1. Why do we
have a police force?
We have a police force to provide
citizens with a sense of safety and security. The
police are there to maintain
peace and order in society as well as prevent and detect
crime. They are there as the law
enforcers - to make sure that everyone, including
the police force itself, follows
the law at every step.
2. What are the
police supposed to do?
The police force has several
duties: it must prevent and control crime, and detect
and investigate it properly
whenever it happens. It must also prepare an honest,
evidence-base case for the
prosecutor to present at court. The police force has a
responsibility for maintaining
overall law and order and for this purpose also
gathers information about what is
happening in and around the community it
serves.
3. What is meant
by police powers?
The police have all sorts of
different powers, all of which are given by law and
they must use them only according
to the procedure laid down in the law. So they
can make arrests, carry out
search and seizures, investigate offences, question
witnesses, interrogate suspects,
disperse unruly crowds and maintain order in
society, but they have to do it
strictly in the way the law lays down and not any
other way. They cannot act just
as they wish or want to. Any abuse of power or
negligence of duty will amount to
a breach of discipline, civil wrong or a crime
and the police officer is liable
to be punished.
4. Is there just
one police force in India?
No. Each state has its own police
force under the control of the government of that
state. So there are many police forces
in the country. Police that work in parts of
India that are directly under the
control of the central government like the capital
Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry,
Daman and Diu, Lakshwadeep Islands, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands come under the control of the
central government.
5. What are the
paramilitary forces?
Paramilitary forces like the
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border
Security Force (BSF), the Assam
Rifles, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
and the National Security Guard
(NSG) are armed policing organisations
established for special duties by
the central government. They are structured along
the lines of the army and thus
called paramilitary. They help the police in counterinsurgency
or anti-terrorist activities and
in moments of civil unrest.
6. Can anyone
become a police officer?
Yes, anyone can become a police
officer. However, you have to fulfill the
conditions and standards laid
down for that particular rank. For example, to join as
a constable you need to have at
least passed high school. To join as a Sub Inspector
you need to be a graduate.
7. How can I
become a police officer?
There are three levels at which
you can join the force. At the state level you can
join either as a constable and go
up to Deputy Superintendent of Police or you can
join at Sub-Inspector level and
get promoted all the way up to Superintendent of
Police in charge of a district.
Constables and sub-inspectors
have to take a written entrance test. If you pass you
have to go for a physical test.
If that is cleared then you are called for an interview.
Then you go through a medical
check-up to see if you are medically fit and only
then is the final selection done.
IPS officers on the other hand
are recruited at the central level and ranks begin as
either Additional or Assistant
Superintendent or Superintendent of Police.
8. What is the
IPS?
IPS is short for Indian Police
Service. It is one of the three all-India services of the
government of India; the other
two being the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
and the Indian Forest Service
(IFS). It is a general pool from which police officers
are drawn and sent out to serve
in senior posts all over the country.
9. How do I join
the IPS ?
First you have to sit for the
preliminary examination conducted by the Union
Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Dates and venue are published from time to
time in local and national
newspapers. If you pass that you can sit for the main
written examination.
If you clear the written
examination you are interviewed by an interview board.
When you are selected you are
asked to indicate which central service you would
like to join - the Foreign
Service, the Administrative Service, the Police, Forest or
Revenue. Only if you score very
high marks will get your choice of service,
because allotments to different
civil services are merit-based.
10. What
training will I get as an IPS officer?
In the IPS you go for a
foundation training course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri
Academy of Administration at
Mussorie. This is followed by a basic training
course at the National Police
Academy at Hyderabad.
11. What kind of
training do other ranks get?
Most states also have their own
training schools where non-IPS officers and
constables go for training.
Later, there is also in-service training given from time to
time. Other ranks get outdoor
physical training, and training in the use of weapons,
first aid, riot control and
unarmed combat. They also get classroom training on
various criminal laws, about
procedure, about how to conduct investigations and
control crowds and deal with all
the many situations they come across.
12. How many
police stations are there in the country?
There are 12,809 police stations
in the country.
13. Do we have
enough police officers?
No. According to United Nations
standards, there should be about 230 police for
every 100,000 people. But in
India there are only 125 police officers for every
100,000 population. This is one
of the lowest police to population ratios in the
world. There are many vacancies
which are not filled up. Although 16.6 lakh
police personnel is the
sanctioned strength there are in fact only 14.2 lakh.in
service. That means there is a
shortage of about 14.4%. But even that doesn't give
the whole picture, because there
are more police in big cities than in smaller ones.
Many police officers are used in
guarding a very small number of very important
people. Administrative and
traffic duties take up lots more police personnel so
there are large short-falls in
the numbers left on crime prevention, detection, and
overall maintenance of law and
order.
14. Are there
women in the police force ?
Yes, but there are less than 5%
of them in the force.
15. Do women
police officer have different duties?
No. So far as rules and laws are
concerned women police will do the same duties
as men. But only women are posted
at all-women police stations.
16. Are there
any special reservations or quotas in the police force?
Yes. There are special quotas for
recruiting scheduled castes (13.7%), scheduled
tribes (8.7%), and other backward
classes in every state. The central and state
governments have their own rules
about how many people may be recruited from
these communities. However, there
is no special reservation for minorities or for
women. Muslims make up 7.6% of
the police force.
17. Why is it
necessary to have dalits, women, Muslims, Christians, tribals and
others in the
police force?
It is important that a police
force has a good mix of men and women and people
from every religion, class, caste
and tribe. This increases understanding of the
behaviour and attitudes of
different communities and their culture, and helps to
remove prejudices.
18. How can I
tell if a person is a police officer and not some other official?
Police officers have a distinct
uniform in khaki or blue with a cap, belt, and
shoulder epaulettes that show
their rank and which force they belong to. Police
officers should also have a name
tag displayed on the chest.
19. What are the
different ranks in the police?
The constable is at the lowest
rung of the ladder. From here the ranks move up to
the Head Constable (HC),
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Sub-Inspector (SI),
Inspector (IP), Assistant/Deputy
Superintendent of Police (ASP/DySP), Additional
Superintendent of Police (Addl
SP), Superintendent of Police (SP), Senior
Superintendent of Police (SSP),
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG),
Inspector General of Police
(IGP), Additional Director General of Police (ADG)
and finally the Director General
of Police (DGP).
20. What is a
beat constable?
No, it is not a police officer
who beats you! Just so you know, no policeman is
allowed to use force with anyone
except if they are resisting arrest or trying to
escape. A beat police officer is
called that because he has a regular specific area or
route which he patrols -
sometimes with another police officer - to check if
everything is in order and
nothing suspicious is going on. On night patrols the beat
constable will sometimes call out
or bang their lathis to indicate that he is on his
rounds.
21. Do all
police officers do all duties?
No. Specific duties are assigned
to every police officer from the level of a
Constable right up to the level
of the DGP. These duties are listed in the police
manuals of every state. A junior
officer cannot perform those duties assigned to his
senior. For example, an SI cannot
do a duty assigned to an SP. However, anything
that can be done by a lower
ranking officer can be done by a senior ranking officer
as well.
22. Can a
traffic police officer arrest me for an offence other than a traffic
crime?
Yes. A traffic cop is also a
police officer basically given traffic duties. If he sees
you committing any crime he can
arrest you just like any other policeman can or
like any private citizen can.
23. What is the
CID?
CID means the Criminal
Investigation Department. This is sometimes called the
special branch or the
investigative branch. They are the investigative agency of the
state police. They are called to
investigate serious crimes like fraud, cheating, gang
wars and crimes that have
interstate implications.
24. Is the CID
different from the police?
No. CID personnel are selected
from the police officers themselves.
25. Who is in
charge of the police force?
There is one chief of police in
each state. He is called the Director General of
Police or DGP for short. He is
the top man. But even the DGP has to report to the
government. His boss is the home
minister in charge of the home department in the
state or at the centre.
26. Why should
the chief of police have to report to the minister?
Every government has a duty to
make sure that each one of us feels safe and secure
and does not have to worry about
his life or his loved ones or his property. The
government gives this duty to the
police. So, the police have to report to the
government about how they are
doing their job. In turn, the government also has a
duty to the public to make sure
that the police are. honest, fair and efficient and do
their work only according to the
law and not according to what they feel they want
to do.
27. Who gives
money for policing?
The police are paid by the
tax-payer to provide a service. Salaries come out of the
state government budget and the
budget of the central government. But in the end,
it all comes from the pocket of
the tax-payer.
28. Where does
the police get its money from?
Every state has a budget that is
allocated exclusively for providing police services.
The police get the money from
this budget.
29. Who approves
the budget and what is most of it spent on?
The budget is decided by the
state legislature. In the case of the Union Territories
the budget is approved by
Parliament. The first draft is prepared by the DG of the
administrative section. This
draft is then sent to the DGP for approval. From there
it goes to the home department.
Then the finance ministry approves it and sends it
for Cabinet approval as part of
the state budget and then it goes to the legislature
for discussion. After discussion
in the legislature, the police budget for the year is
finally approved. In the state
budget the biggest portion of all money given for
policing is spent on salaries.
Other items of expenditure are on training,
investigation, infrastructure,
housing, etc.
30. How do we
know that the money the police get is properly spent?
There is an annual audit of
accounts and monies spent by the police conducted by
the Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG). These accounts are submitted to
Parliament and state
legislatures. Once examined, they are available on the website
of the home/police department or
in the Parliament library. You can also use the
Right to Information Act to ask
for annual police spending. Since policing is done
using tax-payer's money which
means your money, you should take an interest to
ensure that this money is
properly spent.
31. What laws
govern the police?
The police act of 1861 governs
the police in most states. A few states have their
own police act. But all police acts
are modelled on that old law. Very recently
some states have revised their
acts and created new police laws. There are also
other criminal laws like the CrPC
and the IPC as well as local laws which govern
the work and functioning of the
police.
32. What is the
CrPC and the IPC?
The CrPC is short for Code of
Criminal Procedure. When a crime is committed,
there are always two procedures
which the police have to follow to investigate the
offence. One from the victim's
and the other from the accused's. These procedures
are detailed in the CrPC. IPC is
short for Indian Penal Code. Certain types of
human behaviour are not allowed
by the law and such type of behaviour will get
the person some negative
consequences. Such types of behaviour are called
"crimes" or
"offences" and the consequences of which are called
"punishment".
The behaviour and actions, which
are termed as offences, along with the
punishment for each offence are
mainly contained in the IPC.
33. What does a
Police Act say?
Police acts usually talk about
what the police can and cannot do; how the police
force will be organised; what
ranks there will be; who will supervise the force;
who will make appointments; what
punishment and disciplinary actions the police
will face for doing wrong. It
also lays down some rules for the public to follow.
34. Why does the
Police Act have offences by the public in it?
These few offences are put in to
make sure that everyone keeps roads and public
spaces clean, uncluttered, safe,
decent and free from disease.
For instance, the police can
immediately arrest a person for letting animals roam
around on the road, slaughtering
them, or being cruel to them. People who obstruct
the road, dirty it, put goods out
for sale on the road without a licence, are indecent,
drunk or riotous, or neglect to
make sure that dangerous places like wells were kept
safe by fencing, etc can also be
arrested immediately.
35. What does'
rule of law' mean?
It means that we, all of us, high
or low, rich or poor, man or woman, even the
government and public servants
like the police, have to obey the law and must live
according to the laws that are
laid down in our country under our Constitution. No
one is above the law. It also
means that every action by the police has to be
according to the law and, if not,
the police will be accountable before the law. It
also means that the laws that are
made must be reasonable, just and apply to all of
us in a fair way.
36. Can a police
officer be punished if he has done wrong?
Yes. A police officer just like
anyone else can be punished if he breaks the law. In
fact, because he is a person
entrusted with upholding the law he should be
punished more severely for
breaking it.
37. How is a
police officer punished?
There are many means of punishing
a police officer who has done wrong. If he has
committed a crime then he can be
brought before the courts and tried just like
anyone else. If he has been rude,
behaved badly or not done his duty as he should,
then his senior officers can punish
him by giving him a warning, or even cutting
his pay, reducing his rank,
suspending and transferring him.
38. Police
officer do dangerous work. Are they insured?
Yes, Police Officers are insured.
All police personnel have to pay towards their
group insurance cover. This taken
from their salary. Families of Police officers,
who died in the line of duty, are
also paid and ex-gratia lump sum. Police officers
do work in dangerous
environments. Many get killed or wounded, in fact on an
average over 800 police officers
have been killed in the line of duty this year. The
last decade was worse with the
average standing at over 1,000 per year. Most of
those who die on duty are
constables.
39. Dose the
police officer have to obey any and all orders given to him by his
senior or by any
other person who is competent to give that order like a
district
collector or minister?
No. A Police officer must obey
orders only when they are lawful. He will be held
responsible for any thing wrong
he does even if he has been ordered to do it. He
can never excuse his behavior by
saying that some one in authority told him to do
something which was wrong and
unlawful. That will not protect him.
40. Is a police
officer always on duty?
Yes. The 1861 Police Act makes it
clear that a police officer is "considered to be
always on duty". But that
does not mean that he is never allowed to rest. It just
means that wherever he is, in or
out of uniform, he must act to uphold the law. He
cannot say "I am not on
duty" if he witnesses a crime taking place or hears a call
for help.
41. Can I hire a
police officer for my own security?
Actually, you can, if there is a
grave threat to you. Sometimes the state will
arrange security; sometimes the
security has to be paid for by you. According to
the Police Act if you need extra
police persons deployed to an area and the
authorities agree to it you can
pay for the additional police arrangements for a
limited period of time. So, for
example, for a large marriage or private occasion the
police may agree to provide a few
extra hands in that area at your cost. But if an
area is crime prone or there is a
public rally or event taking place, it would be the
duty of the police to provide
extra people and no question of payment would arise.
42. Are the
police automatically allowed to take free rides on public transport
or take things
from the market people without paying?
In some places police officers
are given passes to take rides on public transport and
that too when they are on duty.
But otherwise no police officer is allowed to take
free rides. Likewise for market
places; no police officer is allowed to take goods
from a market stall just because
he is a police officer. Like all citizens he too has to
pay for his purchases.
43. Do I have to
listen to every order of the police officer?
Yes, if it is a lawful order that
is related to his duties. In fact, everyone has a duty
to assist a police officer in
doing his duty; especially if the police officer is trying
to stop a fight or prevent a
crime or trying to stop someone from escaping his
custody. In fact, if you have
information about a crime it is your duty to pass that
information on to the police. It
is also a duty not to shelter or harbour any
proclaimed offender. You also
have a duty to give evidence in a court of law if you
know or have seen something in a
case.
44. Do I have to
go with a police officer if he asks me to come with him
somewhere?
No. However, if the police
officer is asking you to come along to be a witness to
something he is doing as part of
his duty, like arresting a person, seizing property,
or examining a crime scene, then
you must go along and help. Traditionally, that is
called being a pancha- a person
who can tell the court independently what he
saw at that moment.
45. Suppose a
police officer asks me to come to the police station, do I have to
go?
No. It is good to cooperate with
the police but it is not necessary to go to the
station unless the police officer
is formally arresting you. Otherwise, if he just
wants to question you or is
making inquiries about a crime he has to summon you
in writing. Until that is done
you cannot be forced to go to the station. Where any
woman is concerned or a child
below 15 is involved, the police can question them
only in their homes.
46. Do I have to
answer all the questions the police officer asks?
Yes. It is always better to
answer questions honestly in a straightforward manner
and inform the police of any facts
you may know. If you do not know something,
then the police officer cannot
force you to make any statement, or put words in
your mouth. It is always better
to make sure that someone else is there with you
when you are being questioned.
47. Does the police
officer have a duty to help me when I am in distress?
Yes. In 1985, guidelines for the
code of conduct for the police were issued by the
Ministry of Home Affairs and
communicated to all chief secretaries of all
states/union territories and
heads of central police organisations. This requires the
police to give any assistance to
all without regard to wealth and social standing.
According to the code their
general duty to provide security to all without fear or
favour includes keeping the
welfare of people in mind, being sympathetic and
considerate toward them, being
ready to offer individual service and friendship.
48. Can I ask
the police to help me out with family problems?
It depends on the problem. If
what is happening is a crime like violence in the
family, badly beating a woman or
a child, or incest, or trespass, of course the
police must help you and cannot
turn you away and say it is a private affair. But if
adult children are disobedient,
say they run away to get married, then it is no
business of the police to chase
after them or force them to return. That is purely a
family matter.
49. If a police
officer will not help or there is no police officer around, can the
public catch a
thief or wrongdoer and punish him there and then?
Yes and no. You can make what is
called a "citizen's arrest" and catch the
wrongdoer and take him to the
nearest police station. That is all. But you cannot
beat up the wrong-doer or join a
crowd that is doing that. Members of the public
only have a right to act to
protect themselves which is called the right to defence
but that too has to be reasonably
used. It cannot turn into a one-sided beating
or horrible humiliation and a
police officer who allows that or joins in is likely to
face disciplinary or criminal
charges.
50. What can I
do if the police officer does not help me?
Wilful breach or neglect of duty
by a police officer is punishable with
imprisonment. If the police
officer is not helpful and you have been harmed, then
you can complain about it to his
senior. In such a case he may be found guilty. for
dereliction of duty.
51. Can the
police do anything they want?
Not at all. They can only do what
is lawful. In fact, they are very strictly governed
by many, many rules. These
include their own regulations, the procedures laid
down by the criminal codes, the
orders given by the Supreme Court and the
guidelines of the human rights
commissions.
52. But
supposing police officers do not obey them?
You can complain to his senior or
to the magistrate depending on how serious the
matter is. It is always better to
complain in writing and get a receipt.
53. What can I
complain of?
You can complain of any
wrong-doing by a police officer because he is a public
servant bound to do his duty at
all times. He cannot neglect his duty, or delay
doing it.
54. But suppose
the police officer is rude and insulting to me?
Again, you can complain to his
senior if it is a matter of breach of duty or
discipline. But if it is anything
more serious than that or amounts to a crime then
you can file a complaint against
him at a police station or go straight to the local
judicial magistrate and file a complaint.
55. But if I
file a complaint with the local police station they may refuse to
take 1t against
their own officer?
Yes, that does happen often. But
it need not be the end of the matter. You can take
a complaint about rude or
discourteous behaviour or neglect of duty or abuse of
police power to the chief of
police or if it amounts to a crime you can take it to the
nearest magistrate.
56. But it is so
difficult to take matters to court and it also takes very long!
To make it simpler to bring
complaints against the police and to make the process
easier and quicker some states
have set up police complaints authorities. They are
special bodies who only look at
complaints about the police from the public. In
addition, anyone who has a
complaint against the police can take it to the many
other commissions that have been
set up at the national level and in the states.
These include: the National Human
Rights Commission and state human rights
commissions; the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes Commission; the
National Commission for Women and
similar state commissions; and the
Commission for Children. For
issues related to corruption there is the Central
Bureau of Investigation, the
Central Vigilance Commission, Lok Ayuktas and the
State Vigilance Departments.
These commissions will look into your complaint,
make inquiries and according to
their powers can direct an FIR to be registered
against the policeman or order
compensation to be given to the victim.
57. Suppose I
want to tell the police about a crime, what do I do?
If it is a serious crime like
theft,housebreaking, eve-teasing, assault, molesting a
child, rape,
kidnapping,trafficking, and even rioting you can immediately file an
FIR directly with the head of the
local police station and they are bound to take it
down in writing and give you a
copy. You can even go to the magistrate with your
complaint and he will register
it.
58. What is an
FIR?
That is the just short form for
First Information Report. A victim, witness or any
other person knowing about a
"cognisable" offence can file an FIR. What you say
in the FIR will start the police
making inquiries about the matter and gathering
facts to see if there is a case
that can be made out.
59. Do I have to
go only to the local police station or can I file my FIR with
any police
station?
You can file an FIR in any police
station. But it is better to go to the local police
station in whose jurisdiction the
crime occurred because they can swing into action
quicker. If you file in any other
police station the police are bound to make an
entry of the complaint and send
it to the concerned police station. They cannot
refuse to file your FIR saying
that the crime did not happen in their jurisdiction.
60. Can the police
refuse to file my complaint?
Yes and no. In India crimes are
divided into those that are "cognisable" and
"noncognisable".
A "cognisable" crime is
for example murder, rape, rioting, dacoity,
etc. which means that the police
can take notice of them directly, register an FIR
and begin to make inquiries. A
"non-cognisable" crime is for example cheating,
fraud, forgery, bigamy, selling
underweight or adulterated food or creating a public
nuisance, which means that the
investigation will start only when a magistrate has
taken the complaint on record and
directs the police to investigate. The way of
understanding this rough division
is that crimes that need a more urgent response
can be complained of directly to
the police and others go to the magistrate. So,
even if the police cannot take
your complaint on board they should at the very least
listen to you, enter your matter
in the daily diary, give you a signed copy of the
entry, free of cost, and direct
you to take it to the magistrate.
61. Suppose my
complaint is about a "cognisable" offence but the station
house officer
refuses to register it. Then what can I do?
You can still get it registered
by taking the complaint to a senior officer/head of
district police or to the nearest
judicial magistrate and they will order it to be
registered. To make sure that
your complaint is on record and will be followed up,
hand deliver the complaint or if
you send it by post, register AD it. In any case,
always get a receipt that proves
that it has been received and keep that safely. That
will show that the complaint has
been actually received by the concerned officer.
That takes care of your complaint
but you should also complain about the difficulty
you have had in registering your
matter in the first place. That way the officer is
less likely to do it again.
62. What must be
put down in an FIR?
The FIR is your version of the
facts as you know them or as they have been told to
you. It is always better if you
know the facts first-hand but it is not necessary that
you yourself have seen the
offence. Whichever it is, you must only give correct
information. Never exaggerate the
facts or make assumptions or implications.
Give the place, date and time of
the occurrence. Carefully, describe the role of
every person involved: where they
were, what they were doing, the sequence of
what was being done by each
person, any kind of injury or damage to property that
has been done. Do not forget to
mention the kinds of weapons involved. It is best
to get all these facts and
circumstances recorded as soon as possible. If there is
some delay in recording a
complaint make sure the reason for the delay is also
written down.
63. How can I be
sure that the police have written what I told them correctly?
Remember that the FIR is your
version of what you know. It is not the police
version of anything. The police
are just there to take it down accurately without
adding anything or taking out
anything. To make sure of this, the law actually
requires the police officer to
read the FIR out to you and it is only once you agree
with what is written that you
need to sign it. The police must also give you a true
copy of it free of cost. The FIR
is recorded in the FIR register and a copy goes to a
senior officer and to the
magistrate.
64. What happens
once my FIR is filed?
The FIR sets the police
investigations in motion. As part of that, the police may
speak to victims and witnesses,
record statements including dying declarations,
check out the crime scene, send
articles for forensic examination and bodies for
post-mortem as necessary,
question several people and with each lead make further
investigations. Once
investigations are complete, the officer in charge must make
a full record of it. This is
called a challan or chargesheet.
65. What is a
challan or chargesheet?
After all investigations are done
the officer in charge will look at the facts and
decide if there is enough
evidence to show that a crime has been committed and
record it in the chargesheet for
the prosecution and the court. If all the elements of
a crime are not made out it will
be a waste of time to bring the accused to court.
The prosecution and the court
will examine the chargesheet independently to see if
a possible crime is made out.
66. Will the
police automatically arrest everyone named in the FIR?
No, and they should not. Just
because someone is named in an FIR is no reason to
arrest a person. It is only when
there is sufficient ground for believing that a person
may have committed a crime that
the police can arrest him.
67. Can the
police close my complaint and not take further action?
Yes. If after making their own
inquiries the police decide that there are no facts
that support the idea that a
crime was committed or there is not enough evidence to
support allegations or
acknowledge that a crime has been committed but the people
who did it are not known - then
they can close the case after giving reasons to the
court. They must also inform you
of their decision. You, then, have a chance of
opposing the closure before the
court.
68. Will I be
kept informed of the progress of my case?
There is nothing specific in the
law which requires the police officer to keep your
informed about the progress of a
case. But it is good practice to tell a complainant
how the case is going provided it
does not compromise the investigation.
69. What can I
do if the police are not investigating the matter or are doing so
very slowly or
refusing to examine the most obvious lines of inquiry?
There is an important principle
in law that no one can interfere with police
investigation. That said, if the
police refuse to move forward or do it excessively
slowly or wilfully disregard
obvious lines of inquiry you can certainly complain to
senior officers or to the nearest
magistrate who can order the police officer to
investigate and he can as well
call for the record of investigation. Again it is
importaot for you to ensure that
everything is done in writing and a record of
receipt kept with you.
70. Can I call a
police officer whenever I want?
Yes and no. The police are
overworked and their numbers are few, so the public
cannot constantly call them up
with frivolous complaints and unsubstantiated
information. However, of course
you can call the police if you are in trouble, if a
crime has occurred or is
occurring, if there is likelihood of some riot, if some
people are fighting and there is
likelihood of disorder, or if you have serious
information to give them. But you
cannot call the police for things that are not
connected with their job.
Sometimes people play mischief and call the police even
if nothing has happened. You can
be punished for such pranks.
71. Can a police
officer come into my home unasked and search my home and
take things
away?
Only in certain very limited
circumstances. If the police come to your house for
questioning they may enter only
at your invitation. However, even if the police
have reasonable grounds for
believing that you are hiding a suspect or criminal, or
you have stolen property or an
illegal weapon in your home, they can only enter
your house with a search warrant
from a magistrate. But if the suspect, criminal or
object needs to be obtained
without any delay and there is fear it will be lost
without seizure then they can
enter your house without a warrant.
72. You mean the
police can just enter my house and take away anything?
No. It is only when there is real
urgency - for example there is a real possibility
that a suspect will run away or
if evidence is likely to be destroyed - that the police
can enter your house without a
warrant.
With or without a warrant there
is a whole procedure to be followed. The police
must have at least two
independent local witnesses with them. The search must be
made in the presence of the
owner. The owner cannot be told to leave. The police
must list what they are taking.
The witnesses, police and owner must sign,
verifying what is being taken. A
copy must be left with the owner. If there are
purdah women in the house a woman
officer must be part of the search party and
they must conduct the search with
strict regard to decency.
73. What is a
search warrant?
People's homes and offices are
private places and cannot be open to searches and
entry from any authority without
some really good reason. So the law requires
anyone wanting to enter to
explain why they find it necessary to disturb that right.
The police therefore have to go
before a magistrate and explain the reasons for
their thinking there are goods,
papers or people that are hidden in the premises
which will help them solve a
crime. If the magistrate is convinced that the police
officer is not on a "fishing
inquiry" he will give the authority. The authority is very
limited and gives the name and
rank of the particular officer allowed to enter that
particular place and is issued
under the sign and seal of the court.
74. If I am
walking down the street, can a police officer stop me and ask me
anything he
likes?
No. In general the police are not
supposed to interfere with people going about
their lawful business. But if
they think that someone is loitering in a place
especially after dark, he is
entitled to stop and ask your name and what you are
doing. If there is something
suspicious or fishy about the whole thing then you can
be arrested. Police use this
power often as a means of rounding up suspected
persons and habitual offenders.
The over-use of this power has often been
discussed by reform committees
and condemned.
~-
75. Can the
police stop me from being part of a procession or street meeting?
No one can stop you from taking
part in a peaceful procession. But ideally a
procession must have prior
permission from the local police. If they feel that a
procession is likely to become
disorderly or violent then they can refuse
permission to hold it in the first
place. If the procession later becomes disorderly
then the police can stop it, ask
the people to leave and take action if they do not
disperse. On the one hand, the
police have a duty to make sure that things remain
peaceful. On the other hand, they
have a duty to facilitate citizens in exercising
their fundamental right to hold
peaceful public meetings.
76. Can the
police use force in breaking up a street meeting or procession?
Yes. Whatever the police do has
to be reasonable. They are not there to punish
people. They are there to ensure
public safety and that law and order are not
breached. So the rule is that the
police must only use force as a last resort in
controlling a crowd. If it must
be used at all, it must be minimal, proportionate to
the situation and discontinued at
the earliest possible moment. In fact, the police
cannot use any force without the
executive magistrate okaying it. The magistrate
has to be present and give the
order to use force. Then the police will decide how
much force is needed.
77. Can the
police fire at will?
Not at all. Deadly force is meant
to be used in only the very rarest of instances
when all other means of control
have been tried and exhausted. Again, there must
be a magistrate present who
approves such action.
78. So what can
the police do if the crowd is unruly and throwing stones or
damaging
property?
The police have a duty to protect
life and property but there is a sequence to how
they must go about their actions.
First, plenty of warnings to the crowd to disperse
must be given with time for the
crowd to obey. Then teargas may be used or a lathi
charge resorted to after another
warning. Lathis cannot rain down blows on head
and shoulders but must be aimed
below the waist. If the police are going to have to
resort to firing there has to be
a clear and distinct warning that firing will be
effective. Here too the rule is
to use minimal force. So firing must aim low and at
the most threatening part of the
crowd with a view not to cause fatalities but to
disperse the crowd. As soon as
the crowd show signs of breaking up the firing
must stop. The injured must be
assisted to the hospital immediately. Of course,
every individual officer has to
make a report of his role for the record.
79. Can the
police hold me in a secret place or not tell anyone that they have
got me?
No. The police are known to do
this often but this is against the law. As soon as the
police take you into their
custody, your physical well-being and the protection of
your rights becomes their
responsibility. If you come to any harm or your rights are
not respected but violated in any
way the police are responsible. This is an
important legal point to keep in
mind.
Next, the fact that the police
are duty-bound to make a record of all those who
come to the station in their
station's general diary will indicate what time you were
brought in for questioning and
when the arrest was made. This will also be in the
case diary of the investigating
officer. The police control room must also display
an updated list of all those
arrested in the last 12 hours.
Finally, the fact that you are
entitled to a lawyer during your interrogation means,
at a minimum, that the place of
custody must be known and accessible to friends or
relatives.
80. Can the
police officer hold me at the police station or can I leave when I
want?
Unless you have been formally
arrested for good reason you cannot be held in
custody against your will. If the
police have summoned you for questioning you
have a duty to cooperate with them
and help them with their inquiries. But the
questioning has to be prompt and
efficient and cannot go on and on. The police
cannot make you wait endlessly at
the police station. In any case, you can leave
when you want.
81. Suppose the
police officer does not let me go, what can I do?
Keeping you in custody against
your will even for a moment if you are not under
formal arrest is a serious
offence. It is called illegal detention and either you or
your family or friends can
complain about the officer to his senior or even the
magistrate. Most importantly, you
can go to the high court or even the Supreme
Court immediately through your
lawyer, family or friend and me a habeas corpus
petition seeking your immediate
release.
82. What does
habeas corpus mean?
This is a very old remedy against
people being picked up by agents of powerful
rulers and being helpless to
protect themselves. It literally means "produce the
body". It is a most
practical remedy against wrongful detention. The courts - either
the high court or the Supreme
Court, deal with it on an urgent basis. Once the court
gets an application indicating a
disappearance that shows that the victim was last
seen in the custody of the
police, the court will ask the police to produce the person
before it immediately and release
him if the detention cannot be justified. If the
detention has been illegal then
the court can even grant compensation to the victim.
83. Is there any
other way of finding out about a person who has been
arrested
illegally and I don't know where he is kept?
Yes. You can file a Right to
Information application at the police station asking for
the whereabouts of the person.
Since the information is relating to the life and
liberty of a person, the police
are bound to give you the information within 48
hours.
84. Can a police
officer arrest me without giving reason?
No. Police can make arrests only
if there are good grounds for the arrest. Say if a
person is caught red handed in
the middle of some wrong-doing, or if many
circumstances in the
investigation point the finger of suspicion towards him, or a
person is found to be helping
someone else with a crime before during or after its
occurrence, then he can be
arrested. There has to be a "good reason" for making an
arrest. Just because someone has
named someone else in an FIR cannot be a reason
for arrest. There has to be
something more in the form of evidence to arrest you.
Experts have repeatedly pointed
out that as many as 60% of all arrests are
unnecessary or unreasonably made.
85. If the
police suspect me of committing a crime can they also arrest my
family members?
No, never. There is no guilt by
association. Each person's guilt or innocence has to
be judged by their own individual
actions and not because they are close to or
related to someone else who is a
suspect. No one's freedom can be taken away
except for a specific lawful
reason.
The police cannot threaten family
members or friends or take them into custody as
bargaining tools. This kind of
hostage-taking would amount to the serious crimes
of illegal detention or
kidnapping, at a minimum.
No matter how difficult the case
is that the police are trying to solve, they cannot
resort to illegal practices in
order to put pressure on the suspect to give himself up
or make a confession. The only
people who can be arrested are those against whom
there is a reasonable ground for
thinking they have committed a crime.
86. Are there
special rules for arrest and treatment of women in custody?
Absolutely! No woman can be
arrested between sunset and sunrise unless there are
very special reasons for doing
so. Even then,special permission must be given in
writing by a magistrate after the
magistrate is satisfied that there are reasons for
allowing this. A woman police
officer has to be present with the police making the
arrest. The woman has to kept in
a separate lock-up in the police station and any
examination, body search, etc.
has to be done by a woman officer or doctor. It is in
the best interests of the police
officers themselves to make sure that all procedures
relating to women are carefully
followed and records are meticulously kept. The
law says that if a woman in
custody complains of rape, it will be accepted unless
the police officer can show that
it did not happen.
87. What about
children? Is there some special procedure for them?
Under the general law, children
under 7 years cannot be accused of a crime, so
naturally they can not be taken
into police custody. However, the procedure for
questioning, apprehension,
custody, release, bail, of children up to the age of 18 is
governed by the Juvenile Justice
[Care and Protection of children] Act, 2002.
Each police station must have a
juvenile police unit with specially trained officers.
They are responsible for the care
and well-being of the child who must not be kept
in the lock-up at all. Instead,
the child must immediately be handed back to the
parents on bail and their
assurances. If the parents are not available, or it is felt that
the child is at risk of falling
into bad company, then the child must be sent to the
local observations home till he /
she is brought before the juvenile court. The main
principle that governs the
treatment of a child in conflict with the law is that all
processes must have a
child-friendly approach "in the best interest of the child for
their ultimate
rehabilitation".
88. If the
police arrest me, can they keep me for as long as they like?
Absolutely not. The longest time
anyone can be kept in custody in a police station
is for 24 hours. That is the
maximum. The police must produce anyone in their
custody before the magistrate
with all the necessary papers that justify the arrest
before the 24 hours are up and
not later than that.
89. How then,
are people arrested on Friday evening and kept in custody until
the following
Monday?
The excuse for continuing with
this illegal practice is for the police to say that
there is no magistrate available
over the weekend. But in reality there is always a
magistrate on duty available 24 x
7. A person in custody whose 24 hour time limit
is ending after regular court
hours can always be produced before the magistrate at
his home. The magistrate can not
be refuse to see the suspect.
90. How will
anyone know where I am?
The law has plenty of safeguards
against you getting lost in the system. As soon as
the police have arrested you they
have to do several things. They must prepare
what is called a "memo of
arrest" and send that to the local magistrate. They must
make sure you know you can
immediately get a lawyer - your own or from the
legal aid system. They must
inform a family member or friend of your choosing
about where you are. All these
things have been fixed by law to reduce the chances
of abuse of power by the police.
If the police do not follow these rules they will
have to answer to the courts.
91. What use is
a "memo of arrest" to me?
It is a safeguard against illegal
detention. The memo of arrest must have your
name, time, date and place of
arrest, reasons for the arrest and what the suspected
offence is. It has to be signed
by the police, two witnesses and you to make sure
that the record gives a truthful
account of the facts. It is given to the magistrate and
when the magistrate meets you for
the first time he will double-check if what has
been said is correct. The police
also have to make up an "inspection memo".
92. What is an
inspection memo?
It is a short description of your
physical condition when you were taken into
custody. It is expected to record
your general physical condition and note major
and minor injuries. Again, it has
to be signed by you and the arresting officer and a
copy is given to you. But the
difference between this memo and the memo of arrest
is that you have to request for
it.
Otherwise it need not be done.
This procedure is meant to ensure that there is no
beating or torture in custody.
But it is not clear who has to examine you. If the
arresting officer himself is
examining you there is little protection that a piece of
paper can give. However, since an
approved doctor's certificate has also to be
given to the magistrate with all
the other papers at the first appearance, a doctor
must examine you and make a
statement about your physical condition before you
are first produced before a
magistrate.
93. How am I
supposed to know all this?
By law, at the time of arrest the
police are supposed to inform you of all your
rights. In addition, the
guidelines mentioned above, which are sometimes called the
D.K. Basu guidelines after the
Supreme Court case that shaped them, have to be
displayed on boards in all police
stations and chowkis.
94. Can the
police officer beat me in custody?
No. He cannot beat you, slap you,
threaten or intimidate you in custody. It is
against the law and the police
officer can be punished for it.
95. Can the
police officer force me to make a confession?
No. The police officer has aright
to question you but he cannot force you to say
anything you have no information
about, anything you do not want to say, or
confess to some crime that you
have not committed. A confession made to a police
officer will not in any case be
admissible in court.
96. Can the
police do their jobs of arresting the guilty with so many
restrictions?
First of all it is not the job of
the police to decide who is guilty or who is not. The
police are only to apprehend or
catch suspects and accused people. But they cannot
behave as if the person is
already guilty and they have the right to punish them.
That is a job for the courts.
Meanwhile, people in custody must be given every
protection from false accusations
and mistreatment. That is why the "restrictions"
are there. Actually they are not
restrictions at all, but just procedures designed to
make sure that everyone has a
fair chance before the courts.
97. But aren't
there too many rights for the accused person? What about the
victims?
A lot of people think that no one
is looking after the victim. But actually the whole
might of the state is behind the
victim. It is on behalf of victims that the state goes
about looking for the criminal.
It is on behalf of the victims that the state appoints a
prosecutor to argue before the
court. It is on behalf of the victim that the state
punishes the guilty. But the
accused stands alone. He may not be guilty at all. So to
balance the power of the state
against one individual who has to defend himself,
the law has created safeguards
and given facilities like free legal aid to those who
cannot afford it.
98. Can I get bail
from the police?
It depends. If you have been
arrested for a bailable offence then you can get bail
from the police. But if you are
arrested for a non-bailable offence then the police
cannot release you on bail.
99. Is it
important to know what is a "bailable" and "non-bailable"
offence?
Yes. Bailable offences are less
serious offences in which bail is a right. In such
cases you must get bail
immediately from the police. Non-bailable offences are
serious offences where bail is a
privilege and only the courts can grant it.
100. Will I
never get bail if I am accused of a non-bailable offence?
No, not necessarily. You can get
bail even for non-bailable offences. You have to
make an application for bail
before the court. The court will look at the seriousness
of the offence, whether you will
run away if released on bail, whether you will
threaten witnesses or tamper with
the evidence. If the court feels that you will not
do any of the above then it will
grant you bail.
101. Does that
mean I am now free?
No. You will still have to face
the trial during which time the court will decide
whether you are guilty or innocent.
