Debating the idea of Federal Police Agency
*Saumitra Mohan

The perceived failure of our police machinery to deal with various cases of law and order satisfactorily has often led to demands for CBI inquiry in those cases. This, inter alia, points to the lack of popular confidence in our police and frequent calls to CBI for causing inquiries in matters as may strictly relate to matters in the state domain. This has not only dented the morale of the provincial police, but has also resulted in the central agency being overly burdened to do justice to its original briefs.

It is in this light that there has been mooted a proposal for a Federal Police Agency (FPA) to deal with such issues in state domain which go beyond the normal law and order or which require more specialised attention and investigation. The same shall also have positive pay-offs for our internal security.

The blame game between the Centre and many state governments as seen recently in the wake of critical law and order failures or terrorist bomb blasts is also supposed to be laid to rest by institution of such an agency. After the recent serial bomb blasts in Uttar Pradesh, while the Centre said that law and order being a state subject, it is the responsibility of the state government to be more vigilant, the state government blamed the centre for having not provided it with adequate intelligence inputs to this effect.

However, the Central Administrative Reforms Committee headed by Veerappa Moily has also recommended such an independent Crime Investigation Agency. The performance of this agency is proposed to be monitored by a ‘high powered collegium’ comprising the Chief Minister, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice of the High Court and Leader of the Opposition.

The committee, inter alia, suggested a State Police Performance and Accountability Commission with the Chief Minister as the head, but also with many members from the civil society to review and evaluate the police performance. The Citizens’ Committee has also recommended specific measures for proper supervision of the police force.

The idea of a Federal Police Agency has been on board for a long time and now the Government of India is also learnt to be toying with such an idea. But before we go about this, there are many issues which need to be discussed and sorted out.

When we go about setting up such an agency, we should see to it that the jurisdictions of the state police and that of agencies like CBI and FPA remain clearly demarcated to avoid any duplication or overlapping of functions and duties, as far as possible. It needs to be ensured that inquiries and investigations as entrusted to these agencies become more automatic and systematic than be reactive entrustments to pre-empt any negative reflection on performance of the local police.

It has been noticed in recent past that the state governments or high courts have entrusted enquiries in high profile cases only after there has been a popular outcry demanding the same. The same was seen in Nandigram and Rizwanur Rahman cases where ongoing state police inquiries were discontinued or nixed in favour of inquiries by the central agency. Such an approach often has dampening impact on police morale.
We should also ensure that even while create such a central agency, we should not ignore and forget that there is no substitute to an efficient and effective police force as that still remains the most primary level where the State-citizens interface usually takes place. Hence, the provincial police needs to be spruced up further rather than marginalising it by whittling down its authority or overshadowing it by creation of parallel authorities.

Ergo, increased attention should continue to be paid to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state police to restore the popular confidence therein. The state police needs to be made more professional and effective than it has been found to be so far. And to ensure this, the police must be allowed to function more independently and autonomously than it has been able to.

It is realising this that the Dharamvira Commission recommended complete police autonomy long back in the 1970s, but till date no serious thought has been given to this recommendation for the simple reason that it suits the interests of our political class. The cosmetic changes effected in police organisation recently consequent to the Supreme Court judgement have not made any substantive and qualitative difference to their service delivery. Proposal of the FPA also points to the dilettantism which informs the police reforms.

It remains a fact that since law and order is a state subject, frequent calls to CBI also results in erosion of the state authority and, thereby, of our federal structure. Even though our founding fathers never meant India to be a true federation as is obvious in the Constitutional appellation ‘Union of States’, centralisation of powers beyond a point is not advisable notwithstanding the centralising tendencies seen in federal countries across the world.

After all, Nandigram has brought to the fore a sinister side of the reality which needs to be addressed urgently for the better management of law and order situation with serious implications for our internal security. Most importantly, we need to realise that we can allow the institution of police to languish only at the peril of our system.

So, even while we go about creating FPA, it should be ensured that police functions remain unencumbered by interference from any quarters including insidious influence by the politicians and political parties. The police force not only needs to be made more professional, but it also needs be better trained and better motivated to deal with various demands and challenges of policing in an anomic society.