Table of Contents

Introduction 4
Historical Development 4
Police Law Vis-à-vis Human Rights 8
Causes for Human Rights Violation by Police 16
Conclusion 18
Bibliography 20

1
Introduction

The term ‘police’ has been derived from the latin word politia which means the condition of a
Polis or State. According to Oxford dictionary the term police means ‘a system of regulation
for the preservation of order and enforcement of law; the internal government of State’. The
term broadly refers to purposeful maintenance of public order and protection of persons and
property, from the hazards of public accidents and the commission of unlawful acts. It refers
to civil functionaries charged with maintaining public order and safety and enforcing the law
including the prevention and detection of crime. India is multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and vast
country. It is the second most populated country of the world. Maintaining law and order in
world’s largest democratic country is an arduous task. The police personnel provide for the
security of people and enforcement of laws of the country. It determines the manner in which
democratic decisions are implemented in the country. In view of the growing violence, social
conflicts and serious threats of terrorist activities, the role of police is becoming even more
important. The assurance of equality and dignity to the weaker sections of the society is also
dependent upon the performance of the police. Clearly, police has a crucial role in the existence
and development of India 1.

Historical Development

Police: Under East India Company

The law and order situation at the close of Mughal Empire was characterized by anarchy and
confusion. The British came to India as traders in 1612. The leading organization was the East
India Company. Initially, the British presence was maritime and commercial in character. The
company officials functioned with the cooperation of local rulers. By the early nineteenth
century, Mughal Empire started disintegrating. The native rulers emerged at various nooks and
corners of the country. Infighting among the native rulers and prevalence of greed & corruption
among the ruling class and several other factors paved the way for conversion of the Company
administration into a full-fledged colonial state. Till the middle of nineteenth century, there
was no satisfactory police system. This was because of Britishers inexperience and lack of
knowledge about the country. Policing was not taken away from the zamindars till 1792. East

1
Accessed from http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/21078/10/11_chapter%202.pdf on 27 th April
2023 at 05:08 pm.

2
India Company sent Cornwallis to India as Governor General. He abolished zamindari system
of maintaining law and appointed thanedars who were now made responsible for the
maintenance of law and order. He introduced a number of reform measures. However, his
reforms displayed a lack of faith in the natives of the land and their institutions.

Police: Background to the Indian Police Act of 1861

After the annexation of Sind (presently in Pakistan) to the British Indian Empire in 1843, Sir
Charles Napier was made responsible for the administration of this crime-ridden and difficult
area. He realized that only under a recognized organization, the police could function properly
and produce desired results. He reorganized the native police system on the basis of a colonial
model of police, namely Royal Irish Constabulary. His system was based on two basic
principles; first, the police must be completely separated from the military, and second, they
must act as an independent body, assisting Collectors in discharging the responsibilities for law
and order, but under their officers. Napier’s system provided Inspector General of Police who
was responsible for the administration of the force throughout the territory. He was responsible
for law and order for the entire territory. There were superintendents in each district. The
system soon spread to other part of the country under the control of the East India Company.
Napier regarded his force as military in form. The main principles of the model were not altered
even by the Police Commission of 1860, which designed the present police force of India.

Indian Police Act of 1861

The events of 1857 necessitated an instrument to control the vast lands at an economical cost.
After facing a real threat of losing power in 1857, the British rulers were determined to ensure
complete suzerainty and suppression of all challenges to their power. A Police Commission
was appointed in august 1860 with the aim of making police an efficient instrument for the
prevention and detection of crime. Nevertheless, an internal government memo to the Police
Commission did not mask the real objectives for the new police force. The commission was
told to bear in mind that functions of a police are either protective and repressive or detective
and that the line which separates the protective and repressive functions of a civil force from
functions purely military, may not always be very clear.

The Indian police system, designed in 1860, was, therefore, sharply opposite to the British
Bobby who is celebrated symbol of democratic policing throughout the world. The primary
objectives were to meet the exigencies of trade and company profit. Accordingly, the emphasis

3
was on order maintenance, on keeping the trade routes safe and ensuring that the exploitation
of resources could continue unhindered. However, in addition to the objectives of controlling
the vast lands and subjugating the people, there were imperialistic and racist considerations too
for the British rulers. The design of the British police system was based on the structure
developed by the Mughals in the seventeenth century. The new model incorporated many
features of the Mughal system and officials such as Daroga, Kotwal and Faujdar found place
in the reorganized British system.

The Indian Police Act (IPA) of 1861 imposed a uniform police system on the entire country.
The Act established organized police forces the responsibility of the various provincial
governments. Within the provinces the police was to be recruited, trained, disciplined and
control by British officers. The Act established Indian police (IP), a superior police service. It
was conceived to relieve the District Magistrate of his duties to keep check over the local police
and make it more professional in nature. Thus, police force became organized, disciplined and
well-supervised. The Act instituted a system of policing in India which is still in force. It may
be noted that the Act brought uniformity in administration with the district police placed under
the supervision and control of the District Magistrate.

The Police Act was implemented throughout the country. However, the general conditions of
crime control remained unsatisfactory due to various reasons, prominent being the prevalence
of the poverty and famines, adverse conditions and shortage of force. The Government of India
established the Second All India Police Commission in 1902. The Commission recommended
major structural changes as appointment of new Dy. IG and Dy. SP posts, constitution of
Railway Police Force, division of provinces into ranges, and constitution of armed force at
district level. The recommendations were implemented but they were against Indianisation.
Despite the dissent of the Maharaja of Darbhanga, the only Indian member of the team, the
Commission’s recommendations were accepted by the Government of India. Other important
developments during this period were setting up of Islinton Commission (1912) and Lee
Commission (1924). The recommendations of these commissions led to substantial
Indianisation of the senior rank of the Police Force. By Islinton Commission, the meritorious
Indians were accommodated at the senior levels. Later in the year 1919, 33% of IPS quota was
fixed for the Indians. With Lee Commission (in 1924), the quota was raised to 50%. The
development had also been shown in the subordinate level gradually. Thus, before
Independence of the country, a system had been established which the posterity could improve
upon.

4
Present Organizational Structure of Police

According to article 246 of the Indian Constitution and section 3 of the IPA, the police force
is a state subject and not dealt with at central level. Each state government has the responsibility
to draw guidelines, rules and regulations for its police force. These regulations are found in the
state police manuals The organizational structure of police forces in India is fairly uniform in
all the states throughout the country.

State police works under the overall control of State Government 2. The head of the police force
in a state is the Director General of Police DGP). DGP is responsible to the state government
for the administration of the police force in the state and for advising the government on police
matters. The state is further divided into several zones, ranges and districts. An officer of the
rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) heads the district police force. A group of districts form
a range, which is looked after by an officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police
(DIGP). DIGP guides, advices and assists the SP through regular visits and inspections. Some
states have zones comprising two or more ranges. Zones are the areas which are under the
charge of an officer of the rank of an Inspector General of Police (IGP). The districts are again
divided into sub-divisions, circles and police stations. A sub-division is under the charge of an
officer of the rank of Additional or Deputy Superintendent of police (ASP/ Dy. SP). Every sub-
division is further divided into a number of police stations, depending on its area, population
and prevalence of crime. The police station is headed by the station in charge of the rank of
Inspector/Sub-Inspector. Each police station is further divided into a number of beats assigned
for patrolling, surveillance and collection of intelligence. Police beats are under the charge of
Sub Inspector. Head Constables and Constables form lower level of police hierarchy. Between
the police station and the sub-division, there are police circles in some states. The head of the
circle is an Inspector of Police3.

District police is divided into two major branches of police force i.e. the armed police and the
civil police. The primary function of the civil force is to control crime, while the primary
function of armed police is to deal with law and order situation. Armed police is the reserve
police of the district. The force is kept reserved to meet any emergency situation 4. Armed police

2
Commonwealth Human Right Initiative Report, 2005. Accessed from
http://humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/chogm/chogm_2005/default.html on 27th April 2023 at 06:42
pm.
3
Ibid.
4
Accessed from http://humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/chogm/chogm_2005/default.html on 28th April
2023 at 01:20 pm.

5
and civil police supply material and officers to the other branches. Therefore, these two
branches constitute the most visible part of the force. In addition to civil and armed forces there
are departments like detective police, traffic police, revenue police, mounted police, fire police,
and technical branches like prosecution branch, radio branch and intelligence police.

Police Law Vis-à-vis Human Rights

All State institutions whether the Police Department, the Army, the Judiciary or the Civil
Administration have a duty to respect Human Rights, prevent Human Rights violation and take
active steps for promotion of Human Rights. The role of Police in this respect is especially
significant as it is responsible for maintaining order and enforcing laws. Unfortunately, many
a time, while discharging this duty the actions of police often conflict Human Rights. In 1977,
the National Police Commission was appointed of the urgency to review the functioning of
police and flaws existing in the system of administration. The commission described the threat
of transfer and suspension as the most effective weapon in the hands of politicians to bend the
police to his will as it has severe economic blow and disrupts of police officers family life.
Further police officers are pressured to get quick results often with an official guarantees that
they may use any means possible to accomplish the task at hand5. These factors account for the
highhandedness of Police resulting in blatant violations of Human Rights.

The police have to operate in different situations, therefore its working and its implications can
vary from situation to situation. As, a senior police officer has been quoted by S. Venugopal
Rao, in his book 'Police Administrative', “the situation in which police violence becomes
manifest can be divided into three broad categories. First, there is terrorism and other acute and
dangerous forms of ideological violence to which policy response can be none other than that
of counter violence. To the second category, belongs aggressive dissent which assumes ugly
form of violence and can be controlled only through force. In dealing with violence of these
two categories, counter violence is normative so long as it is regulated according to the law of
land. However, with regard to the normal day-to-day investigations, an occasional streak of
violence emerges which is uncalled for and which no civilized society can accept. This is
mainly due to over enthusiasm or pressure and influence of the complainant or equivocal

5
Accessed from http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/index.php on 28th April 2023 at 01:35 pm.

6
directions from the higher echelons. 6” Sh. Y.S Jafa, ADGP, Maharashtra Police has put these
three situations in other way. He terms them as, a) normal, b) abnormal and c) extraordinary
situations. “A situation is normal, when law and order and crime are under control. An
abnormal situation is where, though it is not gravely disturbed, violent and terrorist crime
occasionally takes place, necessitating major deployment of force to keep terrorists at bay as
in Naxal affected areas. An extraordinary situation exists when militancy and terrorism are
widespread and law and order is seriously disturbed as it was when terrorism was at its peak in
Punjab and Kashmir.7” The abnormal situation can also include the incidents like communal
riots, arson and mass looting etc. 8

1. Human Rights Violation under Normal Conditions

The violations of human rights or the offences by the police in discharging its normal duties
can be categorized as follow: -

a) Illegal arrest and wrongful detention

b) Neglect of duty

c) Manipulation of records and perjury

d) Violence and

e) Corruption9

Also, as far as its role is concerned in criminal justice system, police plays a dual role of
maintaining law and order and of investigating agency working in cooperation with prosecution
to collect evidence against the accused for purpose of trial. The 152nd report of the Law
commission on ‘Custodial Crimes’ observed that these two functions require exercise of
different faculties of mind and hence police cannot discharge these two functions
simultaneously. It recommended a need to separate the two.10

6
Cited in, Venugopal Rao S., Police Administration,. Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi,
1982.
7
Y.S. Jafa, “Human Rights and Security Forces”, in Noorjahan Bava, ed, Human Rights and Criminal Justice
Administration in India, Uppal Publishing House, 2000, pp.110-11.
8
Accessed from http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/23693/8/08_chepter-4.pdf on 28th April
2023 at 03:05 pm.
9
S.L.Ghosh, Law and Order: From the Police Point of View, Eastern Law House, Calcutta, 1972, p 86.
10
The Law commission of India, 152nd report on custodial crimes, 1994.

7
It is because of such widespread violation of Human Rights in the hands of police officials that
the Supreme Court has time and again issued directions to stop these violations.

In Joginder Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others11, Joginder Kumar, a young
lawyer, was called to police station by the SSP, Ghaziabad in connection with some enquiries.
He was accompanied by his friend and brother, who were told by the police that he will be
released in the evening. But when he was not released in three days, his family from out that
he had been taken to undisclosed location and in effect he was illegally detained over a period
of five days. His family filed a habeas corpus writ petition in the Supreme Court to find his
whereabouts. The Court issued notices to the State government and to the SSP to immediately
produce Joginder Kumar and answer why he was detained for five days without a valid reason
and why his detention was not recorded by the police in its and why he was not produced before
a magistrate.

The police contended that the victim was cooperating with them out of his own free will.
Rejecting this version, the Court pointed out that arrest and detention in lock-up should not be
made in a routine manner on a mere allegation that a person has committed an offence. The
existence of power to arrest is one thing and the justification for exercise of it is quite another.
Arrest and detention in police lock-up can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-
esteem of a person. The Court gave following directions:

1. Arrests must not be made in a routine manner. Officer making the rest must be able to
justify its necessity basis of some preliminary investigation.

2. Arrested person should be allowed to inform a friend or relative about his arrest and
where it is he being held. The arresting officer must inform the arrested person when he is
brought to police station of his rights and is required to make an entry in the daily diary.

3. It is the duty of the magistrate before whom the arrested person is produced to satisfy
himself that all the above said requirements have been complied with.

It must be remembered that according to the third report of the National police commission,
wrongful use of arrest powers is one of the chief sources of corruption and Human Rights
violation by the police. Nearly 60% arrests made by police officers are unnecessary and

11
1994 SCC 260.

8
unjustified leading to harassment and loss of faith in system. It also accounted for 43.2% of
expenditure of jails. 12

13
In D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal , D. K. Basu, Executive Chairman of Legal Aid
Services, West Bengal wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India stating that torture and death
in police custody are widespread and efforts are often made by the authorities to hush up the
matter. Some newspaper reports published in the Telegraph, Statesman and Indian Express
newspapers were also attached to support the contention. Basu requested the Supreme Court to
examine the issue and lay down principles for custody jurisprudence and formulate means to
ensure that those responsible for such occurrences are held accountable.

Supreme Court treated the letter as writ petition. While that it was under consideration the apex
Court received another report about custodial death in Uttar Pradesh.

The Court recognized that worst violations of Human Rights take place during police
investigation where the police use torture and third degree methods for confession. Taking a
tough stance, the Supreme Court observed that custodial torture is a naked violation of human
dignity. The Court said that precious currency of Article 21 of Constitution cannot be denied
to the persons in custody. While accepting the police has a difficult task of maintaining law
and order situation and accepting that police have right to arrest a criminal and interrogate him
in course of investigation, the Court held that law does not permit the use of third degree
methods for torture on an accused person. The Court stressed that no matter what the
circumstances, the State or its agent are not allowed to assault or torture people.

The Courts laid down elaborate guidelines in respect of arrest and interrogation 14.

1. Use of third degree methods or any form of torture to extract information is not
permitted.

2. Police personnel carrying out arrest and interrogation must bear accurate, visible and
clear identification / name tags with their designations.

3. Particulars of all personnel handling interrogation of an arrested person must be

12
Third report of National Police Commission ,Government of India, 1980 page 31.
13
AIR 1997 SC 610.
14
Ibid.

9
4. A memo of arrest stating the time and place of arrest must be prepared by the police
officer carrying out an arrest. It should be attested by at least one witness who is either a family
member of the arrested person or a respectable person from the locality where the arrest is
made. The memo should also be counter-signed by the arrested person.

5. The arrested or detained person is entitled to inform a friend, relative or any other
Person interested in her/his welfare about the arrest and place of detention as soon as
practicable. The arrested person must be made aware of this right as soon as s/he is arrested or
detained.

6. The arrested person may be allowed to meet her/his lawyer during interrogation but not
throughout the interrogation.

7. The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of the arrested person must be notified
by telegraph to next friend or relative of the arrested person within 8-12 hours of arrest in case
such person lives outside the district or town. The information should be given through the
District Legal Aid Organisation and police station of the area concerned.

8. An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention in regard to the arrest. The
name of the friend/relative of the arrested person who has been informed and the names of the
police personnel in whose custody, the arrested person is being kept should be entered in the
register.

9. The arrested person should be examined by a medical doctor at the time of arrest if he
so requests. All bodily injuries on the arrested person should be recorded in the inspection
memo which should be signed by both the arrested person and the police officer making the
arrest. A copy of the memo should be provided to the arrested person.

10. The arrested person should be subject to a medical examination every 48 hours by a
trained doctor who has been approved by the State Health Department.

11. Copies of all documents relating to the arrest including the memo of arrest should be
sent to the Area Magistrate for her/his record.

12. A police control room should be provided at all district and State headquarters where
information regarding arrests should be prominently displayed. The police

10
The Court directed that these guidelines should be circulated to the DGP and the Home
Secretary of every State and union territory and must be put up in every police station at
conspicuous place.

The Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon vs. Home Secretary, State of Bihar15, held
that a procedure which does not make the legal services available to the accused who is too
poor to afford a lawyer, and would have to go through the trial without legal assistance,
cannot be regarded as reasonable, fair and just. The Supreme Court declared speedy trial as a
constituent of legal aid and directed the government to provide free legal aid service in
deserving cases.

In the case of Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra 16 the Supreme Court made several
directions and suggestions to the State Government to prevent the recurrence of police
torture, such as: The district and sessions judges making unannounced visits to the police
stations, magistrates inquiring the detainees about their experience in the police custody.
Immediately after the arrest, the detainees should have the knowledge of all his/her rights
through the pamphlet provided by the police station in their local language and also the
relatives of the same must be informed about the arrest.

Justice Bhagawati in the case of Khatri v. State of Bihar17 talks about the ‘Right to
Compensation’ in case of custodial torture also mentioned in Para 5, Article 9 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966. The supreme court gave several
directions to protect the Fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty (in case of
detainees)- such directions include- Medically examining and making a record of the same in
the station house diary and presenting the same in front of a magistrate along with the
detainee. In case of a remanded detainee, the medical check-up has to be done once in every
three days and a police and complain box has to be provided in every police lock up and the
keys of the same should be with the officer-in-charge and the complaint and the detainee
must be presented before the magistrate and the magistrate should give a reasonable
judgement to the same complaint. In case of a female detainee, she should not be arrested
before sunrise or after sunset and should be accompanied by a female officer and should have
a separate lockup from the male detainees. The directions also state that the state government

15
1979 SCR (3) 169
16
AIR 1983 SC 378
17
AIR 1981 SC 982

11
should follow the guidelines and measures given in the committee’s report (the committee
being constituted with the Home secretary, law secretary and director general of police).

2. Police Working in Abnormal Situations

The abnormal conditions, as mentioned earlier, are those in which the police has to tackle mass
protests, arson and communal riots etc. In these conditions, the role of police also undergoes a
change and much more is expected from it. Lord Scarman has observed that in case of racial
riots in UK, the police has to display considerable sensitivity and discretion in the matter of
law enforcement. In such situations quite often, the disorders emanate “due to unimaginative
and inflexible policing and over-reaction18.” In India, this situation becomes more sensitive
and as in context of 1984 Anti-Sikh riots and recently the Gujarat riots, the police is often
blamed to play a biased or partisan role. Vibhuti Narain Rai has conducted a study on the
neutrality of the police during the communal riots under the fellowship of National Police
Academy, Hyderabad. Mr. Rai came out with the conclusion that the neutrality of the police in
communal riots is often viewed with suspicion. The general attitude of the police under such
situations is mostly biased against the minority especially the Muslims. The Muslims were
made a target of the police highhandedness even in the areas where the Muslims were at the
receiving end i.e. in 1970 Bhiwandi riots, 901 Muslims were arrested against the 21 Hindus
while the Muslim causalities in the riots were 59 and Hindu causalities were 17. Similarly, no
Hindus were killed in police firing in Bhiwandi (1970), Ferozabad, (1972) Aligarh, (1978)
Meerut (1982) riots while number of Muslims killed in police firing were 9, 6,7 and 6
respectively. Mr. Rai also came out with the conclusion that the general perception amongst
the policemen about the Muslims, is that of a violent and cruel community and it is deeply
embedded in their psyche19. In UP, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) is specially
viewed as an anti Muslim force. Apart from this study, Justice D.P Madon Commission on
1970 Bhiwandi Jalgaon riots also cited examples of biased attitude of the police force.

3. Violation of Rights in Extra Ordinary Conditions

18
Shanker Sen, Indian Police Today, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi, 1994, p. 128.
19
Vibhuti Narain Rai , “Handling Communal Riots”, Seminar No. 483, Nov. 1999, pp. 40-44.

12
The extra ordinary situation is a situation ridden by terrorism or insurgency. In India such
situations prevailed in the States like Kashmir, Punjab, North Eastern States, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, where the menace of Naxalite or Maoist terror groups prevails.
Terrorism today has become a globalised danger to the humanity, democracy and peace. This
is the most tough task which the civil force like police has to tackle. Dealing with terrorism is
more difficult than combating with the enemy on the border in case of external aggression.
Attacks of terrorists come from within and they are always sudden and cannot be judged
beforehand. Even the intelligence, many a time, fails to get sufficient information about the
possible attacks and plans of these groups. Members of these groups live and function within
the general masses. Hence, they are difficult to identify and check. Therefore, in the areas
ridden with terrorism or insurgency, the police highhandedly deals with the people in order to
identify these elements, and they are also equipped with special laws like the National Security
Act, the Prevention of Terrorists Activities Act etc. and in the process the overuse of force
results into the violation of rights of the general masses.

Punjab Mass Cremation Order

Two writ petitions20 were filed before the Supreme Court of India containing serious allegations
about large-scale cremations resorted to by the Punjab Police of persons allegedly killed in
what were termed as “encounters”. The main thrust of the Writ Petitions was that there were
extra-judicial executions and hasty and secret cremations rendering the State liable for action.
These petitions were largely relied on a press note of 16 th January 1995 by the Human Rights
Wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal under the caption “Disappeared” “cremation ground.” The
note alleged that the Punjab Police had cremated a large number of human bodies after labeling
them as unidentified. The Supreme Court after examining the report submitted to the Court by
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), relating to cremation of dead bodies observed that report
indicates 585 dead bodies were fully identified, 274 partially identified and 1238 unidentified.
The report discloses flagrant violation of Human Rights on a large scale. On 12 December 1996
the Court requested the Commission to have the matter examined in accordance with law and
determine all the issues related with the case. Though matter is still pending before the
Commission for final consideration, however, the Commission granted in some cases

20
Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 497\95, Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab and others and Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 447\95,
Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab v. State of Punjab.

13
compensation amounting of Rupees Two Lakh Fifty thousand (Rs. 2,50,000/-) to the next of
kin of the 89 deceased persons.

Causes for Human Rights Violation by Police

1. Background of the Victim- It is time again proven that people from poor and
marginalised sections of the society are taken undue advantage of by the police as
they feel that this sector is a soft target. Race, Gender, Colour, Caste plays a major
role in this.

2. Political Interference and Corruption- Political Influence is one of the main reasons
for improper methods of investigation, torture and killings. Police officers are often
made to obey the instructions of the ruling party irrespective of its lawfulness, this
prevents the police department from being independent and impartial. In addition to
this due to minimum wages provided to police they are tempted to earn income
through unlawful sources. Corruption leads to two problems, lenient enforcement of
law towards the people in power and human right violations of the weaker section.

3. Poor Investigation System- Police are not given the training on using scientific
methods of investigation, the only method they are aware of is third-degree. The
equipment and facilities required to conduct scientific investigation is also not
provided. In most cases crime scenes are investigated by junior officers or constables
who have zero knowledge about scientific investigation.

4. Problems in Statutory Provisions and Judiciary- There are no clear guidelines laid
down to regulate the actions of police. Hence there is an assumption that police are
immune from being charged with anything. One of the main problems is that the
Police Administration itself has been given the responsibility to regulate police
actions. Therefore, the chances of prosecuting a police who has committed a crime are
very less as both the criminal and judge belong to the same department. There are
high rates of acquittal of police in cases of custodial death, even if punishment is
awarded it is not proportionate to the harm caused which gives confidence to officials
that they can get away with anything

14
 5. Poor Inspection of Lock ups- There are obligations through international standards to
regularly inspect and supervise lock ups and these obligations have not been met with.

6. Faulty Medical Reports- Medical reports for post mortem are often found to be faulty
as they are written under political pressures. Personnel to conduct post mortem are not
trained well. Reports are written long after the post mortem is conducted. This
ultimately gives police personnel the confidence that crimes committed by them will
be covered up.

Apart from these there are other reasons like the social economical and mental factors. Social
and family life of an official place a major role, for instance if he is an alcoholic leading to
poor decision making. Police Officials are one of the least paid government employees,
which prompts them to give into corruption. Psychological Reasons like sadism, sexual
weakness, hatred towards people are some reasons for police violence. 21

However, the causes of the human rights violations by the police have to be analysed in context
of the complexities under which the police has to perform. According to Ved Marwaha IPS, “a
large majority of cases of police brutality take place not because of individual aberration, but
because of systemic compulsion. The practice is more widespread than we would like to
believe. It could not have gone unchecked since the British days if there was no tacit support
of senior police officers, bureaucrats, politicians and the judiciary. The fact is that the practice
also enjoys the support of large sections of public in the mistaken belief that it is necessary for
effective maintenance of law and order.”22 According to a survey conducted by Bureau of
Police Research and Development 23, following are the major reasons for the poor performance
of the police and the violation of rights through its conduct:

Reasons %age of response

Political and other interferences 72.3 %

Lack of adequate resources 48.7 %

21
Accessed from https://thelawbrigade.com/human-rights/human-rights-violations-by-police-in-india-a-
comparative-case-study/#_edn11 on 28th April 2023 at 07:40 pm.
22
Ved Marwaha, “A Citizen-friendly Force?”, Seminar No 483, Nov. 1999 p. 16.
23
Quoted from, Anil Kumar Sinha, ed., Project to Improve the Organization and Management of Law
Enforcement System in India. A Summary of Objective, Studies and Recommendations, BPR&D, GOI,
MHA, New Delhi, April 2001

15
Lack of public support 48.6 %

Recruitment of wrong type of people 45.5 %

Inadequate supervision 42.4 %

Poor service conditions 38.8 %

Poor training 32.3 %

Low status in community 27.4 %

Poor salary 28.4 %

Conclusion

The police force is facing new challenges everyday in the form of modernization of the
techniques of crime especially the cyber crimes and then there are certain phenomena like
globalization which has thrown up new challenges before it. The process of economic
liberation and globalization set in motion in June 1991 cannot be carried forward to any
appreciable outcome if the States cannot guarantee for maintaining law and order. In view of
the increasing privatization, the basic functions of the government have boiled down to
ensuring law and order and justice and providing the social security net for the weaker and
neglected sections of the society. Hence, more and more is being expected from the police.
There are not enough statutory arrangements to equip the police against the cyber offences.
The increasing menace of cross border terrorism is taking its toll in the efficient functioning of
the police. The police force is not technically and appropriately educated to deal with high-tech
crimes. The police, with its conventional infrastructure has failed to tackle these problems and
hence, it often adopts shortcut measures resulting into the violation of human rights. As
remarked in the latest survey report by "Ensaaf", an NGO, over the human rights violations in
Punjab during the period of insurgency, after going through over 21,000 cases compiled by
NHRC, The Tribune, official Municipal records and Human Rights organisations, there is
"strong correlation found between lethal human right violations and overall lethal violence
across time and space supports the conclusion that enforce disappearances and extra judicial
executions were part of a specific plan or widespread practice used by security forces during

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the counterinsurgency"24. An immediate need is being felt to form a federal police agency to
make the counterinsurgency operations more effective and flawless by creating a co-ordination
among various states and between centre and state governments. The population of India has
already crossed one billion mark and it is one of those countries which have the majority of
population belonging to young people. And, more and more youth are getting involved in the
crimes as the younger generation is normally anti-establishment in outlook and very often,
critical and suspicious of the police. The police has to tackle all these challenges.

24
Ensaaf, Benetech, Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab,
India: A Preliminary Quantitative Analysis, The Benetech Initiative, 2009, California Ave.

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Bibliography

Websites

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

http://humanrightsinitiative.org

https://thelawbrigade.com/human-rights/human-rights-violations-by-police-in-india-a-
comparative-case-study/#_edn11

Reports

Third report of National Police Commission ,Government of India, 1980

The Law commission of India, 152nd report on custodial crimes, 1994.

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