

19
Ensuring functional autonomy for police (contd..)

• Composition of the Service to have adequate
  gender and minority (implied) representation
• 2 year tenure to other key functionaries
  including SHOs
• Tenure of DGP and others may be curtailed in
  specific circumstances, and exigencies to be
  recorded

20
Ensuring functional autonomy for police (contd..)

• Defining Superintendence vis-à-vis
  Administration.
• Superintendence vests in the State Government
  policies and guidelines
• Administration vests in Police Chief
• Proviso for Government may intervene in Admn .
  Powers of Police Chief as per rules and in
  exceptional circumstances to be recorded
• District Magistrate functions in accordance with
  provisions of Cr P C and plays coordination role
  ,especially in crucial situations like natural
  calamities, elections, atrocities against
  SC/ST/Women/Children, etc

21
Promoting Professionalism

• Civil Police Officers vis-à-vis Armed Police
  Constabulary Civilian Police to be better
  qualified and trained better prospects
• Dedicated staff for Crime Investigation
  periodical rotation between LO duties and IOs
• Stepping up Training facilities and linking up to
  posting/promotion
• Research and Development

22
Promoting Professionalism (contd..)

• Providing Legal and Financial Advisers
• Forensic and scientific support for Investigation
  and other policing tasks
• Urban/Metropolitan Policing Commissioner of
  Police System (ten lakh plus) other areas as
  notified
• Rural Policing- Village Guards, Village Defense
  Parties, Community Liaison Groups
• Village Guard on salary and deemed a public
  servant

23
Accountability made Paramount

• Norms set for Performance Evaluation (other than
  usual statistical)
• Police Accountability (Public Complaint)
  Authorities at State and District levels
• Distinguishing serious misconduct vis-à-vis
  misconduct
• Non registration of an FIR is made an offence
  against police

24
Welfare and grievance redressal

• State Welfare Bureau, incl. public participation
  also to take care of post retirement scenario
• Insurance cover to all right from the day of
  joining service
• Specifying working hours 8 hrs, maximum 12 hrs
  a day
• Forum for redressing individual and collective
  grievances

25
Internal Security and Public Order

• Special Security Zones for extremist areas, to
  provide with adequate infrastructure and command
  structures
• Contiguous areas falling in more than one State
  Central support and notification with concurrence
  of relevant States
• Responsibilities of public spelt out

26
Too detailed !?

• Details and elaborations given to be made self
  explanatory and to indicate rationale behind
  those provisions
• Parts are expected to be shifted to Rules and
  Manual , to be drafted
• Supreme Court perused the Model Act at draft
  stage and just prior to their Judgment dtd 22nd
  Sep 2007
• A number of States responded positively

27
State-wise enactment of new Police Acts (as on
15th NOV., 2007)

• A. Passed new Police Bills
• - Haryana
  Mar. 21, 2007
• - Bihar
  Mar. 21, 2007
• - Tripura
  Mar. 21, 2007
• - Chattishgarh
  July 20, 2007
• - Gujarat Bombay Police Act (Gujarat
  amendment)
• 
  July 20,2007
• - Assam
  Aug. 8, 2007
• - Himachal Pradesh
  Aug 28,2007
• - Kerala (Amendment)
  Sep. 19, 2007
• - Rajasthan
  Sep. 21, 2007

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State-wise adoption of Model Police Act, 2006
(contd..)

• B Reported constitution of Expert Committees
• - Andhra Pradesh
• - Jammu Kashmir
• - Orissa
• - Tamil Nadu
• - Uttar Pradesh
• - West Bengal
• C. Filed Review Petitions
• - Andhra Pradesh
• - Maharashtra
• - Punjab
• - Tamil Nadu
• - Uttar Pradesh
• (All have been dismissed by the Supreme
  Court in a Chamber hearing)

29
Role of Union of India

• Got the Model Act prepared and circulated in
  toto,
• despite some disagreements with some
  provisions
• eg. tenure irrespective of
  superannuation,UPSC,etc
• Reviews at HS and HM level
• Review by sub-group of Chief Ministers through
  Inter State Council
• UT Police Bill in the Offing

30
Views on Federal Crime

• Views of Soli Sorabjee Committee on Federal
• Crime
• With the blurring of the line of distinction
  between external aggression and the internal
  disturbances engineered by terrorist etc. groups
  and supported by inimical foreign forces and
  the organized criminal groups supporting them,
  any measures taken to combat their activities
  can be regarded as measures taken for defense of
  India, in terms of Entry number 1 of the Union
  List.
• The Union would have the competence to take both
  legislative and administrative measures to
  combat all such crimes as would be specified as
  federal crimes for the purpose.

31
Sorabjee Committee on Federal Crime (contd)

• Favours creation of a specialized agency (other
  than CBI) to deal with crimes affecting national
  security, through an appropriate central
  legislation.
• State police agencies and the new central agency
  should have concurrent jurisdiction in the
  administration of the new law.
• Role should be seen as supportive and
  collaborative and not as intrusive.
• Given its overall charter, CBI would not be in a
  position to pay pointed, undivided and well
  directed attention to the required task of
  combating crimes threatening national security.
  However, till such time as the new specialsed
  agency is established, CBI may be entrusted
  with the investigation of such cases.

32
Epilogue

• Reforms are evolutionary and continuing
  processes
• One may not be able to bring in all refoms at a
  time
• Process is to start as suited to individual
  States.. rather than arguing and resenting
• States are to perform so that Federal Structure
  progresses..