V. Detailed Recommendations

The national government elected in May 2009 has committed to initiating new police reforms. The Indian government at the highest levels should work with state governments, the police, civil society organizations, and the general public to bring about the needed change.

Two-track reform is called for. First, renewed commitment by national and state officials to discipline or prosecute as appropriate police officers who commit human rights violations is essential, with benchmarks to measure progress in implementing the commitment. Consistent and determined prosecution of serious offenders regardless of rank is critical to ending abuse. It sends a strong signal to the police and public that human rights violations are unacceptable and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This chapter includes a series of concrete recommendations on ending impunity.

Second, and in the long-run, a sustainable drop in police abuses in India requires an overhaul of police laws and regulations, and institutional structures and practices that facilitate the abuses. While human rights violations are never justifiable, improvements in these areas are also critical to building professional, rights-respecting police forces.

The following recommendations are drawn from multiple sources, including Human Rights Watch’s research findings, reports by bodies of the Indian government including the Law Commission and the National Police Commission, Indian court decisions, studies by former and current Indian Police Service officers, and reports by Indian NGOs.

To the Union Home Ministry, Union Territory Police, State Home Ministries, and State Police

Reduce human rights violations

1. Ensure registration of First Information Reports

1. The Director General of Police should issue clear, consistent, and unambiguous directives to division and district supervising officers to ensure, consistent with the Criminal Procedure Code, that an FIR be registered in every case in which police receive information that on its face suggests the commission of certain criminal offenses. Change police manuals to make failure to register an FIR a ground for disciplinary action and repeal or revise provisions that create unnecessary ambiguity, such as the directive that police not register FIRs for “vague rumors.”
2. To reduce the pressure on police to “show” reductions in the crime rate through nonregistration of FIRs, institute household crime surveys such as the International Crime Victim Survey.
3. Strictly enforce the requirement that a completed FIR be read to the complainant and that a copy of it be given free of charge. Consider amending the Criminal Procedure Code to require police to record complainant statements that dispute the accuracy of the FIR registered on their behalf.
4. Establish that complaints made by phone are a proper basis for the recording of an FIR. In cities and surrounding areas, consider establishing a central call center to record complaints, assign and dispatch police and monitor police response.
5. Increase the availability of police to register FIRs by deputizing sub-inspectors and head constables to do so under section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
6. To reduce delays and malfeasance, require police to register an FIR for any complaint, regardless of jurisdiction, before transferring a case to the appropriate police station.
7. Abolish requirements that head constables in charge of police outposts forward crime complaints to the nearest police station, rather than registering an FIR.
8. Monitor registration of FIRs through a program of “decoy visits,” with surveyors posing as complainants attempting to register an FIR.
9. Require that when investigating officers exercise discretion to abstain from investigating a case under section 157(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code, they record their reasons for doing so and provide a report to complainants. Make clear that such discretion does not authorize police to refrain from registering an FIR. Consider revising police rules and manuals to set explicit guidelines for the exercise of discretion to abstain from investigation, particularly with regard to petty theft cases and those involving what police may mistakenly regard as a “private” or “civil” dispute.

2.Investigate complaints of gender-based crimes

1. Clearly and unequivocally signal, through statements and measures by state officials and the highest-ranking police, that all police, including those at Crimes Against Women Cells and other special departments, must inform women who are victims of domestic violence and other crimes of their right to have an FIR registered under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and, if a woman requests, must do so without delay.
2. Follow the example of the Andhra Pradesh police in establishing procedures in accordance with the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act including informing complainants of their rights to: make an application for relief including shelter, medical care, and custody orders; access service providers and Protection Officers; obtain free legal services; and have a complaint filed under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. Train police regarding these statutory duties and their legal obligations to register an FIR for breach of a protection order and assist in the implementation of such orders.
3. Increase the number of women police officers, their promotion opportunities, and the number of women’s police stations to ensure appropriate personnel are available to escort victims of gender-based violence, record their claims and interview them for the purpose of crime investigation.
4. Establish clear and explicit guidelines for police intervention in cases of domestic and sexual violence, including standardized arrest policies for perpetrators, the separate categorization of domestic violence in police records, protocols for referring victims of domestic and sexual violence to social, legal and health services, and procedures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals reporting gender-based violence.
5. Establish mandatory training for investigating officers regarding gender-based crimes. Training should include investigative methods applicable to sexual and domestic violence, including working with traumatized victims, protecting victims from harassment, and collecting and preserving evidence.

3.Enforce existing law regarding arrest and detention and establish further safeguards

1. Clearly and unequivocally signal, through statements and measures by state officials and the highest-ranking police, that the use of torture or other mistreatment in police custody is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. All officers should understand that force may only be used when strictly necessary for the maintenance of security and order, or when personal safety is threatened. Denounce use of threats of false arrest and “encounters” in interrogations as unlawful. Explicitly define acceptable interrogation techniques in police rules and manuals.
2. Ensure that police officers implicated in torture and other ill-treatment, regardless of rank, are disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate.
3. Strictly enforce guidelines on arrest and detention in the D.K. Basu and the Criminal Procedure Code. In training and practice, emphasize the requirement that police record all arrests and detentions, produce suspects before a magistrate within 24 hours and provide medical examinations of suspects in police custody.
4. Consider requiring police, upon arrest or any informal detention of a suspect, to recite the suspect’s rights under the Supreme Court’s D.K. Basu decision and the Criminal Procedure Code. The Basu recitation should include a clear statement of the charge and the suspect’s rights to consult with an attorney, inform others of detention, and to medical examination.
5. Allow independent monitoring of detention facilities including station lockups and jails by human rights commissions and civil society groups. Detainees should be permitted to meet privately with representatives of independent organizations conducting monitoring.
6. Consider requiring police in cities to videotape interrogations, particularly in murder and other serious crimes, to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment.
7. Work with civil society groups to train police on proper conduct toward women, sexual minorities and children in custody.
8. Strictly enforce the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, in particular the requirement that an apprehended child be placed immediately under the charge of a special juvenile police unit or a designated police officer, and that the child must be produced before a Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours of apprehension.
9. Amend police laws and manuals regarding use of force in arrest to reflect international legal standards, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. In particular, require that police apply, as far as possible, nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force, use force only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life.

4.Implement procedures for custodial death and encounter killings

1. Adopt the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s requirement that an FIR be registered in every case of death allegedly from an encounter killing.
2. Codify the NHRC’s revised guidelines regarding encounter deaths in police rules and manuals, implement the prescribed procedures and train police accordingly. In particular, immediately notify the NHRC and SHRC of any custodial death or “encounter killing.” Without exception, send the deceased’s body for post-mortem examination. Provide a written copy of the post-mortem examination to the deceased’s family within 24 hours of the examination.
3. Amend police rules and manuals to reflect the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions

End Impunity for Police Abuse and Misconduct

5.Establish police complaints authorities (PCAs) at the state and district level as mandated by the Supreme Court

1. Ensure PCAs have the necessary capacity to effectively manage their caseloads. If a PCA sustains a complaint against an officer and the officer is not internally disciplined, police should publicly provide a detailed justification. Sustained complaints should automatically be forwarded to a local prosecutor for review.
2. Provide complainants with clear instructions, simple forms, and a telephone contact to check on the status of the investigation. Consider creating an anonymous complaints line for victims and other police to report police misconduct and abuses.
3. Establish a unit at the state level to address the legal, social, medical and psychological needs of victims of police abuse and killings during the investigative process.

6.Support external accountability mechanisms

1. Establish that under no circumstances should investigations ordered by external agencies such as state human rights commissions be referred to police from the same police station implicated in the complaint.
2. End the practice of transferring police alleged to have committed abuses; the practice only endangers other residents. Establish that when a police officer is identified in any FIR regarding conduct which occurred in the course of his duties, the officer should be assigned desk duty or suspended with pay, depending on the charge, until the incident is investigated and resolved.

7.Establish robust internal accountability mechanisms

1. Establish an independent internal affairs or “professional responsibility” unit at the state level to promptly and impartially investigate, within a one-year mandatory time limit, all cases of custodial torture and death, and all police shootings that result in death. Internal investigations should be triggered by allegations made to external government agencies such as the NHRC.
2. Monitor compliance with the D.K. Basu guidelines and similar provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code. Authorize an independent internal affairs or “professional responsibility” unit at the state level to conduct random checks on police lock-ups and respond to allegations of ongoing or recurrent violations of the D.K. Basu guidelines by police.

8.Establish responsibility of supervising police

1. Issue directives to police at the rank of superintendent advising that they are responsible for identifying, preventing, and punishing abuses committed by officers under their supervision, and monitoring officers’ compliance with the D.K. Basu guidelines.
2. Discipline or prosecute as appropriate superior officers who knew or should have known of acts of torture and killings, and failed to prevent and punish them.

9.Bolster internal discipline

1. Establish a detailed scheme defining police misconduct and prescribing penalties, such as a disciplinary matrix or table describing the range of penalties officers should expect for various offenses, and remove broad discretion in applying discipline. Regularly issue public reports regarding ongoing disciplinary proceedings or investigations.
2. b)Establish a policy that under no circumstances should any review agency or officer attempt to dissuade or intimidate a complainant, with disciplinary consequences for those who do so.

10. Reduce inappropriate influences on police behavior

1. End the practice of providing money rewards and out-of-turn promotions for “special merit” services. Do not permit police to accept money rewards from private persons or corporate bodies.
2. b)Strictly enforce the Supreme Court’s requirements in Prakash Singh regarding fixed tenure for police officers and the establishment of a board to monitor recruitment, appointment and transfer of police. Make information on all transfers and postings available to the public.

Build a Professional, Rights-Respecting Police

11.    Increase investigation resources and training

1. Increase the number of investigating officer (sub-inspector) positions, as recommended by the 2000 Padmanabhaiah Committee on Police Reforms. Implement the Supreme Court’s directive in Prakash Singh to separate investigation and law order functions of policing by assigning a significant proportion of trained officers exclusively to investigation duties.
2. Implement an investigating officer curriculum at police academies. Take steps to attract instructors qualified to teach forensic science.
3. Instruct recruits and current investigating officers on the importance of physical evidence, how it is to be found, collected, preserved and delivered to a forensic laboratory. Considering current delays in forensic lab processing, teach investigating officers at-the-scene forensic techniques including elementary ballistic matching and trajectory identification, photography, and examination of physical evidence such as fibers, footprints and debris.
4. Train investigating officers on modern, non-coercive techniques for suspect and witness interviewing and questioning.
5. Ensure every investigating officer has access to basic forensic equipment such as LED flashlights, tape and envelopes to secure evidence, digital cameras and fingerprinting kits.
6. Provide sufficient resources to state and regional forensic labs, including mobile forensic labs, to permit them to return evidence evaluation reports to police within a reasonable period.
7. Increase the number of vehicles assigned to police stations, with the goal of ensuring the availability of at least one vehicle on a regular basis.

12. Address the acute shortage of police personnel

1. In major cities and surrounding areas, mandate frequent revision of “sanctioned strength,” that is, necessary positions, by evaluating changes in population and crime rates. Develop a long-term plan to reduce the proportion of vacancies, particularly at the rank of sub-inspector and below.
2. Establish requirements for the use of police as VIP escorts. Assess security needs of applicants for VIP escort and set a danger or threat baseline for deployment of police. End the practice of deploying officers above the rank of sub-inspector as “ceremonial” VIP escorts.
3. End the practice of using constables as orderlies and personal servants. Increase use of civilian staff for menial and unskilled positions, including clerical work.

13. Substantially improve the training and enhance the role of constables

1. Revise constables’ police academy curriculum by increasing instruction regarding the law and police’s legal duties. Training should include an introduction to forensic science to ensure they can assist investigating officers in the collection and preservation of physical evidence.
2. Train and authorize designated constables to perform substantial investigation work. To ensure only trained officers are given such responsibility, consider creating a “detective” designation for those who complete relevant training and pass a detective exam.
3. Train head constables and constables as “first responders”: to render emergency aid, secure crime scenes, and identify potential witnesses.

14. Reduce demoralization and exhaustion of lower-ranking police by substantially improving working and living conditions

1. Create incentives for better policing through increased opportunities for promotion for junior- and low-ranking police. Consider increasing the number of available positions at the rank of inspector, sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector and head constable. Ensure that all police at the head constable and constable levels have the opportunity for promotion through annual exams. Promote successful exam-takers as soon as possible.
2. As recommended by the Law Commission of India and National Police Commission, reduce direct recruitment of police to two levels—IPS and non-IPS officers—to increase the potential for promotions, improve motivation across ranks, and reduce corruption in recruitment to officer positions.
3. Require that station house officers announce and post a monthly work schedule that includes shifts and duty rotation, planned recreation and rest time, and planned leave. Mandate a weekly day off for all police at and below the rank of sub-inspector.
4. End the unofficial practice of requiring police to use personal vehicles and mobile phones for police work or provide an allowance for such use.
5. Ensure housing allowances reflect the local housing market. Establish standards for police housing such ratio of beds to assigned police. Increase the availability of “quarters” housing so that more low-ranking police can reside with their families.

To the Indian Police Service

• As the senior-most officers of the Indian police, send strong, consistent, and unambiguous signals to the public and subordinate police that arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, and extrajudicial killings are illegal and impermissible police tactics.
• Initiate and lead a campaign to professionalize the Indian police as a whole by, for example, introducing stringent recruitment standards for lower-ranking police, technical training, and increased development of specialized units.
• Take the lead in developing strategies that put the Indian police force in step with changes in policing elsewhere in the world, with, for example, a focus on bringing services to the community and replacing the colonial model of station-based policing. Engage in, and urge the government to adopt, long-term planning to integrate computer technology in police work.
• Embrace crime prevention and community partnerships as critical to effective police work. Take the lead in envisioning structural changes, such as lengthening posting periods for station house officers and assistant superintendent of police, to improve police knowledge of the community, facilitating better community cooperation and more efficient crime investigation.
• Give priority to the development of an extensive forensic science curriculum in the National Police Academy.

To the Indian Parliament

• Amend or replace the Police Act of 1861 with legislation conforming to the requirements of the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh. Peg police modernization grants to states to their compliance with the Prakash Singh monitoring committee’s directions.
• Amend the Criminal Procedure Code with regard to FIR registration. To ensure prompt police aid to crime victims, amend Section 154 to explicitly state that a police station must register an FIR regardless of jurisdiction. Also amend it to permit low-ranking police to record an FIR, in consideration of the police personnel shortage. Adopt the 2005 Police Act Drafting Committee’s recommendation to make failure to register an FIR a criminal offense.
• Ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Specifically define torture and enforced disappearances as criminal offenses in the Indian Penal Code.
• Amend the Evidence Act to make inadmissible any evidence obtained on the basis of a police interrogation that involved the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or other illegal coercion.
• Improve police practices regarding violence against women by amending section 498A of the Indian Penal Code to specifically define domestic violence as an offense. Amend section 375 of the Code to include marital rape in the definition of rape.
• Reduce abuse of provisions of the (Prevention of Atrocities) Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Act by amending it to clarify that failure to comply with investigative procedure requirements is not grounds for dismissing a case.
• Reduce police extortion of and violence against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community by repealing section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, or amending it to decriminalize adult and consensual homosexual conduct.
• Replace Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires government sanction for the prosecution of police for criminal acts including arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. In the event that Section 197 is not replaced, define “official duty” to exclude unconstitutional conduct such as arbitrary detention, custodial torture and ill-treatment, and extrajudicial killings.
• Amend Section 36 of the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006 to permit the NHRC to inquire into violations pending before other commissions or which occur more than one year before the date of the complaint in consideration of the limited access victims may have to counsel and limited awareness of rights under the Act. Empower the NHRC to issue binding orders, rather than non-binding recommendations to the state governments and police.

To the National Human Rights Commission

• Make public annual reports produced since 2005. Make future reports public no more than two years after their production.
• Do not transfer cases filed with the NHRC to SHRCs unless given express consent to do so by complainants, whose complaints may receive a more fair hearing by the NHRC.
• End the practice of closing investigations upon ordering interim compensation to victims of rights violations.
• Address the legal, social, medical and psychological needs of victims of police violence and their families while investigation is ongoing.
• Monitor the implementation of guidelines on custodial torture and encounter deaths.
• Consider establishing field offices or placing NHRC staff at or near SHRC offices to make the NHRC more accessible to affected communities.

To State Human Rights Commissions

• Create a unit devoted to oversight of the police that is authorized to respond to complaints of ongoing violations by visiting police stations.
• Annually make public information on number of received and pending complaints, and steps taken in response, in addition to annual reports.
• To facilitate independent investigations into alleged violations, increase the number of investigative staff.
• Provide to complainants a copy of police response to complaints and give complainants opportunity to respond.
• Train staff that performs complaints intake in domestic law and human rights legal standards.

To Concerned Foreign Governments and Donors

• Raise whenever appropriate with the Indian government, and at the highest level, concerns over police human rights violations. Call on the Indian government to ensure that police treatment of all individuals conforms to international human rights standards.
• Offer to include specialized police training alongside existing programs for counterterrorism training and assistance.
• Provide increased support for Indian civil society organizations engaged in effective human rights monitoring and delivery of direct assistance to victims of police abuse.