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| 8 yrs on, police reforms remain in deep freeze | | | Abodh Sharma
ET Report
jammu, Jan 5: More than eight year since the Apex Court directed all State Governments to implement reforms in working of Police organizations which function in accordance with an act dating back to the imperial rule, Jammu and Kashmir Government has failed to do the needful despite loads of empty recurring on the issue.
Several Cabinet meetings during the tenures of successive coalition Governments in the State have been aborted due to tug of war between Ministers to get police officers of their choice posted in their respective areas, making it evidently clear that political interference in Police Department is blatantly unchecked. Many believe that the Police have been used by the political leadership as an instrument to curb voices of political dissent.
On September 22, 2006, the Supreme Court of India delivered a historic judgment in Prakash Singh vs. Union of India instructing Central and State Governments to comply with a set of seven directives laying down practical mechanisms to kick-start police reform. The Court's directives seek to achieve functional autonomy for the police - through security of tenure, streamlined appointment and transfer processes, and to enhance Police accountability, both for organisational performance and individual misconduct.
However, just seven months after the Supreme Court directive, on April 26, 2007, Jammu and Kashmir Government through its then Chief Secretary C Phunsong filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to suspend the implementation of its directions relating to police reforms. In its prayer, Chief Secretary explained, "It would be advisable to keep in abeyance the implementation of separation of investigation till normalcy returns to the State in the larger interest. This is because the terrorism-related crime is accompanied by law and order and vice-versa and has to be dealt with together." Two decades of militancy have to quite an extent transformed the mindset of the State police which became more of a combat force than a law enforcement agency.
Sources in the Government divulge that the draft of the said Bill was prepared and even publicized for larger public opinion in 2013, but three years since then, said bill has been struck in administrative red tape. "It was during the tenure of Ashok Prasad as DGP that the process of implementation of reforms had expedited. Besides the legislation, he prevailed upon the Government to improve upon the lot of police force, but his predecessors have done little to impel the political leadership to move in this direction" said a retired senior Police officer.
Recent incidents, wherein men in khaki have been found involved in gory crimes such as drug trafficking have further justified the need of fixing accountability in the rank and file of the police as directed by the Supreme Court. The urgency has further been prompted by the recent direction of the State High Court, wherein taking cognizance of the shoddy investigations by the Police in various cases, it directed the Government to recruit 200 investigators in the rank of Sub Inspectors. |
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