What is the Police Complaints Authority?

Published on: August 06,2021 10:35 IST

By Nirupam Deo

Introduction

A group of Human Rights Activists brought up the ‘Sathankulam Declaration’ case[1], on the auspicious day of United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Declaration comes a year after the case of custodial death of father-son Jayaraj and Bennicks at Sathankulam in Thoothukkudi district.

The petition seeks the establishment of rules for the appropriate conduct of the Police Authority and to restrict it from abusing its Powers.

The National Commission of Women sent a Notice to the Director-General of Police, West Bengal to appear before it in person to explain widespread violence against women in the state after the Assembly Polls which has been a keen concern over the area for a long time.

Arnab Goswami’s arrest is mala-fide not only for the partisan patronage of the Police but also for the curtailment of media freedom.

The arrest of Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in a two-year-old case of abetment to suicide is disturbing as it shows the true picture of Maharashtra police’s leaning in matters for Political benefits.

Admittedly, the Offence for which Goswami has been arrested was of serious nature and warranted sustained investigation two years back when Anvay Naik left a suicide note accusing Arnab Goswami, Feroz Shaikh, Neetish Sarda of non-payment dues of ₹5.40 crore for Interior work.

The Police at the time had filed a Closure Report in the Court. Two years later, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh gave green signal for a fresh Investigation into the Case after Naik’s daughter came to him pleading to restart the Case.

The only difference between then and now is the change in the political leaning in Maharashtra. Owing to the enthusiasm with which the Congress, a part of the ruling alliance, is hastily circulating material relevant to the case points to political motivation in the treatment of the case.

What is Police Complaints Authority?

Police Complaints Authority was a committee established to review the actions of Police Officers of various States. It gives common people the right to lodge complaints against abuse of Power by Police Officers either in the form of serious misconduct, violating Fundamental Rights and Human Rights, taking unfair advantage of the Power conferred to them to commit offences.

The Offences it deals with under its ambit are death in Police Custody, Grievous hurt in Police Custody, Rape or Attempt to Rape in Police Custody, Arrest or Detention without due Process of Law, or Extortion or land/house grabbing or any other incident involving serious abuse of Authority conferred on upon them.

These Officers can also be incriminated for offences like not registering an FIR, Irrelevant violence to the public in general, Shoddy Investigation of the case, Custodian Torture, etc. Such cases are to be dealt with by Police Complaint Authority.

Its decisions are not binding upon the State Government to punish the deviant Police Officer. It is established in the Seventeen States by State Police Act and in ten States through the Executive Act.

The PCA is constituted of a Chairman who is usually a retired Judge of High Court or Supreme Court and three other members out of which one must be a woman.

Background of the Authority

The first step taken to make the Police Officers accountable for their actions was the Police Act, 1861. A Commission was established on 15th November 1977 to make up for the absence of any review of the System after Independence and change of Political, Social and Economic veracity substantially to examine the role and performance of Police Officers as law enforcing agency and to see whether it is effective as an institution to protect the rights of its citizens as enshrined under the Constitution of India.

It was required by the Committee to redefine the Power, duties, responsibilities and role of the Police in the new structure of society. Special emphasis was to be given to control and prevention of crime, maintenance of Law and Order, analysing its performance, pinpointing its inadequacies and weaknesses, deciding upon any better method that should be implied for keeping its accountability in check, Disciplinary Control and method of Administration, to inquire its System of Prosecution and Investigation.

And reasons for its delay and failure and suggest how to modify System to make it more efficient and consistent with human dignity, to define the role of Police concerning being more sensitive towards the weaker section of society, not use that position to harass them and to take prompt actions to safeguard their rights and interests.

The Commission is required to suggest methods for Systemic arrangements for the Prevention of misuse of Power by Police and to make such changes as to subdue them from abusing their power.

Three reports were submitted in 1979, 1980 and 1981 by the Commission which defined the problems in the System, suggested independence of Police from other sectarians to make it an efficient enforcer of Law in unbiased form and various other rules and regulations to be made out to inhibit the abuse of it’s Powers.

In the case of Prakash Singh and Ors. Vs The Union of India[2] another Petition was made under Writ Petition of Article 32 under Constitution of India praying for the need of construction of new Police Act owing to the need to make the Police responsible for its actions towards Law of the Land and its People.

It has been affirmed in the Petition that the violation of Fundamental and Human Rights of the citizens are generally the non-enforceable and discriminatory application of the laws so that those having the immunity are not held accountable even for blatant violations of Human Laws and, in any case, not brought to Trial for the direct violations of the Rights of citizens in the form of unauthorized detentions, torture, harassment, fabrication of evidence, malicious prosecutions etc which are clear evidence of the transformation of a Law maintenance body to a sheer Power-hungry and Corrupt Law violators.

The Petition highlights various examples of Police inaction and violations. According to the Petitioners, the present deformity and abnormality in the functioning of the Police have their roots in the Police Act of 1861, structure and organization of police having remained unchanged all these years, their Powers, changes in society, their functioning completely were given blind eyes to.

The Petition gives out the historical background stating why the Police functioning has caused so much disappointment and dissatisfaction.

It also gives recommendations of various Committees which were never implemented, to keep the caricature as it is because it was benefitting the Higher Powers and the Police.

The misuse and abuse of Police have reduced its stature to a mere tool in the hands of immoral masters and has caused serious violations of the Rights of the people, it is argued the need to restructure the Functions and scope of the Powers to be given and trusted upon them, and to ensure it’s accountability to General Public and the clutches of decision-makers, and the implementation of the core recommendations of the National Police Commission.

The Petition derives its arguments from the research paper ‘Political and Administrative Manipulation of the Police’ published in 1979 by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, warning that excessive control of the Political Executive and its Principal advisers over the Police has the innate danger of making the Police a tool for destabilizing the process of Law, promoting the growth of Authoritarianism, and shaking the very Foundations of Democracy.

It pleaded that the commitment, devotion and responsibility of the Police should be only directed towards the Law of the Land and Indian Constitution and not being a puppet in the hands of powerful masters.

Tons of complaints were made regarding the disregard for Human dignity by these Public servants who treat the public in utter disregard and humiliating manner under the delusion of a higher power which was only conferred upon them to serve and not to use as a tool of harassment.

The supervision and control have to be such that it ensures that the police serve the people without any regard for pleasing the higher Authorities or deriving profit from common people, whatsoever, to the status and position of people while Investigating a Crime or taking preventive measures.

Its approach has to be service-oriented and not profit-oriented; its power and status must be defined under every case, any act of commission or omission unscrupulously must be brought immediately to the limelight and the concerned Police Officer must face the consequences immediately.

Police Reform:

The Commission set-up for the investigation of these issues instantly brought into the Notice, the heinous obscurities done by the people who were meant to regulate and enforce Law upon its citizens.

The Commission added that recent events in Gujarat and, indeed, in other States of the country, signified the need to take immediate actions as to abide by the recommended reforms to preserve the Integrity of the investigating process and to insulate it from ‘extraneous influences to save the System from the misuse of Law immediately.

In diligence with the public in general and the Commissions, the Home Minister raised the voice as well to the genuine need for drastic changes in the System of Police Administration which has indeed become a tool in hands of superior powers. He echoed the need to make the Police Administration independent from the various sectarians of Power so it to discharge its functions properly, without biases and to curb down the corrupt behaviour which has crept down into the System.

It was brought to notice that the common view of the very roots of evil being inherited in the System itself starting from transfer and posting of Policemen of different ranks, misuse of Police for partisan purposes and political patronage just helped in the inclination of Police personnel to a corrupt side.

What are State Police Complaint Authorities?

State Police Complaint Authorities were made in regulation with the PCA of Police Act to monitor the activities and excesses of the Police Administration in each State to make the process of refinement easier and decentralised.

Almost every State is affiliated with the Act. Some major State Police Complaint Authorities are Assam Police Accountability Commission, Chandigarh Police Complaints Authority,

Delhi Police Complaints Authority, Haryana Police Complaints Authority, Jammu and Kashmir Police Complaints Authority, Kerala Police Complaints Authority, Maharashtra State Police Complaints Authority, Punjab Police Complaints Authority, Karnataka Police Complaints Authority, etc.

Why is Police Complaint Authority denunciated?

Despite it being a Revolutionary move by the Government upon the many pleadings of the Public outcry and the Survey of the Commissions, the PCA has been rather ineffective.

The various State Committees can at most only exercise recommendations to the State Government which is often given a blind eye.

Its Powers are not enforceable but rather mere suggestive and pleading. It requires approval by the State Government for any action taken against a Police Officer which is mostly not given as the State Government mostly wants to keep it as its lapdog where both the Powers enjoys, grows, uses more corrupt means under the patronage of another.

“Justice delayed is Justice denied” which is a very relevant construction of PCA which is infamous for the delayed Justice even in the cases where it provides one.

In addition to no real Power to a system of delayed Justice, its existence rather becomes baneful than appreciative.

Conclusion

Although PCA was established while keeping into a very relevant demand through the public outcry over the issue, it was rendered Powerless since its establishment, it only had de jure Powers which always depended on the whims of the State Government.

The only reason for the establishment of the Police Administration was to establish faith in the Law and Order made by the Government, to make people feel secure and to protect their rights.

The sad picture which comes into an overview is the general fear of people just upon watching a “khaki attire” which clearly shows that the activities and abuse it has done of its Power which was a gift and not an entitlement is given to it has only reduced the faith of people in such Moderators of Justice who are seen no better than common goons.

The number of Incidents of ill-treatment, Extortion of money, Custodian Torture, Custodian Rapes, Custodian Deaths just go on to prove that it has indeed become a mere carcass to inflict pain and traumatic society through fear, indeed a domesticated goon which serves the bidding of higher Authorities to remain in Power.

Police Complaint Authority came as a huge liberation to this problem but the way it was given no teeth to bite when it’s necessary, made a jest of its entire existence.

Indeed this move was made deliberately to infuse both faiths in the Public towards the Government, for the time being, to stop with the criticisms of Policy and to devise such Institutions who couldn’t do a thing than plead even when they could see the very commandments violated in front of their own eyes.

Police Complaint Authority has not become ineffective because of the lack of its commitment and devotion towards its duties but because it was constructed in a way to remain Powerless.

If the Government wants to do some good in the policy and to revive the PCAs which has lost all their confidence with time, it needs to be made independent of the approval or need of the State Government’s whims. It is often the State Governments who bolster the corrupt means of Police Authority, so it has not to dirty its own hands to carry out its mala fide Objectives.

The Union Government should provide actual Power in hands of PCA to expose the rotten mass underneath the whole System of Government and its Governance.

References

  1. ‘Sathankulam Declaration’ seeks law against police detention, torture

    Available at thefederal.com (Last read on 31st July, 2021 at 7:48 PM)

  2. Prakash Singh and Ors. Vs The Union of India WP(C) 310/1996

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