By Vineet Malik | April 10, 2021 | London, England
Indian Police Service (IPS) has been mired in controversies over its influence in functioning by the politicians.
The most talked about alleged unholy nexus between a top cop and politico has once again shamed India as a democratic nation.
The Controversy
The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court order on Thursday by giving its go ahead to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe on allegations leveled by Param Bir Singh, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai against Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister, Maharashtra.
The top court termed such allegations of extortion, bribes for transfers and interfering in investigations as serious and dismissed Deshmukh’s plea.
Comments made by Union Minister representing Central Government
Amid ongoing controversy, Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister and spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on the same day made a statement at the press conference - “The Maharashtra state government has lost the moral right to govern even for a day. The ruling party’s common minimum programme is to collect money through police.”
Vineet Narain, an anti-corruption activist last year said, “Whenever there is a party in the Centre, they always try to protect their governments in states. Is there any example where the Central ruling party allowed CBI to go all out in a state where that party’s government is functioning ever ? Every political party which has been in Centre has used CBI to arm-twist their political opponents and it continues to be so.”
Not long ago, Meera Chaddha Borwankar, IPS, retired as Director General of Police Research and Development (BPRD) served in Maharashtra cadre for 40 years said, “Politician-Police-Criminal nexus flourishes because politicians decide on posting of officers at police stations.”
The SC of India Issued Seven Directives for Police Reforms in 2006
A landmark verdict ruled in the matter of Prakash Singh Vs Union of India by the SC in September 2006 to implement police reforms has not seen the light of day. The SC directives were repeatedly diluted on the pretext of ‘State Subject’.
1. Limit Political Control
2. Appoint Based on Merits
3. Fix Minimum Tenure
4. Separate Police Functions
5. Set up Fair and Transparent Systems
6. Establish a Police Complaint Authority (PCA) in each State
7. Set up a Selection Commission
Singh said, “Politicians do not want reforms in the police force. The Central government in 2019 released INR 7.69 crore as an incentive to 10 states that successfully implemented ‘police reforms’ but the parameters made no mention of the SCs directions. The political class have a feudal attitude towards the police. They look upon the forces as an instrument to further their agenda and fix the opposition.”
BJPs Role in Diluting the Seventh Directive
BJP government expressed that, there was no need to constitute a PCA however and notified Public Grievance Commission (PGC). The party’s plea stated that, “The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) already exists for the said purpose.
SCs Landmark Decision on NHRC in 2017
The SC in 2017 had categorically called NHRC as a ‘toothless tiger’ in the infamous Manipur encounter matter.
Kamlakar Shenoy, Mumbai based activist fighting against systemic lapses says, “Irrespective of who governs, the most common trait of majority of politicians is to support and shield corruption in the country. These morally bereft politicians are the biggest enemies of the nation, even worst than cross border terrorists.”
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Report Issued in 2018
CHRI, a non-partisan and non-governmental organisation (NGO), that mandates to ensure the practical realisation of human rights has been monitoring the functioning and progress of the PCAs in every region. The report highlighted non-implementation of the SC directives on police reforms where-in, not a single state complied with such directives in full conformity.
BJP Ruled in Maharashtra from 2014 till 2019
Interestingly, Maharashtra state was governed by the BJP government under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra from October 2014 till November 2019.
In an annual report published by Praja Foundation, an NGO in November 2019 unveiled that PCAs were yet to come into practice.
Most Recent Instance of Politician’s Attempt to Influence Police
Last Sunday, Abhay Soni, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), posted at Amreli, Gujarat was abruptly transferred for asking a group of BJP workers to disperse from a park who were making preparations to host a party late in the night.
The transfer was made official on a complaint made by Dilip Sanghani, a local BJP leader who also later accused Soni for manhandling the BJP workers however such allegations were refuted by Soni.
KVJ Rao, Mumbai based corruption crusader says, “Politicians deliberately and willfully do not want police reforms in a fear of getting redundant.”
BJP in Another Row
A week back, BJP was alleged for delaying in constituting the police manual and ignoring the directives of the SC in Goa.
BJP and Farmer Protest
Last year, Narendra Modi led BJP government introduced a controversial “The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020”. The farmers’ in India have termed the law as ‘Draconian’ who continue to peacefully protest against the law since September last year.
In last December, two paramilitary policemen injured an old Sikh farmer protesting at Singhu border in Delhi. The farmer sustained injuries to his forearm, calf and back.
Sedition Law used by BJP to Silence Dissent
The Delhi Police in February this year arrested Disha Ravi under Section 124 (A) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged to have committed sedition.
As per Ravi’s contention, her intent was to only support the ongoing farmers protest.
A Delhi court gave Ravi reprieve through an order that stated, “In my considered opinion, citizens are conscience keepers of the government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind bars simply because they choose to disagree with state policies. By invoking sedition indiscriminately, including against idealistic young activists, government harms its own moral authority.”
The Delhi Police is the law enforcement agency that functions under the jurisdiction of the BJP led Central government.
Shikha Chhibbar, a Delhi based lawyer says, “Political leaders in India try to keep police in their control. It is substantiated by the landmark Prakash Singh judgment ruled by the SC, not yet fully implemented in any state. This indicates that there is lack of political will to take any measures to reform policing. In such a scenario, demand for police reforms has to come from the public.”
Police Stood in Silence while Delhi Burned
Last year in February, while tens of thousands of people marched in solidarity against the newly introduced Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, the policemen in Delhi seemed to stood in silence while the protestors were firm to not retreat. It also came to light that, Kapil Mishra, a local BJP leader as a last word asked police to clear the roads of protestors or allow his protestors to do so.
SC : CBI a ‘Caged Parrot’ controlled by Politicos
The SC bench in May 2013 said that, “CBI had become a ‘Caged Parrot’, controlled by politicians. It’s a sordid saga that there are many masters and one parrot.” CBI must function independently without external pressures and influences.”
The Irony
Javadekar, who was swift to get into the controversy belongs to the same political party under which CBI functions. The Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances is directly governed by the Prime Minister Office (PMO), overseen by Modi.
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