http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070624/edit.htm#1
The Supreme Court judgement on police reforms is aptly described by many sections as a step in the right direction. But most of the aam janta know little about the court's directives. Even if they did, they aren't holding their breath. It's hard to keep the faith and believe that one more court directive will make the police any better.
This writer has never missed the opportunity to tell the police that the court has laid down the strictest guidelines about making arrests, deaths in custody, and about how lock ups must be kept. But they are not interested to listen. Lock-ups are always overcrowded. There is no light. And no toilet, except in the corner of the cell. Often, a dozen people shoved into a 10x10 space.
Last time they stretched their arms out of the pitch dark and grasped at passing strangers asking for food. Were they produced before a Magistrate? When asked if they knew the grounds of their arrest, they had no clue. Were their families informed? They replied, "Deedee please kuch khana do na". The SHO was told, but in vain.
In the famous D.K. Basu judgement, the Supreme Court laid down 11 guidelines for the police to follow when making an arrest. These were nothing new but duly laid down in constitutional and statutory provisions which had been forgotten in the wake of frequent violations. So the court said that these guidelines must be put up in every police station.
However, many police stations don't have such a board. A police officer nonchalantly says, "he'd heard of them but didn't think much about it". Even if he managed to get a copy of the guidelines it would be in English. Was he then expected to translate these into the local language?
This writer's first visit to a police station was typical. The place was shabby, thick with the sweet cloying stink of urine and beedis. Several policemen were sitting around; some had their feet up on the tables. Some sipped tea, others smoked just under a big sign that said 'No smoking'. Most of them had several days beard on them and others had their shirts unbuttoned. Two policemen were in their undershirts. In the room beyond, a couple of cops were asleep, stretched out on the benches. Along the filthy walls people sat on benches or squatted on the floor waiting for something to happen. They said they had been called in for questioning. Others were waiting to register a complaint.
However, every officer was busy with something else. "We are overworked and underpaid". Isn't this what the cops say all the time? But this and several other visits to many other stations never gave one a sense of an overworked cop!
When someone wants to register a complaint, he is told to wait. One learns with experience that there are ways of 'managing' the situation. For Rs 25, the police tell you how honest they are. For Rs 250, you could get home delivery of a charge-sheet. The post of Station House Officer is auctioned to the highest bidder! Cops give up promotions but not the posting. No one can prove it, they say, but it's an open secret that each police station and police action has its price and there are valuable earnings to be had out of a 'goldmine' posting.
The Supreme Court has time and again said that torture is forbidden under any circumstances. Our laws make it plain. Still, people are detained by the police illegally and tortured for days. Illegal detention is impermissible. Registering First Information Reports (FIR) is an obligation under the law. There are clear guidelines for investigation. But it takes two weeks to get an FIR registered. It takes a dozen letters and numerous phone calls to heads of police to begin the investigation. It takes a month to suspend the erring officer and get him arrested. So whilst courts continue to say that torture in custody flouts the citizens' basic rights and is an affront to human dignity, torture remains an inherent part of everyday policing.
Try telling the police they can't interrogate women in police stations. They grin slyly. Tell them they must lodge an FIR. They will threaten or abuse you. Tell them they can't beat a suspect to pulp. They will say the people want it. Tell them they can't hold anyone for more than 24 hours. They will say they never do and their diaries can prove it. Tell them they can't handcuff prisoners. They will ask you to mind your own business. That's just how it is. It's the price citizens must pay if they want the police to function at all even if the court says different. Their bosses don't and that is what counts.
The Nithari killings, the Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases, the frequent riots, the constant failure of law and order all scream out for quick reform. People want change on the ground. Government affidavits of compliance in court have to stop the biased policing, the shoddy investigation, the corruption and beatings in police stations or they are just more paper.
More laws and more directives will change little until accountability is fixed on every officer for the slightest wrongdoing. Currently, there is too much wrong and very little hope.
There are too many people trapped in a dysfunctional system and it's for them we must keep trying. The apex court has given the police tremendous autonomy. Now, let's ensure that there is equal accountability.
The writer is Programme Coordinator, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New DelhiBe smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment