Who will punish the protectors?

Originally published in: http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/who-will-punish-protectors-290

Who will punish the protectors?

By editor

Created 18 Jun 2012 – 00:00

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?” wrote the Roman poet Juvenal. Who will guard the guards themselves? In a time where policemen find themselves besieged by complaints ranging from custodial torture to dereliction of duty, the Latin phrase has never been more relevant.
According to a survey by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Maharashtra recorded 250 custodial deaths in police custody from 2001 to 2011, the highest among all states, with the second being Uttar Pradesh, having recorded 174 such deaths. Maharashtra is also one of the states that is yet to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive to form a Police Complaints Authority (PCA); a body that was conceived precisely due to the rising malpractices by policemen across India.
“The PCA was envisioned to be a body that was easily accessible, not complex and complicated like courts, which essentially meant it would be easy on complainants who need to gather a lot of courage before complaining against a powerful police officer. The power imbalance between the two is huge, so it was intended to facilitate access. The PCA would entertain serious complaints like death or rape in custody, torture, grievous hurt to the lesser of the evil of non-registration of complaints, improper investigation, bad behaviour, bribes etc,” says Navaz Kotwal, programme coordinator, police reforms programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).
The directive was one of the six laid down by the Supreme Court for police reforms in 2006. PCAs were supposed to be set up at state as well as district levels. While complaints about policemen of deputy superintendent of police and above ranks were to be handled at state level, those about junior policemen were supposed to be looked into by the district level PCAs.
However, PCAs till date exist only on paper, despite government resolutions to the effect having been issued in July 2008. Scant movement has occurred on constituting the PCAs after that. The CHRI in 2010 visited Maharashtra to get an overview of the current state of police reforms directives. The report states that not only are PCAs still being constituted, they do not even follow the composition and method of selection as laid down by the SC.
The recent clamour by Mumbaikars against the alleged high-handedness of the social service branch (SSB) — spearheaded by controversial assistant commissioner of police Vasant Dhoble — has once again brought into spotlight the need for a strong body that can be approached for complaints against the police.
The SSB is currently in the eye of a storm, after two sisters who were charged for prostitution moved the Bombay high court seeking immediate relief and compensation for the defamation caused to them. One of the sisters has an autistic son, and the women will have to spend at least 20 more days in the women’s reform home in Mankhurd before they can be reunited with the families.
“Common man today knows that the courts are overloaded with a huge backlog of cases, which makes us hesitant to approach the court for a complaint against a policeman, and then wait for years together for action. Approaching the concerned policeman’s superiors is one option, but you never know who you can trust in the police force. In such a scenario, an independent body will surely be helpful,” says Saurabh Damle, a Pune resident.
Ms Kotwal, however, adds a caveat. “If the PCA is to look at such cases it needs to be strong, have powers, have teeth and have independent members and financial independence. These are vital to its success. If these basic minima are not there, then PCAs like the many other bodies, will be one more toothless tiger, one more fraud that is eating away at public money,” she says.
The police, on its part, has claimed that it already has enough bodies to answer to.
“We have bodies like the national and state level human rights commissions watching our every move. In cases of custodial death and other such cases, independent bodies like the crime branch or the state CID carry out investigations. Add to that, the myriad internal inquiries, the numerous accusations that come up during trials and the appearances before bodies like the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal… we can’t help wonder if one more such body is really the answer,” says a senior officer with the Mumbai police.
The police’s second worry is that the PCA, like the existing watchdogs, might be used by troublemakers to settle personal scores. There have been cases of criminals approaching the Anti-Corruption Bureau, alleging graft against the very officers who are investigating the case against them. The purpose is to simply add to bureaucratic hurdles and delay the course of the investigation.
“Whatever comes out at the end of an inquiry is immaterial once you’re tainted,” says another officer.
The state government maintains that setting up PCAs is among its top priorities, and that action will be taken on it soon.
“There was a proposal submitted to the chief minister’s office about setting up of PCAs two years ago. However, the proposal was withdrawn after it was thought that PCAs were not being set up in that way that they should be. These authorities should be set up after taking into consideration what other states have done so far and how they have done it. Secondly, we also need to have proper officers to constitute them. There are also several other factors that need to be thought about,” said Amitabh Rajan, additional chief secretary, home department.
Mr Rajan added that definite action would be taken on setting up of PCAs within a couple of months, as the process is a detailed and lengthy one. Both the chief minister and the home minister are also taking a personal interest in the matter, he said.
What now remains to be seen is how much longer it takes to have fully functioning PCAs and whether they would actually turn out to be what they are supposed to be.