Introduction At present-day Indian Police System is a significant functionary of the criminal justice in India. The primary role it has been playing since time immemorial is of order maintenance, through with the advent of codified laws and regulations the nature and specificity of their roles are undergoing vast changes where one can see its movement towards serviceā¦ Read More »
Introduction At present-day Indian Police System is a significant functionary of the criminal justice in India. The primary role it has been playing since time immemorial is of order maintenance, through with the advent of codified laws and regulations the nature and specificity of their roles are undergoing vast changes where one can see its movement towards service style of policing though retaining its traditional role of order maintenance. The system which existed in the Mughals era...
Introduction
At present-day Indian Police System is a significant functionary of the criminal justice in India. The primary role it has been playing since time immemorial is of order maintenance, through with the advent of codified laws and regulations the nature and specificity of their roles are undergoing vast changes where one can see its movement towards service style of policing though retaining its traditional role of order maintenance.
The system which existed in the Mughals era was somewhat retained during the imperial rule of the British in India where first-time police as an organized structure emerged after the enactment of the Police Act 1861[1]. Nevertheless, it was the same as a mere tool of the government for keeping control over people and mere protecting the imperial interest of the British rural of that time.
India being an important trade market for them thus the concerns of collecting revenues keeping the trade routes safe was the consideration only. No way was the mandate of serving the common man ever into consideration.[2]
Police and its functioning during ancient India
Since changing time globally, when democratic policing and peelās concept of policing popularized. India still was having police to mere fulfil the imperial interest. A formal police system existed in ancient India.
Ramayana and Mahabharata both describe the effort of local administrators who were responsible for the safety and security of citizens and for keeping the king informed about the welfare of the people. In Arthashastra, Kautilya by Chanakya has described in detail the system of internal surveillance and the variety of posts that were created to provide security in the kingdom. [3]
In the ancient history of Indian police, the reference was given regarding secret agents. They were considered as too of governance or eyes of the king. The classification of the Chanakya has been followed in most police secret services all around the globe.
Police and its functioning during the medieval period[4]
Policing system was established by the Mughals in the medieval period. A more elaborate and formal policing system was established during the long control lasting three centuries. Police and public work duties were interesting to an official known as Mutasir. According to Ain-i-Akbari, the administrative structure consisted of the Faujdari system namely principle representative of the emperor, Mir Adal and Kazi, the head of the judicial department, and Kotwal and the chief police official or larger towns.
The routine day of the police was to patrol throughout day and night to guard the provincial area. A place or position affording a good view of something. Leading men were appointed wardens in every quarter of the city and thus pubic cooperation was enlisted. The Kotwal maintained a register of inhabitants within his limits noting down their address and their occupation.
They also noted the arrival and departure of strangers and kept a track of them. A Faujdar was appointed to every administrative unit of the government which was the district and he also maintained some artillery (large-calibre guns used in warfare on land) and cavalry soldiers who fought on horseback.
Thanedar forces were appointed dividing the Parganas (group of villages or a subdivision of district in India) into small localities. All these positions and even the system were not independent of the military. Most of the officers were seen as part of the army establishments and during that was frequent these officers and their men would participate in armed conflicts along with the regular army.
Police and its functioning during British rule[5]
This was true about the forces everywhere around the world till the formal system was established in London by Robert Peel in 1829. A civilian police force that worked with the cooperation of people was the new experiment that achieved remarkable success.
In 1792, Lord Cornwallis imposed new police regulations in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa that put an end to the keeping of armed militias by the Zamindars. The whole of India was divided into districts headed by the district magistrate and sub-divided into various police stations area.
The district magistrate cum collector became the de facto ruler and representative of British rule and controlled the police who operated through the Daroga system. There was the absence of a well-organized police system made the task of maintaining law and order in a vast country figure it. There were roaming vans of dacoits, thugs, inexpensive demands under the military to maintain order, unsatisfactory police system being neither effective nor keeping the trading route safe. It also reflected the corrupt, brutal, and inefficient picture of the ruling power.
Despite the success of the armed model corruption, brutality, and inefficiency prevalent in the police stations continued to discredit the British rule in the country. The British could not rely on the army for it was expensive to maintain a large standing body of men and then it was clear that the army could only be used only for outing down rebellions and for the defense purpose.
Police system in modern India[6]
The mutiny broke out in 1857. The British were made to realize the responsibilities of imperial dominations in such a vast territory. Hence, the government of India act was passed in 1858 which abolished the company and transfer the governance of India to the queen in parliament. The enactment of legal codes, namely the Code of Civil Procedure[7], Indian Penal Code [8]and the Code of Criminal Procedure[9] were the result of the police commission which was appointed in 1860 for the purpose of studying the police needs of the country.
As a result of deliberations held by this commission, the police act of 1861 came into existence. Police commission august 1860 the reorganization acknowledged the aims of making police an efficient instrument for the prevention and detection of crime. The commission was told to bear in mind that functions of the 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 India be very clear.
Influence of past police system on the present[10]
The police commissioner system in India was originally influenced by the London metropolitan police. The three presidency towns of Madras, Bombay, and Kolkata developed a police organization around a police commissioner system. A clear separation was made between military forces utilized for police duties and the reserve of a police force. Eventually, military forces were eliminated and the armed forces were allowed to practice.
Apart from the duty of law and order, some other specialized forces grew as well such as railway police, river police, and forest police. The police act 1861 applies to all the parts of British India except Bombay and madras. It was like a legal backbone of the police system. It provided a hierarchial and organizational structure to the police.
According to article 2 of the Police Act 1861[11], the entire police force established under a state government shall, for the purpose of this act, be deemed to be one police force. It means this act was stipulated only for the purpose of order maintenance, crime control, and surveillance.
On the other hand, the Indian penal code evidently prioritized any resistance against politics as a serious offense. Article 4 of the Police Act 1861 [12]states the organization of police, recognition of higher organization i.e. crucial aspect of investing all the administrative powers in this part of the organization placing the center of the command.
Itās important to know that till 1921 no Indian was permitted to serve in commanding positions. The key positions like IGP, DIG, and SP of the districts were sole preserves for the British officers.[13] The Indian national congress 1885 led to the formation of an intelligence agency for the collection of information regarding political, social movements, and organized crime. The madras police in 1888 set up a special branch with wide-ranging duties attempts were made to regularized recruitment, payment, and duties of the village police beginning with the Village Chaukidari act of 1870. [14]
Eventually, the power of the panchayats was gradually shifted to superintendents and the district magistrate. In 1902 Lord Curzon (Viceroy of India) set up a new police commission which resulted in the report talking about criticism in the then existing police system. [15]
It strongly endorsed the organizational principle discussed in 1861. According to prime principles of organization of police, the police commission of 1860 talked about elimination of military police, the establishment of civil constabulary, and separate administrative civil police establishment in each province headed by IGP.
The new structure applied only to British India, the rest of India kept following the police system as it has for ages. The principles of supervision by the civil administrative authority have been preserved except of course in cities which has a commissioner of police. The police act stated that the administration of police was to be vested in IGP at the province level and superintendents at the district level.
DSP was to hold his charge under the general control and direction of the district magistrate. The superintendent was independent with respect to the internal management of the force. The district magistrate is responsible for the correct use of that force in coping with securities issues of that area.
Independence did not bring any distinguishing change to the police administration. Some positive initiatives of this era included the establishment of the chemical engineers’ department of Punjab and later on other provinces was the precursor of forensic laboratories. Finally, fingerprint technology was introduced in India by IGP in Bengal Sir Adward Henry.[16]
Conclusion
The writing on the Indian police framework is pitiful. The job of the police has advanced constantly regardless of requirements change. There is an earnest need to change it into expert assistance rather than one who is essentially following the sets of the authority ignorantly. The preparation, morals, lead openly, public managing characteristics, criminal method codes, power, and opportunity of police are sure parts of the police division that need a total update.
The picture that has been conveyed by the police from the British time of a paan biting, impolite, inconsiderate, forceful, and menace figure in khaki should be changed. Indeed, the genuine circumstance of the police should be patched, similar to that of being come up short on, understaffed, exhausted, focused, discouraged, deficiently prepared and prepared, exposed to political impedance, etc.
[1] The Police Act 1861, Available Here
[2] DJR2A – Police Administration, Available here
[3] Brief History of Indian Police Service, Available here
[4] Aditya Singh, Police system during medieval India, Available here
[5] K.S. Subramanian, The Sordid Story of Colonial Policing in Independent India, Available here
[6] Ananya Bhardwaj, There can be no modern India without an improved police force ā think tank urges for reforms, Available here
[7] Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
[8] The Indian Penal Code
[9] Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
[10] Police Reforms in India, PRS India, Available here
[11] Section 2 in [The Police Act, 1861]
[12] Section 4 in [The Police Act, 1861]
[13] Roles and Duties of Police in General, Available here
[14] Policing Knowledge: Surveillance in Colonial Bengal, 1861 to 1913, The University of Queensland, Available here
[15] Lord Curzon(1899-1905), TestBook, Available here
[16] Saibal Gupta, The forensic finger, The Times of India, Available here
