CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR

SCHOOL OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE

POLICE ADMINISTRATION

ASSIGNMENT ON – “POLICING IN INDIA – A GENERAL

PERSPECTIVE”

Submitted to-
Dr. Chandana Subha
(Assistant Professor)
School of law and Governance
Central University of South Bihar
Submitted by-
Sapna Rajmani
Enrollment no.- CUSB1813125089
B.A L.LB (H)
Semester- 10th (2018-2023)
Section – “A”
School of Law and Governance

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT-

You are most welcome in my Project on the topic of “Policing in India – A General
Perspective”. This project is given by our honourable subject professor “Dr. Chandana
Subha” and I would like to thank her for giving me such opportunity to work on this specified
topic.

I would like to express thank to my seniors who reviewed my paper for rendering
constructive and valuable suggestions and comments that have helped a lot in improving the
quality and content of this paper.

Last but not the least, I would like to thanks to all who directly or indirectly helped me in
completing of this project. I have made this project with great care and tried to put all
necessary information regarding the topic.

Sapna Rajmani
CUSB1813125089
BALLB (H)
(2018-23)

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. HISTROY AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLICING IN INDIA 5TO 6

3. POWERS OF POLICE 6 TO 8

4. ATROCITIES OF POLICE 9 TO
12

5. REFORMATION OF POLICE SYSTEM- Whether required or not? 12 TO

15

6. CONCLUSION 16

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 17

S.NO. CONTENT P.NO.

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INTRODUCTION-

Over the past few decades, various reformative advancements have been implemented at the
policing organization. This was mainly done to improve operational efficiency and outcomes,
especially in times of diminished resources. The public is also well aware of the use of power
of police in crime prevention and has increased its scrutiny of law enforcement activity.
However, a lot of information and technological advancements are still underway and out of
the public eye for the proper implementation of laws by police in order to maintain peace and
harmony in the society. Different powers and functions are entrusted to police organizations
across the world, implementation of such laws varies from country to country.

In the arena of Criminal Justice Administration (CJA), police occupy a pivotal position as it
is considered as one of the closest arms of the CJA easily accessible to the general people.
People fear police due to their cynic personality but at the same time at the times of need it is
they who invoke the doors of the police station as they have the firm belief that the police
would do something to assure justice to them. The police are considered as the watchdog of
the society and the agent of crime prevention. Although the police in India is mostly criticised
due to its inefficiency, but the actual problem is not inefficiency but lack of resources. 1
However, globally police occupy a decent position and the work they are doing in various
countries including United States of America (U.S.A.) among many others, is par excellence.
This praise is attributed to the police for the sole reason that they work in close tandem with
the people of the country to help facilitate crime prevention, which is commonly known as
Community Policing. Community Oriented Policing (COP) today is considered as the best
form of policing and has also been adopted by various civilised democracies across the
world. Although the pioneer of the same was the U.S.A., but the drive has been adopted by
other nations as well as it has yielded good results and better governance.

A comparative analysis of the policing system used by the law enforcement sector in India
and the USA will provide an insight as to how different a first world and third world country
actually is in this aspect.

1
Dr. Samrat Datta, “Crime Prevention Through Community Policing: A Comparative Analysis Of U.S.A. And
India”, Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research, Volume III Issue II, Nov 30, 2021

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HISTROY AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLICING–

In India –

Origin of police can be traced to the early Vedic period as the Rig and the Atharva Veda
mentions certain kinds of crimes known to the Vedic people. In fact, evidence indicates the
existence of security forces even in the Harappan period. The Mauryan period reveals
significant features of the criminal justice organization even though the thorough reference of
the same during the Vedic period is unavailable. Kautilya’sArthashastra (310 BC) is a treatise
on the criminal justice system. It reads like a manual for police in modern times. There is a
reference to DANVARIKA, ANTEVANSIKA, PRADESIKAS, MAHAMATRAS,
RAJJUKAS, and so on. There were 3 types of police—dandpal, durgapal, and antpal. 2

History of Indian police on modern lines dates back to the dawn of the 19th century. The idea
of a separate regular police force as it exists today was never in consideration prior to the
British period and for a considerable time even after the commencement of the rule. In British
ruled India, the British created a police force with the prime aim of upholding their imperial
interests. Britishers used the police mainly to suppress and oppress freedom fighters and
revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. Over the years following Independence, the
police force was seen as being elitist and power-friendly, instead of being seen as a people-
friendly force.

During the emergency, it was used with impunity to suppress human rights and imprison
thousands of people, including all the political opponents of the ruling dispensation.
Subsequently, a National Police Commission was set up in 1977, which submitted reports
with detailed multi-dimensional proposals for police reforms.3

Not much headway has been made in bringing reforms in police forces at the individual and
institutional level.

2
Dr. Sugato Mukherjee, “POLICE REFORMS IN INDIA-AN OVERVIEW”, The Hayana Police Journal, Vol.3
| 2020
3
Paranjape, N.V., Criminology and Penology, Central Law Publications, 18th Edition (2019).

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POWERS OF POLICE

In India, Powers of Police are basically derived from Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, there
are various powers enumerated to police in order to maintain law and order in the society and
further it confers important powers on police officers. Power to investigate, search and arrest
are some of the powers.4

Registering FIR- Police has power to lodge FIR. Section 154 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 says that police has to record the information related to any cognizable
offence.

Power to investigate and procedure of investigation- Section 156 gives the power to police
officer to investigate any cognizable offence without the order of a Magistrate and the
proceedings of the police cannot be called in question on the ground that this section does not
empower police officer to investigate.

For investigation as mentioned under Section 156 of the Code, the police has to send a report
to the Magistrate first and then start the investigation. The police officer on completion of
investigation has to send the police report as per Section 173(2). The police report should
contain the following:

 names of the parties; nature of information;

 names of persons who appear to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case;
 whether any offence appears to have been committed and, if so, by whom;
 whether the accused has been arrested; whether he has been released on his bond and,
if so, whether with or without sureties;
 whether he has been forwarded in custody under section 170.

Investigation in non- cognizable offences can be carried out by police after an order has been
passed by the Magistrate.

Power to inquire and report on suicide- Section 174 of the Code empowers police to inquire
and report the cases of suicide, or when has been killed by another person, by an animal,
machinery, accident or has died under circumstances raising reasonable suspicion that some
other person has committed an offence.
4
Ritika Sharma, “Who is police? What are powers & duties of police?, https://lawtimesjournal.in/who-is-police-
what-are-powers-duties-of-police/

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Power to require attendance of witnesses- According to Section 160(1) of the Code, police
can order the witnesses (except the ones mentioned in the proviso to Section 160(1)) to
present before himself or any other person provided the order is in writing, the person is
acquainted with the facts of case and person is within the limits of police station.

Power of preventive arrest- Section 151 of the Code empowers police to arrest a person
without the orders of Magistrate if it appears to the police that the person is planning to
commit any cognizable offence. In Medha Patkar v. State[ii], the landowners of MP and
some other people gathered on road and were shouting slogans and their demands. Police
arrested those people along with women and children under Section 151. It was held that
there was no danger that the gathering will commit a cognizable offence so arresting them
was not in accordance with the provisions of Section 151 of the Code and violated their
Fundamental Right enshrined under Article 21.

ATROCITIES OF POLICE

In India, police officers have got immense power. But they have started misusing it by
violating the rights of the ordinary people. stamping on bare body with heeled boots, beating
with cane on spine, beating with rifle but inserting live electric wire in the body crevices,
burning the body with lighted cigarettes and candle flame, custodial death, custodial rape,
asking for sexual favor in exchange of leniency, fake evidence, illegal detention, fake
encounter, extortion, false imprisonment, coerced false confession, intimidation, witness
tampering, police perjury, unwarranted searches, unwarranted surveillance, police corruption,
racial profiling, unwarranted seizure of the property of people, etc. are the few examples as to
how the police authority misuses their power and violates the rights of others.

There are number of cases where people have witnessed police atrocities very frequently and
nowadays its being increasing by passing time period. There are some recently observed
cases which shows how divisively police being abusing and misusing their powers in
contrary to what they supposed to be meant for i.e., for maintaining law and order in the
society and protecting the people at first. The following cases are mentioned as below:

The Tripura High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to pay a compensation
of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of Jamal Hossain, who allegedly died due to custodial

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torture in police lockup. The Bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Satya Gopal
Chattopadhyay ordered the widow, children, and mother of the deceased shall be entitled to
an equal share of the amount.5

The Patna High Court recently as it observed that the Judiciary is witnessing a large number
of custodial deaths and said that "Giving third-degree treatment to the apprehended accused
and that too for extracting confession is the worst crime in a civilized society which can be
committed by a Police officer."6

The Bombay High Court (Aurangabad bench) recently granted ex-gratia compensation of Rs
5 lakh to the father of a 16-year-old boy, who died in the custody of Shirdi police station in
March, 2016. The Bench of Justice Tanaji V. Nalawade and Justice Shrikant D. Kulkarni
concluded that it was a case custodial death in the hand of police officials.7

In the case where, police attempted to harass a citizen by misusing Section 41A of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, the Calcutta High Court has directed the Director General of Police to
initiate inquiry against the concerned investigating officer. The High Court was considering
the anticipatory bail of an appellant who was served a notice under section 41A of Criminal
Procedure Code.8

REFORMATION OF POLICE SYSTEM – Whether required or not?

In India,

5
https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/custodial-death-tripura-high-court-orders-compensation-for-family-
members-27year-old-victim-202216 (Visited on 24th Oct 2022, at 14:30)
6
https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/third-degree-treatment-extracting-confession-worst-crime-patna-high-
court-bihar-dgp-set-house-right-186973 ( Visited on 25th Oct 2022 at 17:50)
7
https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/custodial-death-torture-16yr-old-boy-bombay-high-court-5-lakh-
compensation-shirdi-police-cctv-167211 (Visited on 27th Oct 2022 at 18:45).
8
https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/police-misuse-section-41a-crpc-calcuta-high-court-166749 (Visited on
14th Oct 2022 at 14:20).

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Efforts taken by the Government of India for reformation of police system in India -

A number of initiatives taken by the Government of India toward better policing, including
project to decriminalize minor offences and violations and the move for amending the
Identification of the Prisoners Act, 1920, a legislation that was passed more than a 100 years
ago. 9

The Prime Minister’s call for making the police a SMART force: standing for a force
which is

 Strict and Sensitive,

 Modern and Mobile,
 Alert and Accountable,
 Reliable and Responsive,
 Tech-savvy and Trained.

The government is giving high priority to the greater use of technology in the day-to-day
working of police.

The Indian Police Foundation is taking efforts to realise the vision of a SMART Indian Police
especially by bringing internal reforms, technology adaptation, digital transformation and
training to improve the professional and ethical standards of the police.10

Earlier to this various committees were constituted for reformation of Police System

NITI Aayog suggested the following reforms-

9
Dr. Sugato Mukherjee, “POLICE REFORMS IN INDIA-AN OVERVIEW”, The Hayana Police Journal, Vol.3
| 2020
10
Ibid

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 Reformation at State Level -

State should be encouraged, with fiscal incentives, to introduce ‘The Model Police Act of
2015’ as it modernises the mandate of the police.

Reformation at Administrative and operational level -

A Task Force must be created under the MHA to identify non-core functions that can be
outsourced to save on manpower and help in reducing the workload of the police.

Functions such as serving court summons and antecedents and addresses verification for
passport applications or job verifications can be outsourced to private agents or government
departments.

India should launch a common nationwide contact for attending to the urgent security needs
of the citizens. NITI Aayog further suggests moving police as well as public order to the
Concurrent List to tackle increasing inter-state crime and terrorism under a unified
framework.

In regard to this there are certain directives which are given by the Supreme Court of India
are as follow11 –

 Limit political control over the exercise of power of police.

 Appointment in the police department should be on merit and experience.
 Ensure that other police officers on operational duties (Including Superintendents of
Police in charge of a district and Station House Officers in charge of a police station)
are also provided with a minimum tenure of 2 years.
 Separate the functions of investigation and maintaining law and order.
 Set up a Police Establishment Board to decide and make recommendations on
transfers, postings, promotions and other service-related matters of police officers of
and below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
 At the state level, there should be a Police Complaints Authority to look into public
complaints against police officers.
 At the district level, the Police Complaints Authority should be set up to inquire into
public complaints against the police personnel.

11
Prakash Singh and Ors v. Union of India (2006) 8 SCC 1 (India).

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  A National Security Commission needs to be set up at the union level to prepare a
panel for selection and placement of chiefs of the Central Police Organizations with a
minimum tenure of 2 years.

CONCLUSION -

In the arena of Criminal Justice Administration (CJA), police occupy a pivotal position as it
is considered as one of the closest arms of the CJA easily accessible to the general people.
This comparative analysis of police system in India and America clearly brought us to
conclude this paper in following manner. Beginning from the history of policing system of
both India and America embedded in British colonial legacy. However, with passage of time
a clear divergence towards approach of police in maintaining law and order is seen. In
America, the law enforcement agencies are divided into three separate levels where each of
them is so distinct and never interrupt in others matter of resolving the disputes. Unlike
America, Indian Police system basically functioned according to the Criminal Procedure
Code, 1973 , distinct with little in functioning as per the laws enforced by the respective
states and works collectively in ensuring security to the country and maintaining law and
order.

Like America, India too has a problem of excessive police brutality. There are parallels as
well as differences with the American situation. Unlike America, Indian police suffer from a
lack of resources. According to the Status of Policing in India Report, 2019, 70 police
stations across 20 states didn’t have wireless, 214 had no access to telephone, 240 were
without vehicles. 12However, quite similar to the racial bias of US police, Indian police often
play a partisan role during communal riots, which is one reason such riots continue to take
place. While America seems to be moving at last on police reforms, that cause has long lain
dormant in India, due to resistance from its political class.

12
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/police-reforms-from-the-us-to-india-better-
management-of-law-enforcement-is-in-order/ (Visited on 26th Oct, 2022 at 12:30) .

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BIBLIOGRAPHY-

 Dr. Sheetal Kanwal, Comparative Criminal Procedure, Amar Law Publication, (2019)

 Bharti, H.K, Comparative Criminal Procedure, Amar Law Publication, 1st Edition

(2014)

 Mahendra P. Singh, Comparative Constitutional Law, 2nd Edition (2011).

 Pakes Francis, Comparative Criminal Justice, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 4th Edition (2012)

 Paranjape, N.V., Criminology and Penology, Central Law Publications, 18th Edition

(2019).

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