LAW AND ORDER ADMINISTRATION:
Law and order administration is one of the most important function performed by the Government. In fact,the survival of administration depends upon maintenance of law and order in a country. The functioning of law and order administration comes under the state list with the Union/Central government having advisory and coordinating role(discussed in last post on this blog). Rapid growth of population,industrialisation,urbanisation,growing political consciousness lead to law and order problems. Agrarian and tribal revolts,political caste and communal violence,labour and student unrest and terrorism are indications of law and order problems.
Law and Order comes under the Ministry of Home affairs' Department of Internal Security in India. As such law and order and internal security are managed under one umbrella at the level of the Union Government. The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for matters relating to the internal security of the country and enacts laws for the functioning of the criminal justice system.
However, 'Police' and 'Public Order' are matters of State Governance and not Union governance, according to Schedule VII, making the management of law and order in India complex.
BRITISH LEGACY OF LAW AND ORDER ADMINISTRATION:
The First Police Commission, appointed on 17 August 1860, contained detailed guidelines for the desired system of police in India and defined police as a governmental department to maintain order, enforce the law, and prevent and detect crime.
The present Indian Police system is based on the Police Act of 1861. Under this act the police was made subordinate to the executive government. Later several changes were brought about in the structure as well as functioning of the police system in the country,but the basic structure and characteristics are enshrined in the Police Act of 1861 and it continues to dominate over the police system in India. Similarly, the Indian Penal Code(1860) and Criminal Procedure Code(1861) and the Indian Evidence Act were compiled and enacted for effective law and order.
Much before the Independence, superior police officers belonging to the Imperial Police (IP) were appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of competitive examination. The very first open civil service examination for the service was held in England in June, 1893 and the top ten candidates were appointed as probationers of the Indian (Imperial) Police. However, it is not possible to pinpoint a date on which it could positively be claimed that the Indian Police came into being.
In around 1907, the Secretary of State's officers were directed to wear the letters "IP" on their epaulets to distinguish them from the other officers not recruited by the Secretary of State. In this sense, 1907 could be regarded as the starting point for the Indian Police. However, one must note that the
The Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India para-military forces. Its members, who are all at least university graduates, are the senior officers of the police.
With the passage of time Indian Police Service's objectives were updated and redefined, the roles and functions of an Indian Police Service Officer are as follows:
» To fulfill duties based on broader responsibilities, in the areas of maintenance of public peace and order, crime prevention, investigation, and detection, collection of intelligence, VIP security, counter- terrorism, border policing, railway policing, tackling smuggling, drug trafficking, economic offences, corruption in public life, disaster management, enforcement of socio-economic legislation, bio-diversity and protection of environmental laws etc.
» Leading and commanding the Indian intelligence agencies like Research and Analysis Wing (R& Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), Crime Investigation Department (CID) etc., Indian federal law enforcement agencies, civil and armed police forces in all the and union territories.
» Leading and commanding the Para-Military Forces of India (PMF) which include the Central P Organisations (CPO) and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF) such as Border Security Force ( Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security G (NSG), Rashtriya Rifles, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Vigilance Organisations, I Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Assam Rifles, etc.
Serve at head of the departments in policy making in the Ministries and Departments of C and State Governments and public sector undertakings both at centre and states, Government India.
» To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All-India Services and Central Services and also with the Indian Armed Forces
» Last but not the least, to lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication a strong sense of service to the people.
» Endeavour to inculcate in the police forces under their command such values and norms as help them serve the people better.
» Inculcate integrity of the highest order, sensitivity to aspirations of people in a fast-changing and economic milieu, respect for human rights, broad liberal perspective of law and justice and standard of professionalism.
The District Collector's office was formed to be in charge of the police and maintain law and order at the district level as he also functions as a District Magistrate. This has been discussed in previous post on this blog, refer dist admin.
NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION:
The National Police Commission (NPC) was appointed by the Government of India in 1977
with wide terms of reference covering the police organisation, its role, functions,
accountability, relations with the public, political interference in its work, misuse of powers,
evaluation of its performance etc. This was the first Commission appointed at the national
level after Independence. The Commission produced eight reports between 1979 and 1981,
suggesting wide ranging reforms in the existing police set-up.
For the major recommendations,implementations and status refer -http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/npc_recommendations.pdf And also refer to this link for other committees and commissions set up after the National Police Commission -http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/police_reform_debates_in_india.pdf
Lack of political will still comes in between implementing the recommendations of the above as the abovementioned Commissions and Committees recommendations lie unimplemented.
INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES:
1) Central Bureau Of Investigation - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is India's premier investigative agency, responsible for a wide variety of criminal and national security matters. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941. The Central Bureau of Investigation is controlled by the Department of Personnel and Training in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension of the Union Government usually headed by a Union Minister who reports directly to the Prime Minister. It is India’s official Interpol unit. The CBI draws its officers from the best IPS and IRS officers around the country. It is responsible for investigation into various crimes and national security. The agency specializes in investigating crimes involving high ranking government officials and politicians.
2) The Indian Income-tax Department: Is India's premier financial agency, responsible for a wide variety of financial and fiscal matters.The Tax department is controlled by the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance of the Union Government headed by a Union Minister who reports directly to the Prime Minister. It's officers are drawn from the Indian Revenue Services across the country. The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation is responsible for investigation into various economic crimes and tax evasion.The special agents and agents are able to carry firearms when they are posted in the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) in the I-T department .The Finance Ministry has recently notified bringing under one umbrella the intelligence and criminal investigation units of the Income Tax department to effectively deal with terror financing cases and transactions that pose threat to national security.The department will now recruit special agents and agents (criminal investigation) under the new wing, half of whom would be recruited or brought on deputation from premier investigative agencies and police organisations of the country.The special agents who will form part of the premier DCI would be able to carry firearms under the rules prescribed by their parent organisation and would be able to tackle any intimidation in course of their new duty of checking and gathering intelligence on tax evasion.
The DCI will be headed by the Director General of Intelligence (Income Tax) and was notified in May this year to tackle the menace of black money with cross-border ramifications.The revamp is aimed at launching 'un-intrusive' investigations against "persons and transactions suspected to be involved in criminal activities having cross-border, inter-state or international ramifications, that pose a threat to national security and are punishable under the direct tax laws."
The commissioners of the intelligence directorate of I-T who are posted in cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Lucknow will also take up criminal investigation work under the DCI."Criminal investigation relies heavily on accurate and specific actionable intelligence and information of such activities and hence such an arrangement has been made.Separate manpower for the criminal investigation unit will be raised in the next few years when the department gets additional sanction. The intelligence wing of the I-T department has the Central Information Branch (CIB) under it, which is a repository of classified and exhaustive data on taxpayers' financial transactions.
3) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is an intelligence-based organisation responsible for the co-ordination of India's anti-smuggling efforts.Officers in this organisation are drawn from Indian Revenue Service(I.R.S.)
4) National Investigation Agency: National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the central agency to combat terror in India. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008 to create the agency was moved in Parliament by Union Home Minister on 16 December 2008.The NIA was created in response to the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was found. It also deals with drug trafficking and currency counterfeiting.It draws it's officers from IRS and IPS.
5) Narcotics Control Bureau - The NCB is responsible for anti-narcotic operations all over the country. It checks the spread of contraband as well as the cultivation of drugs.The officers in this organisation are drawn from both the IRS and the IPS.
6) Central Forensic Science Laboratory: The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) is a wing of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, which fulfils the forensic requirements in the country. It houses the only DNA repository in South and Southeast Asia.
There are four central forensic laboratories in India, at Hyderabad, Kolkata,Mumbai,Rajkot, Chandigarh,Pune and New Delhi. CFSL Hyderabad is centre of excellence in chemical sciences, CFSL Kolkata in biological sciences and CFSL Chandigarh in physical sciences. These laboratories are under the control of the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The laboratory in New Delhi is under the control of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and investigates cases on its behalf.
ROLE OF CENTRAL AND STATE AGENCIES IN MAINTENANCE OF LAW AND ORDER AND COUNTERING INSURGENCY & TERRORISM:
CENTRAL AGENCIES - Government of India is divided into the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary wings, with each performing its respective roles in management of internal security(maintaining cross border peace) and law and order of India.
National Security Council comprising of the Strategic Policy Group, the National Security Advisory Board and a Secretariat represented by the Joint Intelligence Committee (India) is the apex agency looking into the overall security (both internal and external security of India) Law and Order itself comes under the Ministry of Home affairs' Department of Internal Security in India.
For the Executive, the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for internal security of India and enactment of laws for the functioning of the criminal justice system in the country.
Several laws have been enacted to ensure general peace in India, maintain law and order and maintain its national integrity. Several law enforcement agencies have been created to tackle the problem of maintaining law and order in the country. Crimes are managed separately by the Criminal courts of the country.
STATE AGENCIES: To perform the task of law and order administration, a state government maintains a separate department called the Home Department. The administrative head of this department is the Secretary,drawn as a rule from the generalist Indian Administrative Service ( IAS). The Home Department administers the police. Under the administrative control of the Home Department comes the executive organisation namely the Police department headed by the Deputy - General Of Police,who as a rule is drawn from the Indian Police Service. He may have an Additional Director General of Police to assist him. The Police Hierarchy comprises Inspectors - General of Police,Deputy Inspectors General of Police,Superintendents of Police and other lower level functionaries.
The basic unit of law and order administration in a state is the police thana headed by the Station House Officer ( SHO) who is assisted by a complement of Inspectors, sub-inspectors,head constables and constables.
The Superintendent of Police in charge of the district police is an important functionary and is subject to control and supervision by a Deputy Inspector - General of Police, who is generally placed in charge of a group of districts.
THe overall command and control are exercised by the Director - General of Police at the state level. Officers in charge of sub units within a district like sub divisions,circles and police stations are subordinate to the Superintendent of Police. The District Police is thus an integral part of the state wide police setup,which is hierarchically structured and held togethe by bonds of strong discipline and control.
The District collector/Deputy COmmissioner who is head of the District administration and apart from his other duties is responsible for the law and order administration in the district police assisted by the police head , the Superintendent of the Police ( District).
In Metropolitan cities, there is the Police Commissionerate system like Mumbai,Kolkata,etc who reports to the state home ministry and is assisted by Joint commissioners of police who is in charge of the city range ( north range,south range,etc),Deputy Commissioner of Police ( incharge of the district) and ACP ( who is the head of sub division),and Station House Officer ( incharge of a police station) and other junior staff.
Delhi which is a Metropolitan has the COmmissionerate system who also enjoys magisterial powers but the reports directly to the Lieutenant Governor who reports to the President ( indirectly to the Central govt.)
The reputation of a state depends on how effectively it is able to maintain law and order withing its jurisdiction as freedom and independence will not have meaning unless such basic issues are properly attended to.
Unfortunately,in view of the prevailing atmosphere of violence in the country,attention to law and order is called for,but,the sad part is that this is being neglected in favour of development administration.
Therefore,it is imperative that law and order is given adequate attention and it is built up both on the infrastructural as well as intelligence and implementation level and its grievances and issues sorted out if we want a sound welfare state where development and law and order go hand in hand otherwise development will be stalled.
ROLE OF PARAMILITARY FORCES IN MAINTENANCE OF LAW AND ORDER AND COUNTERING INSURGENCY & TERRORISM:
A paramilitary is a military force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces.
Paramilitary forces(Except the State Armed Police Forces) in India are under the Central govt. and under their orders. The paramilitary forces are:
The State Armed Police Forces of India are the police units for dealing with serious law and order situations requiring a higher level of armed expertise than normal in states. The State Armed Police Forces exist in addition to the ordinary police services of the various states.
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING and INTELLIGENCE BUREAU:
The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW or R&AW) is an external intelligence agency of the Republic of India.Its creation was necessitated by the poor performance of the Intelligence Bureau(IB, which then handled both internal and external intelligence) in the recent wars against China (1962) and the Pakistan (1965) convinced the government that a specialized, independent agency was required for competent external intelligence gathering.The primary function of the RAW is collection of external intelligence, counter-terrorism and covert operations. In addition, it is responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons, to advise Indian policymakers. It has been said that RAW is the "effective instrument of India's national power". RAW is also involved in the security of India's nuclear programme. The working of the RAW is not answerable to the Parliament of India and it works under the Prime Minister of India.
The present RAW objectives include, and are not limited to:
- Monitoring the political and military developments in adjoining countries, which have direct bearing on India's national security and the formulation of its foreign policy.
- Secondly, molding international public opinion with the help of the strong and vibrant Indian diaspora.
- To watch the development of international communism and the schism between the two big communist nations, the Soviet Union and China. As with other countries, both these powers had direct access to the communist parties in India.
- To control and limit the supply of military hardware to Pakistan, from mostly European countries, America and more importantly from China
The Intelligence Bureau is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency. It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Shrouded in secrecy, the IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the military. However, the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) has always been an IPS officer. In addition to domestic intelligence responsibilities, the IB is particularly tasked with intelligence collection in border areas, following the 1951 recommendations of the Himmatsinhji Committee (also known as the North and North-East Border Committee), a task entrusted to military intelligence organizations prior to independence in 1947. All spheres of human activity within India and in the neighborhood are allocated to the charter of duties of the Intelligence Bureau. The IB was also tasked with other external intelligence responsibilities as of 1951 until 1968, when the Research and Analysis Wing was formed.
The workings of these two and their intelligence keep the cycle of law and order going and gets the central and state law enforcement agencies, military and paramilitary forces into motion for the same.
CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION:
On 28th August 1997, the Election Commissioner Krishnamurthy made a startling annunciation. According to him, of 1, 37,752 candidates who had contested the General Election to the Lok Sabha in 1996, nearly 1500 had criminal records.
Criminalisation of politics is present in every party whether ruling or non ruling.
The radical cause of increasing criminalisation of politics is nexus of muscle power, money power and politics.
In order to garner a ticket and votes candidates appraise and spend a huge amount compared to meagre limits. These funds are garnered from funds and donations,which come from unhealthy sources like mafias, local dons and corporates,among others. These sources then capture the MLA or MP they funded and make them indebted to them by making the politicians puppets in their hands for giving ends to their vested interest. Thus, people's needs and interests are not bothered about and these people are the ones who rule the roost through their puppet politicians.
On May 2, 2002, the Supreme Court gave a historic ruling following public interest litigation by an NGO.
It ruled that every candidate, contesting an election to Parliament, State Legislatures or Municipal Corporation, has to declare the following along with the application for his/her candidature:
- A candidate's criminal charges
- The candidate's financial records
- The candidate's educational qualifications
The Election Commission had sent a notification on June 28, 2002, to all State Election Officers with a view to enforcing it. The Supreme Court's thrust has been that the people and the voters have the right to know about the candidate's criminal record, assets and liabilities and educational qualifications. The Returning Officer has to publish these declarations for the voters' knowledge.
The Election Commission under T S Krishnamurthy proposed in its 2004 report that Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 should be amended to disqualify candidates accused of an offence punishable by imprisonment of 5 years or more even when trial is pending, given that the Court has framed charges against the person. In the report the Commission addresses the possibility that such a provision could be misused in the form of motivated cases by the ruling party.
To prevent such misuse, the Commission suggested a compromise whereas only cases filed prior to six months before an election would lead to disqualification of a candidate. In addition, the Commission proposed that Candidates found guilty by a Commission of Enquiry should stand disqualified.
The Court held that the right to information - the right to know antecedents, including the criminal past, or assets of candidates - was a fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and that the information was fundamental for survival of democracy.
Well this is just a guideline and the people are unaware about this and continue to vote blindfolded. The criminals will disclose their records on an election form(and most of the time it is not verified whether true or false)but their physical influence outside the booth,monetarily as well as muscle power will not stop inducing people to vote for them. Therefore, it is for us people to wake up, use RTI as well as other sources to vote for the right candidate with all knowledge and throw out this disease as it is thwarting the very ideas of democracy and Constitutional safeguards that our country stands on.
POLICE - PUBLIC RELATIONS:
i) Since the Police administration is based on law made in 1861 and not undergone any significant change, therefore, the colonial attitudes of police personnel still remain. The erstwhile police force of the British Raj who were trained to administer terror over our people for the perpetuation of foreign domination seem to heavily inspire our current Police administration who feel it’s their duty to treat a layman or a common citizen unfairly.
ii) We need to understand that the idea of having a welfare state envisaged by our constitutional experts stands completely null and void, in absence of a proper criminal justice system. And here, Police machinery plays one of the most important roles in order to set criminal law into motion by lodging FIR’s and conducting unbiased and speedy investigation. Moreover, in order to accomplish the solemn purpose of having a crime free society, more onerous duty is cast on the Police and learned magistrates. There is a well demarcated sphere of activity between the field of crime detection and crime punishment. Investigation of an offence is the field exclusively reserved for the executive through the police department, the superintendence over which vests in the State Government. The executive who is charged with a duty to keep vigilance over law and order situation is obliged to prevent crime and if an offence is alleged to have been committed it is its bounden duty to investigate into the offence and bring the offenders to book. Needless to state the ill consequences which can follow if the police refuses to investigate a cognizable offence (offences in which the police is duty bound to lodge an FIR, without acquiring prior permission of a magistrate in order to investigate the case, together with the power to arrest without warrant) such as theft, murder, dacoity, rape, hurt, assault, robbery, trespass, cheating etc). As per the scheme and policy of the criminal procedure code no investigation in an offence can be commenced without registration of FIR’s.
iii) Apart from the above, there have also been several studies and commissions set up to study and reform public-police relations and it was found that the public have greater dissatisfaction and disenchantment with the working of the police. Apathy of the police,inefficiency and incapacity of the police has given a poor image to it as people are in fear of even approaching it.
iv) Recent years have seen an upsurge in terrorism and violence in different parts of the country and the police is expected to take care of law and order to curb the problem. But their failure to do so has led to worsening of the situation and given an all the more bad reputation to the police in the eyes of the common man.
v) People are unaware of their rights and duties and so there leaves ample scope for the police or for that matter any organisation to take the law in their hands and exploit the common man.
Let's discuss the reforms in Police that would help resolve the above.
REFORMS IN POLICE:
The police personnel have a vital role in a parliamentary democracy. The society perceives them as custodians of law and order and providing safety and security to all. This essentially involves continuous police-public interface. The ever changing societal situation in terms of demography, increasing rate and complexity of crime particularly of an organized nature and also accompanied by violence, agitations, violent demonstrations, variety of political activities, left wing terrorism, insurgency, militancy, enforcement of economic and social legislations, etc. have further added new dimensions to the responsibilities of police personnel. Of late, there has been growing realization that police personnel have been functioning with a variety of constraints and handicaps, reflecting in their performance, thus becoming a major concern for both central and state governments. In addition, there is a feeling that the police performance has been falling short of public expectations, which is affecting the overall image of the police in the country. With a view to making the police personnel more effective and efficient especially with reference to their, professionalism and public interface several initiatives have been launched from time to time.
Some of the steps suggested by the National Police Commission in this direction are:
• To bring about a change of attitude of police personnel so that they
become people friendly.
• To bring about more transparency and openness in police working.
• To improve public image and public participation in police working.
• To make the police more efficient and effective.
In order to achieve the above mention direction, the Ministry of Home Affairs with
the support of UNDP has taken up an experimental project covering nine police
stations in Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Assam. One of the major aims of this project is
to revise the curricula for training of police personnel at State Police Training
Institutions.
Police sensitisation training has also been initiated to rid the police of their colonial attitudes and high handed behaviour.
Over working the staff, lack of manpower, improper or no proper infrastructure to carry out their duties,no reward system, no proper growth system,major political and bureaucratic interference and stranglehold,etc.
The recommendations of the National Police Commission to set up State security boards in order to make the police force more accountable and responsible but unfortunately they have been constituted in only a few states and that too they are not up to the mark.
The Supreme Court in 2006 gave directives which were to be followed till the states come up with their police acts.
First was to set up a State Security Commission which would insulate the police form unwarranted political interference. Political control is necessary but it needs to be conditioned in such a manner that political masters cannot take undue advantage. The primary responsibility of this commission is to lay down policy guidelines for service oriented policing, evaluate the functioning of the police and making binding recommendations to the government to that effect.
Second, the directives provide for a minimum fixed tenure of two years for the Chief of Police and four other police officers on operational duties in the field. The court expressed its shock over the frequent transfer of Superintendents of Police for whimsical reasons and observed that this trend leads to demoralization of the police force.
Third, the directives call for the separation of investigation from law and order which was also recommended by the Law Commission of India in its 154th report. This would ensure faster, accurate and fairer processes so that rule of law is maintained. Presently, law and order is prioritized over investigation work which leads to loss of material evidence crucial for the case under consideration.
Fourth, the Court's directive mandate the creation of a Police Establishment Board which would be a departmental body to oversee the transfer and posting of the officials above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Fifth and the most important, the judgment directs to set up Police Complaints Authority in states to inquire into allegations of complaint of public against the men in uniform. This is supposed to be an independent body comprised of civil society members to ensure that justice is done without prejudice to any party. However states are trying to dilute the neutrality of the complaint authority by increasing the number of policemen on the Complaint Authority in the guise of independent members. This would annul the efficacy of having a complaint authority.
However, the states have been reluctant to implement the directives of the Supreme Court. Most of the states have or are trying to pass the new Police Acts but have diluted the directives leaving lacunae in place for police to act discretionarily/arbitrarily and facilitating entrenchment by the political executive. This is a significant blow to all civil society members who turn to state and the police to protect their human rights. The entire campaign towards reform has been compromised by those who want to protect their narrow and partisan interests.
The Supreme Court has set up a monitoring committee to review the implementation of its directives.
The eighth report of the NPC recommended that protection available to the police officers from prosecution under section 132 and 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which mandate prior sanction of the government in order to prosecute any public servant including police official for any act done in discharge of his official duty be withdrawn or that a proviso be added to the section to initiate automatic judicial enquiry in every refusal to prosecute. This recommendation must be implemented. Making the police more accountable would deter police officials from harassing citizens.
Structural and institutional changes can only bring in marginal improvements,what is important is attitudinal change on both the police as well as people's side to effectively cooperate with each other for smooth administration.
