Police Brutality — The Scarring Reality of India’s Shortcut to Justice
Protests against police misconduct in the United States have captured the attention of people around the world. When the courts carried out justice by convicting the officers involved in the death of George Floyd, the people breathed a sigh of relief. Their country had moved one step closer to a society free of racism and police brutality. Yet, when two policemen pin down a rickshaw puller on the streets of Indore and shower kicks and blows on him in broad daylight, bystanders simply shrug and carry on with their lives.
This is just another day in India.
Justice Served with Violence and Impunity
In 2020, a video emerged of on-duty police personnel forcing 5 young injured men to sing the national anthem during the Delhi protests. One of them died in the subsequent days. Jairaj and his son Benicks were picked up by the Tamil Nadu Police for allegedly violating Covid-19 lockdown rules. A few days later, reports emerged that they had both died in police custody. The police arrested the father-son duo and dragged them to the Sathankulam police station, where they were allegedly beaten, stripped, and sodomized.
Why do instances like this fail to spark a debate about police brutality in India?
The police in most parts of India operate with complete impunity. And this is reflected in the staggering number of custodial deaths. The National Human Rights Commission of India recorded 1680 cases of custodial deaths in 2020. Out of these, 1569 deaths took place in judicial custody and 111 deaths in police custody. But this wouldn’t come as a surprise for most Indians since the concept of justice is in itself violent, with people baying for blood, and calling for public hangings of the accused.
Apart from this, pop culture’s portrayal of cops who beat up the bad guys is cheered on by the public, and the depiction of police brutality is equated to justice.
In recent years, instances of police brutality has been on the rise. Very few of them get highlighted in the media or witness sustained public attention. Once the initial attention dies down — assuaged through so-called inquiries, arrests, and investigations — the perpetrators are off the hook. Very rarely are police officials convicted or even prosecuted for acts of violence. The ingrained mentality is for the police to teach criminals a violent lesson instead of the defined course of justice. In fact, rarely does the government take a firm stance against the increasing extrajudicial encounters. As a result, the citizens are happy with ‘instant justice’ — which is mainly carried out against poor people, members of lower castes, and all those unable to pay bribes. This shapes the public’s perception by presenting gratuitous violent encounters as standard, damaging the common man’s belief in the judicial process. The Delhi Police weren’t attacking politically aware students when they stormed into Jamia Millia Islamia.
They were teaching ‘anti-nationals’ a ‘lesson.’ Of course, it was cheered by onlookers and endorsed by many politicians.
Caste, Religion, and Money — The Legacy of the Raj
This trend of police brutality is additionally laced with caste and religion-based discrimination. The Status of Policing in the India Report 2019 by Common Cause and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies reveals significant bias against Muslims. Half the police personnel surveyed discriminate against Muslims and think they’re more susceptible to committing acts of violence. This is often reflected within the many instances of police atrocity against Dalits and Muslims in India. Police in Kashmir can shoot citizens’ point blank’ for allegedly ‘fleeing’ security points without facing any consequences. Personnel like IPS officer Bhagyashree Navtake proudly declare filing false cases against Dalits and Muslims.
Similar prejudices existed across certain states against transgender people and migrants from other states.
This imperialistic nature of the Indian police system still prevails because it is predicated on a model dating back to the British Raj. It was customary for the police to rough up anyone who raised their voice against colonial rule back then. And it would seem that our society never outgrew this custom.
Police may be a state subject under the Constitution; disciplinary proceedings and punishment for errant cops like suspension, removal, or salary deduction are provided under respective state enactments. However, these proceedings, too, are weakened by the shortage of independent and impartial oversight.
So, What can the Common Man do?
It’s time to change the system and ensure that citizens are aware of their rights. They should be made aware of the framework for pursuing grievances against police excesses.
· The Constitution of India provides measures to seek remedies, including compensation before the High Courts and the Supreme Court for violations of fundamental rights.
· Relief also can be sought before the National and, therefore, the State Human Rights Commissions, under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Still, their recommendations aren’t binding on the respective governments.
· The Indian Penal Code provides the means to file criminal complaints against the concerned officers. Still, there is no mechanism provided for an independent investigation. As a result, police personnel often refuse to register first information reports against their colleagues.
· The safeguard under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, is additionally often misused. This section requires prior sanction from the concerned government when an employee, which incorporates a policeman, is accused of any offense committed within the discharge of official duty.
The Government and the Courts have the Answers, or Do They?
A significant milestone for creating an efficient framework for accountability against police misconduct was in 2006, within Prakash Singh v Union of India. The Supreme Court directed states to establish Police Complaints Authorities at the state and district levels. The recommendations of those authorities for departmental or criminal action against a delinquent policeman would be binding, as per the Court. An independent appointment mechanism for the members deciding complaints was also provided.
However, it seems that the directions of the Supreme Court have fallen on deaf ears.
The Justice Thomas Committee appointed by the Supreme Court for monitoring compliance with the Prakash Singh judgment expressed dismay in its 2010 report over the total indifference exhibited by the states. In 2013, the Justice Verma Committee constituted after the Nirbhaya gang rape also noted such non-compliance. Governments have either blatantly rejected, ignored, or diluted significant features of the directives. They have also disregarded the Court’s scheme in terms of composition, selection process, and functioning of the PCA.
States need to implement the Supreme Court’s directions in letter and spirit. Additional instances of violations by the police — unjustified recourse to lathis, dereliction of duty at times of mob lynching, parading of arrested persons in handcuffs, video recording and public shaming of alleged violators, and circulation of such videos on social media — should also be included within the list of complaints that can be dealt with by the authorities. We must wake up to demand a policing system that does not take the law into its own hand.
Unless there is a systemic change in the police force, we cannot combat the carte blanche enjoyed by the police forces under colonial legislation. After all, only the rule of law should prevail, not the rule of violence.
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