NIRMA UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF LAW

B.A.LLB. (HONS.)

TOPIC - POLICE REFORMS IN INDIA

AS PART OF CE-III

SUBMITTED BY

SHASHANK GUPTA (18BAL055)

AYUSHI SHARMA ( 18BAL091)

SACHIDANAND UPADHYAY (18BAL123)

SUBMITTED TO

PROF. ABHAS SHRIVASTAVA

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic Page no.

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History of police reform in India

The present police hierarchy in India is formulated by the British government. In a

democracy, People give their share of control to the government. The government
accordingly makes the rules and legislations to maintain law and order in society. The
police organization in India in its current existence is largely based on the police act of
1861. The aforesaid law was formulated for the prevention of crime in society. The
management to maintain the law and order is vested in the provincial governments. They
performed the task by appointing an inspector general who was assisted by the
superintendent of police.

The police system in its rudimentary form nevertheless existed from the inception of
colonies. However, the British government tried to systematize it. Lord Cornwallis in 1793
formed the formal and legal police by the name Darogah. However, it failed to serve the
purpose because of several reasons.1

The British government, after the 1857 mutiny, realized the importance to address
different aspects of improving the country’s police governance. As a result, they formed a
committee to examine the framework. The findings of this Commission, which was
established in 1860, contributed to the passage of the 1861 Police Act, which still governs
the police.

However, various loopholes forthwith needed to be addressed. The Indian police

commission 1902-03 was formed to address the grievances caused by the 1861 act. The
committee concluded that “the police force throughout the country is in a most
unsatisfactory condition, and the abuses are common everywhere. That this involves great

1. 1
Daruwala, M. & Joshi, GP & Tiwana, M. (2005). Police Act, 1861: Why we need to replace it? Police Reforms too Important to Neglect too Urgent to Delay. Common
Wealth Human Rights Initiative. PP 1-15. Retrieved on April 04, 2021 at 02:00 PM

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injury to the people and brings discredit to the government and radical reforms are
urgently necessary. 2

The Commission covered various aspects and suggested various reforms on the adequacy
of planning, adequacy of planning, pay structure, illiterate workforce, insufficiently trained
staff, and corruption at the lowest level. . Interestingly, even in the past, the police were far
from effective, lacking information and organization, and were regarded as “corrupt and
oppressive.

Post-Independence reforms

Initially, after India got independence, there was no problem in the existing system because
of the political leadership. However, after several years, a symbiotic relationship developed
between the politician and the civil servants.

The need was felt to revisit the existing framework and to revamp the police system as a
result of volatile economic, political, and social conditioning in the country.
Kerala, in 1959, formed the committee to revisit the existing framework. Thereafter,
various state governments appointed commissions to study the lacuna in police
functioning. Further, The Commission for Administrative Reform formed a Working Group
on Police at the levels of the central government in 1966.

Status of the police reform in India and reports released by committees

The “police” is included in the seventh schedule of the state list. This implies that the
concerned state has the authority to make police reform according to the present

1. 2Jain Suparna and Gupta Aparajita, Article “Building Smart Police in India:
Background into the needed Police Force Reforms”

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requirements. However, the central government formed various committees to study the
required police reforms to meet people’s expectations.
“Gore Committee” –The committee, chaired by social scientist Prof. M. S. Gore, suggested
that training is important for the following reasons-
1. To make the requisite expertise and experiences to the police force,
2. Acquiring the most efficient approach,
3. Potential for practical decision-making, and
“National Police Commission” – The government of the Union established the National
Police Commission in 1977, under the leadership of Dharamveer. The committee suggests
that the State Security Commission be installed in all countries, as well as that the
investigation process is independent of all outside influence, that the police chief is given a
fixed term, and, most importantly, that the new Police Act be framed and drafted.

“Vohra Committee” – The Committee created an almost identical crime network running
government parallelly. According to the report, criminals have entered politics and are thus
abusing state police machinery for their benefit.

“Ribeiro Committee” – The Ribeiro Committee was formed in May 1998 by the Indian
government to comply with Supreme Court orders resulting from the PIL presented to the
National Police Commission for Recommendation (1977). It supported the formulation of
District Police Claims and Police Establishment Boards, which would supervise additional
aspects of police administration.34

1. 3
Jain Suparna and Gupta Aparajita, Article “Building Smart Police in India: Background into the needed
Police Force Reforms”

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Judicial responses to police reforms in India and their
implementation

In “Vineet Narian v. Union of India”, the supreme court raised some serious points and
felt the need to implement the reforms suggested by the committees. Thereafter, Ribeiro
Committee formulated two reports: 1998 and 1999, 2000 and 2002 reports of the Central
Government on the Padmanabhaiah Committee, and the 2002 report of the Malimath
Committee.
In the “Prakash Singh Union” case the apex court pronounced seven directives for the
formation of the state security commission, Police Establishment Board, and Police
Complaints Authority.5

Besides, the court advised that the “Director General of Police to be selected by the state
government from amongst the three senior-most officers of the Department” who have
been chosen for promotion to that level by the UPSC, with a minimum tenure of two years.
Moreover, the Court directed Officers appointed to operational duties in the region, such as
the IG Zone, DIG Range, SP i/c District, and SHO i/c Police Station, would be asked to serve
for a minimum of two years.

In addition, the court-mandated that investigating officers be separated from law

enforcement officers to ensure a faster investigation, better expertise, and stronger public
relations. “The Union Government was directed to set a National Security Commission to
select and position heads of Central Police Organizations,” as well as to advance the
effectiveness of these forces and their employees’ functioning.

5 Prakash Singh & Ors vs Union Of India And Ors on 22 September, 2006

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WHY POLICE REFORMS ARE NEEDED

Reforms are needed on three fronts: first, to strengthen police capacity and infrastructure;
second, to examine the country's police force constitution through legislative/administrative
changes; and third, to scale up technology.

a. Improving police capacity and infrastructure: Improving police capacity and infrastructure
includes increasing the number of police officers in the country, improving recruitment, training,
and service conditions, including upgradation on the one hand, and improving infrastructure,
working hours, and housing facilities on the other.

b. Legislative reforms: The enactment of the Organized Crimes Act, a single police act for the
country, the transfer of police to the Concurrent List, the declaration of Federal Crimes,
measures relating to crime registration, statutory backing for the CBI, the Commissionerate
system for large areas, the revival and strengthening of the beat constable system, and some
changes in criminal procedure and evidence systems are among the legislative changes.

c. Technological Scaling: Technological changes include modernising the control room,

expediting the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS), pushing for the
National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), and promoting the use of new technology in policing. 6

JUDICIAL INTERVENTION AND DIRECTIVES ISSUED BY THE

COURTS.

6Jain, S., & Gupta, A. Judicial response to police reforms in India and their implementation - iPleaders. Retrieved
23 November 2021, from https://blog.ipleaders.in/judicial-response-to-police-reforms-in-india-and-their-
implementation/

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The Supreme Court of India issued seven directives in 2006 regarding police reforms in India
(six for the states and one for the union). The directions are as follows:

1. Establish a state security body to ensure that the government does not exert undue influence
over law enforcement.

2. The DGP should be appointed through a transparent and merit-based procedure with a two-
year minimum tenure.

3. Other operational police personnel should be granted at least a two-year contract.

4. The police's duties of "law and order" and "investigation" should be separated.

5. A Police Establishment Board should be established to make decisions about police transfers,
promotions, postings, and other service-related topics.

6. Establish police complaints authorities at the state and district levels to investigate public
allegations of significant misbehaviour by police officers of the DSP rank and above, including
custodial rape and death.

7. Create a National Security Commission at the national level to prepare a panel for the
selection and placement of Central Police Organization Chiefs with a two-year minimum tenure.

Even after 14 years of SC directives, no state appears to be entirely compliance with the
reforms.7

SOLI SORABJEE COMMITTEE AND MODEL POLICE ACT

7Police Reforms in India: Policing in India - Reforms, Commissions for IAS & Govt. Exams. Retrieved 24 November
2021, from https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/police-reforms-in-india/

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On the 30th of October, 2006, a committee established by the Ministry of Home Affairs in
September 2005 submitted a proposed Model Police Act. According to available information, 15
states have formulated their state police acts, including Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and Uttarakhand, and two states, Gujarat and Karnataka, have amended
their existing police acts. As a result, a total of 17 state governments have either enacted or
altered their state police acts.

The Model Act underlined the importance of having a professional police "service" in a
democratic society that is efficient, effective, responsive to public needs, and responsible to the
Rule of Law. The Act outlines the police's social obligations and underlines that they would be
guided by impartiality and human rights values, with a focus on the protection of vulnerable
groups such as minorities (preamble to the Act). 8

Reforms for SMART Police in India:-

Today there is requirement of more police personnel in India. The expansion of infrastructure
and quality of force for improvement in recruitment, training, service conditions ( no. Of
working hours, accommodation facilities ) . There is too much work pressure on police and the
complexity in law application too have impact on functioning. The transfer of police personnel
into other superior officer also reduces the manpower for better policy framework. So the
government tries to solve this problem by recruiting more people into police department to fill
the existing vacancies. The use of technology prevents this vacancy filling approach of
government. The government focused on training aspect as skills are crucial to motivate trainers
by providing proper infrastructure. Refresher courses are provided so as to improve service
skills. The long working hours also create problems as section 22 of police act clearly states that
police officer is always on duty . So duty with daily shifts is required for regular basis.

The state of Karnataka is the first state to set up minimum working hours of police. Providing
accommodation is another step taken by govt to provide them basic living conditions. The basic
communication and health facilities are provided to strengthen police reforms in India.

8Model Police Act. (2015). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from

https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=123494

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Legislation reforms:- India is signatory of UN convention against Transnational Organized
crimes, so it enacted organized crimes act, thus making police part of concurrent list. The
measures adopted by government for addressing federal crimes is by supporting CBI at central
level commissionerate in different states of India. Article 252 of the constitution can be used to
bring uniform police laws applicable to all states in similar manner and states can start to apply
the law as per the situation of the state so the government came up with Models police act, 2006
which was revised in 2015 and Model Police bill was passed. Police and public order is to be
maintained by the state and due to increase in National , inter-state disputes the central
government provides assistance to state government by exercising it’s Administrative power.
The state can exercise it’s concurrent jurisdiction in cases of Organized crime ,human trafficking
crimes , etc. can submit the investigation report to CBI and NIA. The concealment of crime ,
corruption in registration and non registration of FIR are major concerns to be dealt in India. The
experts suggested that by amending section 157(1) of CrPC which can then be read as that on the
group of any suspection if the police has reason to believe about the happening of crime while
registering FIR or on filing of complaint then the police can exercise reasonable power to
investigate the crime.

Administrative reforms:- There is requirement for separate investigation from law and order
Specialized government wings to tackle social and cyber crimes thus setting up restrictions on
core Police function. State machinery, setting up superior authority and linking the same with
police is the wider approach required in today’s time. The police must also get separate power to
investigate cases for better law and order. So the government as per the recommendation of the
6th National Police Commission the separate power can be restricted on the police station House
officer and can be granted

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