Ever since the Police Act was enacted in 1861, there have been few and far reforms to the police system in India. The need for reform is particularly acute as the archaic Police Act of 1861 continues to govern policing, despite far-reaching changes in governance. Several committees were set up by the Government to look into these reforms. One very important milestone in this regard was Prakash Singh v. Union of India in 2006.

Police Act 1861: Archaic, Redundant And Anachronistic

1. The Police Act of 1861 largely governs Indian police forces. The Police Act gives each State Government the power to establish its own police force. The two police functions of the police are maintenance of law and order and investigation of offences.
2. The existing Police Act was meant to protect the British Raj. The subordination of the police, including investigative agencies to politicians and bureaucrats has threatened the very foundations of democratic functioning of Police.
3. Overarching powers are given to rulers and colonial nature of police still exist in Indian Police resulting in direct violations of the rights of citizens in the form of unauthorised detentions, torture, harassment, fabrication of evidence, malicious prosecutions, etc.
4. According to the data on Annual Report on Torture, 2019, 1606 deaths in judicial custody while 125 in police custody. Maximum custodial deaths which happened in a state is Uttar Pradesh.
5. The custodial death happens behind four walls but, many types of torture can be seen on the street from taking a bribe to Lathicharge. In the lockdown due to COVID-19, we see in the news regularly the barbaric acts purported by the police on the streets.
6. The police are meant to be a law enforcement agency but, in reality, it is just acting in contrary to it. The moment we see the Police instead of us feeling secure we feel more scared and our eyes go down due to fear.

Significance Of Police Reforms

1. Where the world is progressing and reforming, we are still using the colonial law of 1861.
2. Until the first decade of this millennium, some largely-infructuous committees – the Julio Ribeiro Committee, 1998; the Padmanabhaiah Committee, 1999; the Malimath Committee, 2000 and so on – were set up to examine aspects of police reforms. The National Human Rights Committee too occasionally intervened to raise the matter.
3. Mr Prakash Singh, a retired police officer, petitioned the Supreme Court for police reform. He attributed the abuse of power and inefficient functioning of the police to archaic structure and organisation outlined in the Police Act, 1861.
4. The Prakash Singh case reforms intended to direct to redefine 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 police are made accountable essentially and primarily to law of the land and the people.

Measures To Provide Autonomy And Establish Accountability In The Police System

1. To check against such abuse of power, various countries have adopted safeguards, such as accountability of the police through independent police oversight authorities.
2. Political interference and threat of transfers affect the police functioning. An independent police force can function in a non-partisan manner and can be trusted by the people in politically sensitive issues.
3. Overburdened police with the scarcity of resources take refuge in corruption and bribery. Modernisation of police, with the United Nations’ recommended standard of 222 police per lakh persons will provide an incentive for efficient and effective policing.
4. Separate the investigating police from the law and order police to ensure speedier investigation, better expertise and improved rapport with the people. Also, it will create accountability in the system.
5. The concept of SMART police given by the Prime Minister of India should be implemented in true letter and spirit. The term SMART stands for S-Sensitive and Strict; M-Modern with mobility; A- Alert and Accountable; R- Reliable and Responsive; T- Trained and Techno-savvy.

If India is to achieve its status as a great power, it is absolutely essential that police be restructured and modernised. The vested interests of politicians and bureaucrats need to be countered by the combined pressure of public opinion, with support from the media and NGOs. The country needs another zamindari abolition with police being freed from the stranglehold of the executive and given functional autonomy to enforce the rule of law.