CHAPTER XVIII
SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Welfare measures for police families
18.1 Among the many deficiencies that got exposed in the situation following the recent agitation by policemen in some States, one relates to the inadequacy of welfare measures for police families.
(Para 13.1)
18.2 Governments have tended to accord low priority to the funding of police welfare measures. Police leadership docs not appear to have realised its responsibility to take the initiative and organise such measures with a total and complete involvement of the personnel in maintaining them. The rank and file themselves have tended to view these measures as a responsibility of the Government and have been disinclined to perform their own contributory role in rob measure.
(Para 13.2)
18.3 The Ashwini Kumar Committee has given a report recommending several welfare measures to cover housing, education, medical care, recreational facilities, financial aid and special retirement benefits in distress situations arising from death or physical disability caused by service conditions, etc. Extracts from Ashwini Kumar Committee's Report are furnished in Appendix We broadly agree with these recommendations and would advise their adoption in planning police welfare measures in the States. (Para 13.4)
18.4 One category of welfare measures would cover such items like pension/family pension/gratuity, medical facilities, housing, etc. which should be deemed as a part of conditions of service of police personnel and, therefore, should be funded fully and adequately by the Government. Another category would cover
such measures like welfare centres to provide work for police families and help in augmenting their income, financial aid and encouragement for pursuing higher studies by police children who show special merit, financial relief in distress situations not provided for under regular rules, etc. For organising welfare measures of the second category, an adequate welfare fund should be built up initially by contributions from the police personnel themselves, supplemented by ad hoc grants from the Government and sustained by recurring contributions and grants. In organising such measures and building up the necessary fund, a lot will depend on the initiative and interest taken by the personnel themselves and the continuous lead, guidance
and support given by supervisory officers. The officer cadre of the force should realise their special responsibility, this regard and act accordingly.
(Para 13.5)
18.5 The work done by an officer in organising welfare measures for the personnel under his command should be specifically commented on in his annual confidential report.
(Para 13.5)
18.6 Wives of officers can play a significant role in bringing together the families of police personnel and encouraging their collective involvement in welfare work of different kinds.
(Para 13.5)
18.7 A brief assessment of the existing welfare measures for the police personnel in different States is furnished in Appendix III. It indicates under different headings the most advantageous and beneficial arrangement that a few States have found it possible to introduce in regard to their own police personnel. The remaining States may immediately examine the feasibility of introducing similar arrangements for their policemen also.
(Para 13.6)
18.8 Government should take special care of the family of a policeman who happens to die or get disabled in circumstances arising from the risks of his office. In the case of a policeman who dies in such circumstances we would recommend financial aid to the family on the following lines :—
(i) Gratuity equivalent to 8 months' pay last drawn by the deceased ;
(ii) Monthly pension to the family equal to the last pay drawn by the deceased till the date on which the deceased would have normally reached the age of superannuation, and thereafter a monthly pension equal to the amount of pension to which the deceased would have been entitled if he had continued in service till the date of his superannuation and 
( Ex-gratia grant of Rs. 10.000 as immediate financial assistance.
(Para 13.7)

18.9 Arrangements for line visits by a Government doctor should be made by authorising a small monthly allowance to the doctor from Government funds, if need be, depending on the frequency of calls and the distances involved.
(Para 13.8)
18.10 Medical treatment in all police hospitals should also be extended to retired police personnel and their families.
(Para 13.9)
18.11 We endorse the following important recommendations of various State Police Commissions in regard to the educational facilities for policemen's children :
(1) There should be free education upto high school standard ;
(2) The children of policemen should get a grant of Rs. 50 p.a. per child in lump sum for purchase of books;
(3) There should be no fees charged in Government or Government aided schools 
(4) Scholarships should be provided for vocational education;
(5) There should be hostel accommodation for the children of policemen at every divisional headquarters; and
(6) Special scholarships should be given on grounds of exceptional merit for university education.
(Para 13.11)
18.12 The .first requisite of any arrangement for this purpose would be the creation of a separate police education fund in each State, made up of contributions from the police personnel themselves and supplemented and assisted by ad hoc/recurring grants from the State Government. The fund should be built up with the ultimate object of establishing at least one police school in each district headquarters which could take in police children for education upto the 12th standard. Hostel accommodation for children of police personnel located outside the district headquarters should also be planned Admission to such schools should be governed by suitable tests to recognise merit and facilitate the development of bright young police children. In the curriculum of these schools, there should be special emphasis on discipline and a healthy
combination of rigorous outdoor exercises with intensive academic pursuits. Management of all such police schools in a State may be supervised by the Head of the training wing of the Police Department and overseen by a Police School Board whose chairman could be the Head of the Department of Education in the state and the Member Secretary could be the Head of the training wing in the police. A couple of eminent educationists could also be nominated to the Board. The pay and allowances of the police personal on the staff in the school could be borne by the Police Department. The deputation allowance and Other incentives provided to the other teaching staff drawn on deputation from the other Government schools may also be borne by the Police Department. The rest of the expenditure may be borne by the education Department. Police children who do exceptionally well in these schools may be encouraged with scholarship from 'police welfare fund' to pursue higher collegiate studies.
(Para 13.13)
18.13 Every effort should be made to finalise pension papers in good time so that every policeman receives his full pension order along with the gratuity amount and other dues on the very day of retirement itself;
We were told in one metropolitan city about the initiative shown by the Commissioner of Police in arranging for farewell parades for all policemen who retired every month and seeing them off in a solemn ceremony with the full payment of their dues and pension order. We commend this initiative to all police units.
(Para 13.14)
18.14 Inadequate leave reserve is one of the reasons behind the organisation's inability to sanction and rotate leave promptly among the operating personnel. This deficiency in the strength of police personnel should be looked into and made good.
(Para 13.15)
18.15 Different types of 'group insurance schemes' are now available for all categories of employees in Government. Details of two special schemes which appear to be specially attractive and have been adopted in two States are furnished in the note in Appendix We recommend their adoption in other States as well. (Para 13.16)
18.16 Regarding the sources and mechanism for the initial building up of police welfare fund and its sustained .maintenance, the Ashwini Kumar Committee has made specific recommendations with which we agree. The broad principle which may guide the working arrangements in this matter should be that 60% of the requirements of the fund comes from contributions from the police personnel themselves, 20% is made up from Government grants and the balance 20% is covered by the interest generated by the initial lump sum grants -which may be kept in fixed deposits or invested Otherwise.
(Para 13.17)
18.17 Management of the welfare fund should be by a committee constituted by the police staff council. (Para 13.18)
18.18 The audit of the welfare fund at the battalion/district level should be made the responsibility of a sub-committee of the battalion/district staff council which would be representative in character and adequately reflect the interests of the rank and file. It will be open to this sub-committee to take the assistance of a qualified professional accountant or auditor to get this job done.
(Para 13.19)
18.19 Wages for work done by police families at welfare centres in stitching police uniform or for other similar occupation should be determined by a local committee in which the Government secretariat and the police management could both be involved to take a realistic view of all the relevant factors. ( 13.20)
18.20 Retired police personnel and educated girls in police families may be given first preference for employment to manage and run police canteens and stores.
(Para 13.21)
18.21 A recurring deposit scheme as organised in the Border Security Force for augmenting the pension/gratuity assistance for the police personnel at the time of their retirement may be adopted by all police units.
(Para 13.22)
18.22 Every State police must have a whole-time police welfare officer at the State Headquarters who, by his initiative and interest, should organise welfare measures on a sound basis in every district/battalion and, what is more, ensure satisfactory delivery of welfare services on the ground. We leave it to the
State Governments to decide the rank of this officer at State Headquarters, while observing that it is not the mere rank but the initiative and genuine interest shown by the officer and the example set by him that would count more in this matter.
(Para 13.24)
18.23 Resettlement of ex-policemen who retire in the normal course will need assistance and advice to keep themselves occupied and settled in reasonable comfort. There is considerable scope for rendering assistance in the matter of securing allotment of land for cultivation, or facilities for productive self-employment from various developmental agencies under the Government or otherwise. The State Police Welfare Officer should deem it a part of his responsibility to lender this help on a systematic basis for retired police personnel.
(Para 13.25)
Role, duties, powers and responsibilities
18.24 Police, prosecutors, advocates, judges, functionaries in the correctional services and jails form the different distinct organised wings of the criminal justice system. The role, duties, powers and responsibilities of the police with special reference to prevention and control of crime cannot be defined in isolation in absolute terms, but has to be fitted into
the overall requirements for the success of the criminal justice system as a whole.
(Para 14.1)
18.25 The classification of offences and limitations of police response to complaints thereof, as spelt out in the existing laws, do not conform to the understanding and expectations of the common people who, when the become victims' of a crime or are otherwise subjected to a distress situation, naturally turn to the police for help. Police become a much misunderstood force when their action gets limited by law contrary to the natural expectations of the people. There is, therefore, immediate need to examine the procedural laws and allied regulations for modifying them to enable police response to conform to. public expectations, consistent with the resources potential of the police.
(Para 14.2)
18.26 The rules which govern the present accusatorial system of criminal trials make various demands from and place various restrictions on the prosecution so that the defendant gets all the help he can to defend himself. At the end of the trial the prosecution must prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, get its benefit to secure his acquittal. The severe limitations placed on the admissibility of evidence from the prosecution side and the norms for determining the value of (be admitted evidence make it difficult for the police as the investigating agency to catty forward all the material uncovered during their investigation to the final point of success in getting the offender convicted under the law.
(Para 14.5)
18.27 We are convinced of the need for effective interaction between the police and the prosecuting agency at the stage of court trial for proper marshalling and presentation of all the evidence uncovered
during investigation. Facilities for such interaction should be provided without in any manner affecting the professional independence of the prosecuting agency. The need of such interaction should also be suitably recognised in law instead of being left as a mere administrative arrangement.
(Para 14.6)
18.28 The rituals of court trials under the existing law and the general attitude shown by the legal counsel tend to delay the proceedings in court Apart from the delays at the stage of investigation which are attributable to deficiencies in police, the further delay at the stage of trial results in considerable harassment to the victims of a crime while at the same time the effect of deterrence of quick conclusion of proceedings in court is lost on the offender himself. Pendency of criminal cases undertrial in courts has gone up enormously in the recent years and the system itself will soon get clogged up beyond repair if the existing law is allowed to operate without any modification.
(Para 14.7)
18.29 There is urgent need for a comprehensive reform in the procedural laws relating to investigation and trial in our system.
(Para 14.8)
18.30 Though well-conceived and based ob progressive concepts, the institutions and services contemplated under the Probation of Offenders Act, the Children Act, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act and similar enactments in the category of social legislation suffer in practice because of a totally inadequate infra-structure.
(Para 14.9)
18.31 Our jails are terribly overcrowded. The population of undertrial prisoners in relation to convicts has rapidly increased. The huddling together of a large number of undertrials with convicted prisoners and the mixing together of old and hardened criminals with young first offenders tend to promote in the minds of all inmates feelings of criminality instead of remorse and regret for their previous conduct and a desire to reform.
(Para 14.13)
18.32 Apart from the over-crowding in jails, the general manner in which the rituals of the daily life inside the jails are rigidly administered and enforced tends to dehumanise the prisoner who is cowed down by the oppressive atmosphere around with all its brutalities, stench, degradation and insult. Instead of functioning as a reformatory house to rehabilitate the criminal to reform him and make him see the error of his ways and return a better and nobler man, the ethos inside our jails to-day is tragically set in the opposite direction, making it practically difficult for any reformatory process to operate meaningfully.
(Para 14.13)
18.33 The deficiency in the functioning of their correctional services has meant the weakening of their corrective influence on the behaviour and conduct of all the delinquents who pass through the system. Police, who appear in the first part of the system to investigate crimes and identify the offenders involved, have again to contend with the likely continued criminal behaviour of the same offenders, without the expected aid and assistance from the other agencies of the system to contain their criminality We are, therefore, of the opinion that in whatever way we may define the role, duties and responsibilities of the police, they cannot achieve ultimate success in their role performance unless all the wings of the criminal justice system operate with simultaneous efficiency. This would require our having some kind of body which will have the necessary authority and facilities to maintain a constant and comprehensive look at the entire system, monitor its performance and apply the necessary correctives from time to time, having in view the overall objective of the system. In view of the primacy of law in the entire system, our first thoughts in this matter go to the Law Commission. We feel it would be advantageous to enlarge the concept of the Law Commission and make it function to a Criminal Justice Commission on a statutory basis to perform this overseeing role on a continuing basis. for this purpose it would be desirable for appropriate functionaries from the police and correctional services to be actively associated with the deliberations of the new Commission. This arrangement at the Center should be supported by a similar arrangement at the State level in which a high powered body under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of the High Court, either serving or retired, and with members drawn from the police, bar and the correctional services, would perform this monitoring role and evaluate annually the performance of the system as a whole. (Para 14.14)
18.34 Police role in maintaining public order has even greater limitations specially in a democracy. Maintenance of order implies a certain measure of peace and avoidance of violence of any kind. Public onto is deemed to have been upset, in public estimate, if violence breaks out in public in a noticeable form. The characteristic features of the existing social structure in India are (i) inter-group conflicts on account of religion, language, caste, etc; (ii) increasing pressure of poverty; (iii) increasing unemployment; and (iv) rapid urban growth rate with ft concentration of organised protest groups in urban areas like Government employees, industrial workers, political groups students, etc. All these factors, combined with the general belief among the have knots that the only way to evoke response from administration is to launch an agitation or a strike or any form of protest activity involving violence of some kind or other, induce an atmosphere of continuing pressure and proneness to break into situations of public disorder.
(Para 14.16)
18.35 Public urge for reform and relief from pressure situations of the above kind are often articulated by political parties, particularly those in • opposition to the ruling party. Protest activity, therefore, gets mixed up with political dissent. Police methodology in dealing with such situations has necessarily to conform to democratic traditions and cannot have the trappings of the technique of an authoritarian regime to sustain itself in power. In
such circumstances, the police have the most difficult role to perform to maintain order. Any step taken by them for this purpose is immediately viewed by the agitating public as partisan conduct to maintain the status quo and oppose. the changes for which . the agitators clamour. Police invariably get dubbed as being on the side of the conservative and the nochanger. Police action in such situations is severely handicapped on this account. Police cannot be expected to handle such situations all by themselves but they should have accommodation, co-operation, assistance, sympathy and understanding from organised section of the public themselves.
(Para 14.17)
18.36 The basic role of the police is to function as a law enforcement agency and render impartial service to law, in complete independence of mere wishes, indications or desires, expressed by the Government as a matter of policy which either come in conflict with or do not conform to the provisions in our Constitution or laws duly enacted thereunder. We recommend that this basic role of the police may be specifically spelt out in categorical terms in the Police Act.
(Para 14.28)
18.37 A Code of Conduct for the police in India was adopted at the Conference of Inspectors General of Police in 1960 and circulated to all the State Governments. We recommend that clause (12) of the above Code may be modified to read as under :
(12) The police should recognise that their full utility to the people of the country is best ensured only by maintaining a high standard of discipline, faithful performance of duties in accordance with law and implicit obedience to the directions of commanding ranks and absolute loyalty to the force and by keeping themselves in state of constant training and preparedness.
(Para 14.29)
18.38 Having regard to the objectives mentioned in the Preamble to our Constitution, we would hold that law enforcement by police should cover the following two basic functions :—
(i) Upholding the dignity of the individual by safeguarding his constitutional and legal rights. Police secure this objective by enforcing laws relating to the protection of life, liberty and property of the people; and
(ii) Safeguarding the fabric of society and the unity and integrity of the nation. Police secure this objective by enforcing laws relatable to maintenance of public order.
(Para 14.31)
18.39 We are of the view that police have a direct and more or less exclusive responsibility in the task of investigating crimes but have a limited role in regard to the prevention of crime for the reason that the various contributory factors leading to crime do not totally and exclusively fall within the domain of
police for control and regulation. A co-ordinated understanding and appreciation of these factors not only by the police but also by several other agencies connected with social defence and welfare would be necessary for effective prevention of crime. Police responsibility for the prevention of crime has thus to be shared to some extent with other agencies. We feel that this distinction in police responsibility for investigation of crime on the one hand and prevention or crime on the other should be clearly understood and. indicated in the Police Act itself, which would also thereby institutionalise and facilitate appropriate associative action by other social welfare agencies for preventing crime.
(Para 14.32)
18.40 We recommend a system of licensing with appropriate statutory backing to control the working of private detective agencies which have come up in the country in the recent years.
(Para 14.35)
18.41 Police responsibility for investigation of crimes may be spelt out in general terms in the basic law, namely, the Police Act, but in actual procedural practice there should be graded situations specifying different degrees of police responsibility in regard to different types of crimes.
(Para 14.36)
18.42 Certain types of crimes will require police intervention on their own initiative and on their own intelligence, without waiting for a complaint as such from any aggrieved person. Certain other types of crimes may justify police intervention only on a specific complaint from a member of the public. A third category of crime can be visualised where police may intervene only on a complaint from an aggrieved party and not by any member of the public.
(Para 14.36)
18.43 With regard to police role in the enforcement of social legislation, we are of the view that as the primary law enforcement agency available to the State» police cannot escape involvement in the enforcement of social and economic laws also in some form or the other. Police have a duty to enforce these laws but the manner of enforcement can certainly be regulated and controlled to avoid some possible evils that may arise from this involvement
(Para 14.40)
18.44 Police responsibility for prevention and investigation of ordinary crimes may ultimately lead them on to involvement in containing law and order situations, public order situations and threats to internal security, in that order. When the country's internal security is threatened, the Central Government Us a direct responsibility for taking appropriate counter measures. It has been the practice for the Central Government to come to the aid of State Governments by deputing armed forces of the Centre like CRP and BSF to aid the State police in dealing with serious public order situations. Police is at present a State subject in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. It is for consideration of the Central Government and the state Governments whether the
Central Government should be constitutionally facilitated to coordinate and direct police operations in situations which threaten internal security. In our view, the addition of Entry 2A in the Union List of the 7th Schedule following the Constitution (Forty Second) Amendment Act, 1976 recognises this need to some extent. We understand that no law has yet been enacted and no rules or regulations have yet been laid down governing the jurisdiction, privileges and liabilities of the members of the aimed forces of the Union when they are deployed in a State in accordance with Entry 2A of the Union List We recommend that appropriate law/rules/regulations for this purpose be enacted soon.
(Para 14.42)
18.45 Under the existing law—Section 23 of the Police Act, 1861—the police are responsible for collecting intelligence affecting public peace only. We recommend that police powers for collection of intelligence should cover not only matters affecting public peace but also matters relatable to crimes in general including social and economic offences, national integrity and security. The legal provisions in this regard should be in the nature of enabling provisions which can be availed by the police to collect intelligence as and when required. Law should not place the exclusive responsibility on the police only for collection of all intelligence on these matters because we are aware that a variety of intelligence relevant to these matters may tell within the jurisdiction of some other developmental or regulatory agencies as well. We further recommend that a police agency should not have the power or facilities for collection of any intelligence other than what is specified in law, as proposed.
(Para 14.44)
18.46 There is considerable scope for exercise of discretion at various stages in the discharge of police functions, particularly in regard to preventive policing measures before a crime occurs, as distinct from investigation which starts after the occurrence of crime. We are of the view that exercise of discretion in all such situations should be based on the assessment and judgment of the police functionaries concerned only. To prevent freakish or whimsical decision in such matters some broad guidelines should be laid down to cover all such conceivable situations. Police Manuals which do not contain such guidelines at present should be appropriately amplified. These guidelines should be set out in clear terms and also made known to the public. Ad hoc views or policies declared on the spur of the moment and conveyed orally or otherwise from the executive hierarchy above should not be deemed equivalent to guidelines for such purposes. In the absence of a guideline, the matter should be left to the sole discretion of the police officer directly involved in the situation and should not be subject to directions from above, except where it falls within the legitimate supervisory responsibility of a higher functionary under me law.
(Para 14.45)
18.47 Counselling and warning should be deemed as legitimate police activities towards prevention of crime and recognised as such in law.
(Para 14.46)

18.48 The police should have a duly recognised service-oriented role to play in providing relief to persons in distress situations like those arising out of natural calamities like cyclones, floods, etc. The police should be trained and equipped properly to perform these service-oriented functions.
(Para 14.50)
18.49 We recommend that the new police Act may spell out the duties and responsibilities of the police to—
(i) promote and preserve public order;
(ii) investigate crimes, and where appropriate, to apprehend the offenders and participate in subsequent legal proceedings connected therewith;
(iii) identify problems and situations that are likely to result in commission of crimes;
(iv) reduce the opportunities for the commission of crimes through preventive patrol and other appropriate police measures;
(v) aid and co-operate with other relevant agencies in implementing other appropriate measures for prevention of crimes;
(vi) aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm;
(vii) create and maintain a feeling of security in the community;
(viii) facilitate orderly movement of people and vehicles
(ix) counsel and resolve conflicts and promote amity;
(x) provide other appropriate services and afford relief to people in distress situations;
(xi) collect intelligence relating to matters affecting public peace and crimes in general including social and economic offences, national integrity and security; and
(xii) perform such other duties as may be enjoined on them by law for the time being in force.
item (ii) above will give legal scope for police to be associated with the process of prosecution and have effective interaction with the prosecuting agency. items.(iii) and (v) will afford scope for police to Be associated in a recognaised manner with the other wings at the criminal justice system for preventing crime and reforming criminals. Items (ix) and (x) will facilitate the performance of service-oriented functions and will also recognise a counselling and mediating role for the police in appropriate situations.
(Para 14.51)
Interference with and misuse of police by illegal or improper orders or pressure from political, executive or other extraneous sources—Remedial measures
18.50 While steering the country towards the promised objectives of the socialist welfare State for its hundreds of millions of people, the Government have had to control and regulate in an increasing degree the conduct and business of different sections of people through progressive legislation and other related measures. This has meant increasing exercise of power by the Government through its widely spread apparatus of the executive m several matters affecting the daily life of the people. National leaders, who were at the helm in different parts of the country m the first decade after Independence, conducted the affairs of the Government with great vision and wise statesmanship and set down patterns of conduct and inter-relationship between the political leadership in Government on the one side and the civil services on the other. Though not precisely defined, their respective roles were mutually understood fairly well
and followed in practice. While the civil services had the benefit of lead and guidance in policy from the political leadership having in view the expectations and aspirations of the public, the political masters had the benefit of professional advice from the civil services regarding the different dimensions of the problems they had to solve. Great leaders and statesmen like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Abul Kalam Azad, Rajagopalachari, Govind Ballabh Pant, Ran Ahmed Kidwai, K. Kamaraj, B. C. Roy and Sri Krishna Sinha provided an atmosphere of dignity and sense of direction for the civil services to function honestly and efficiently, with public interests constantly held in view. Passing years saw the entry of a large variety of people into the field of politics and increasing contact between politicians and the executive at various levels in a variety of situations, including those caused by decreasing majorities in legislatures. Scope for exercise of power through the political leadership in Government induced political functionaries outside the Government to take undue interest in the conduct of Government affairs, and gradually the spectre of 'political interference' appealed on the scene. Police, as a part of the civil services, came within the ambit of this interference. In fact the police became specially vulnerable to interference from politicians because of the immense political advantage that could be readily reaped by misuse of police powers. The quality of police performance was and continues to be adversely affected by such interference.
(Para 15.2)
18.51 After long years of tradition of law enforcement subject to executive wilt under (he British rate, the police entered their new role in independent India in 1947. The foreign power was replaced by a political party (hat came up through the democratic process as laid down in our Constitution. For a time things went well without any notice of any change, because of the corrective influences that were brought to bear on the administrative structure by the enlightened political leadership. However, as years passed by there was a qualitative change in the style of politics. The fervour of the freedom struggle and the concept of sacrifice that it implied faded out quickly, yielding place to new styles and norms of behaviour by politicians to whom politics became a career by itself. Prolonged one-party rule at the Centre and in die States for over 30 years coupled with the natural desire of ruling partymen to remain in positions of power resulted in the development of symbiotic relationship between politicians on one hand and the civil services on the other. Vested interests grew on both sides. What started as a normal interaction between the politicians and the services for the avowed objective of better administration with better awareness of public feelings and expectations, soon degenerated into different forms of intercession, intervention and interference with mala fide objectives unconnected with public interest.
(Para 15.4)
18.52 Consequent on the agitationist posture taken up by some political parties in opposition, protest demonstrations, public meetings processions, politically motivated strikes in the industrial sector, dharnas, gheraos, etc. have become a recurrent feature of political activity in the country. Police have been increasingly drawn into the resultant law and order situations and ?re expected by the ruling party to deal with all such situations with a political eye. Putting down political dissent has become a tacitly accepted objective of the police system.
(Para 15.6)
18.53 Some typical situations or mattes in which pressure is brought to bear on the police by the poetical, executive or other extraneous sources are
(i) Arrest or non-arrest of a person against whom a case is taken up for investigation by die police.
(ii) Deliberate handcuffing of a person in police custody merely to humiliate him.
(in) Release or non-release on bail after arrest.
(iv) Suppression of material evidence that becomes available during searches by police.
(v) inclusion or non-inclusion in the chargesheet placed in in court on conclusion of investigation.
(vi) Posting or non-posting of police force in an area of apprehended trouble to create an effect to the advantage of one party or the other.
(vii) Taking persons into preventive custody to immobilise them from legitimate political activity in opposition to the party in power.
(viii) Foisting false criminal cases against political functionaries for achieving political ends.
(ix) Discretionary enforcement of law while dealing with public order situations, with
emphasis on severity and ruthlessness in regard to persons opposed to the ruling party.
(x) Manoeuvring police intervention by exaggerating a non-cognizable offence or engineering a false complaint to gain advantage over another party in a situation which will lie outside the domain of police action in the normal course.
(xi) Preparation of malicious and tendentious intelligence reports to facilitate action against an opponent.
(Para 15.13)
18.54 Pressure on the police takes a variety of forms, ranging from a promise of career advancement and preferential treatment in service matters if the demand is yielded to, and a threat of drastic penal action and disfavoured treatment in service matters if the pressure is resisted. While it is not possible to punish a police officer with a statutory punishment under the Discipline and Appeal Rules without adequate grounds and following a prescribed procedure, it 1s very easy to subject him to administrative action by way of transfer or suspension on the basis of an alleged complaint taken up for inquiry. While suspension acts as a great humiliating factor, a transfer acts as a severe economic blow and disruption of the police officers' family, children's education, etc. The threat of transfer/suspension is the most potent weapon in the hands of the politician to bend down the police to his will.
(Para 15.14)
18.55 During our tours in the States several offices brought to our notice this phenomenon of frequent and indiscriminate transfers ordered on political considerations. We analysed the frequency of transfers in different ranks in the States in the five year period 1973—77 and found the following position in many States :—
Rank Average period of stay in the same post/same station
I.G. 1 year & 8 months (In one State 6 IsG were changed, in three . States 5 IsG were changed during this period)
S.P. 1 year & 7 months ( In one State it is as low as 11 months)
Sub Inspector 1 year & 2 months ( In one State it is as low as 7 months and . in three others it was 10 months)
In computing the above period, we have excluded the transfers arising from normal administrative reasons like promotion to a higher post, deputation to training or to a. post under the Central Government, retirement, removal/dismissal from service, etc. The frequent changes of officers, particularly at the operational level of Sub Inspectors in Police Stations and Superintendents of Police in districts coupled with frequent changes at the apex, namely. Inspector General of Police, have no doubt largely contributed to the sharp decline in the quality of police service down the line. Inspectors General in some States have been changed as often as the Chief Minister or the Home Minister changed! The interests of real professional service to the public have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.
(Para 15.15)
18.56 We are also aware that the unhealthy influences and pressures that are brought to bear on the police do not always originate from political sources alone. Capitalists, industrialists, businessmen, landlords and such others who form the richer and more influential sections of society have immense capacity to generate such pressures to operate at different levels in the police, either directly or indirectly through political sources, and influence the course of police action. . (Para 15.17)
18.57 Interference with the police system by extraneous sources, especially the politicians, encourages the police personnel to believe that their career advancement does not at all depend on the merits of then professional performance, but can be secured by currying favour with politicians who count. Deliberate and sustained cultivation of a few individuals on the political plane takes up all the time of a number of police personnel to the detriment of the performance of their normal professional jobs to the satisfaction of the general public at large. This process sets the system on the downward slope to decay and total ineffectiveness
(Para 15.18)
18.58 Interference at the operational level in police stations, police circles, etc. results in the total bypassing of the supervisory officers in the hierarchy. The frequent by-passing of the normal chain of command results in the atrophy of the supervisory structure. It, therefore, fails to operate effectively even in matters Which do not attract any such extraneous interference. This was strikingly seen in the situation arising from the policemen's stir in certain States in May-June 1979.
(Para 15.19)
18.59 In their anxiety to ensure police performance in accordance with the appreciation of the situation by the political party in power, some State Governments are. known to have issued executive instructions restricting the scope for police action even in situations there a specific line of action by police is enjoined on them by law itself. 
(Para 15.20)
18.60 A police force which docs not remain outside politics but is constantly subjected to influences and pressures emanating within the system from the politicised police personnel themselves will in turn seriously disturb the stability of the duly elected political leadership in the State itself and thereby cause serious damage to the fabric of our democracy. This danger has to be realised with equal seriousness and concern by the politician as well as by the police.
(Para 15.25)
18.61 The experience of several other democracies has also shown the need for evolving healthy norms in the interaction between the political leadership in Government and the executive services, to ensure that each section performs its duly recognised role and. benefits by the corrective influence from the other in constantly serving the cause of public interest. (Para 15.31)
18.62 We have already observed how in the. early years after independence the political leadership provided by well-motivated administrators and statesmen had in fact enabled the services including the police to function effectively in the best interests of the public at large. We feel confident that the existing situation can certainly be corrected and we can evolve practicable remedial measures to bring about a healthy functioning of the police with helpful and wise guidance from the elected representatives of the people.
(Para 15.32)
18.63 We feel that it would be appropriate to lay down that the power of superintendence of the State Government over the police should be limited for the purpose of ensuring (hat police performance is in strict accordance with law.
(Para 15.38)
18.64 Police tasks may be broadly divided into three categories for the purpose of analysing the relevance of supervision by Government. They are (i) investigative ; (ii) preventive and (iii) service-oriented. Investigative tasks will include all action taken by the police in the course of investigating a case under Chapter of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Preventive tasks will cover such actions like preventive arrests under section 151 Cr.P.C., initiation of security proceedings, arrangement of beats and patrols, collection of intelligence and maintenance of crime records to plan and execute appropriate preventive action, deployment of police force as a preventive measure when breach of peace is threatened, handling of unlawful assemblies and their dispersal, etc. Service-oriented functions will include rendering service of a general nature during fairs and festivals, rescuing children lost in crowds, providing relief in distress situations arising from natural calamities etc. 
(Para 15.39)
18.65 As far as investigative tasks are concerned we have a clear ruling from the Supreme Court that the nature of action to be taken on conclusion of investigation is a matter to be decided by the police only and by no other authority—vide para 18 of the Supreme Court judgment in criminal appeal No. 218 of 1966 reported in AIR 1968 Supreme Court 117 (V 55 32). It may, therefore, be safety projected as a fundamental principle governing police work that the investigative tasks of the police are beyond any kind of intervention by the executive or non-executive. Any arrangement in which the investigative tasks of the police are sought to be brought under executive control and direction would go against this fundamental principle spelt out by the Supreme Court and hence should be deemed illegal. We would, therefore, recommend in the first place that all the executive instructions issued by the government having a bearing on investigative tasks of the police may be scrutinised and either cancelled or modified to conform to the above principle.
(Para 15.40)
18.66 In the performance of preventive tasks and service-oriented functions, the police will need to interact with other governmental agencies and service organisations. For example, in planning preventive measures in a near-strike situation in an educational institution or an industrial unit police will have to keep in touch with the educational authorities or the labour departmental authorities to have a proper perception of the developing situation. In the performance of such preventive tasks there is considerable scope for exercise of discretion, having in view the overall public interests involved in any particular situation. Every police officer should normally be -left free to exercise this discretion on his own judgment but there may be situations the disposal of which may have repercussions beyond the jurisdiction of one police officer and it will become necessary in such cases for the supervisory ranks to step in and exercise discretion at their level. Extending this analogy one can visualise a State-wide situation in which the exercise of discretion in regard to preventive tasks may have to take into account several factors of Statewide significance and it would be appropriate in public interest that the exercise of discretion in such situations conforms to some policy approach that may be evolved at the highest political level in the government which has the ultimate responsibility for proper governance of the State. We. therefore, recommend mat in the performance of preventive tasks and service-oriented (functions police should be subject to the overall guidance from the government which should lay down broad policies for adoption in different situations from time to time. There should however be no instructions in regard to actual operations in the field. The discretion of the police officer to deal with the situation, within the four comers of the over-all guidance and broad policies, should be unfettered. An erring officer can always be made accountable for his action. Such policy directions should be openly given and made known to the State Legislatures also as and when occasion demands.
Para 15.42)
18.67 We have already referred to the weakening of the normal chain of command resulting from unauthorised interference with police work by political and other extraneous sources. To restore the capacity of the police as an organization to resist such pressures and illegal or irregular orders, we consider it would be extremely useful if the Chief of Police in a State is assured of a statutory tenure of office. Such a tenure will strengthen his position and enable him to stand up effectively against unhealthy pressures on the system. The tenure may be fixed as a period of four years or a -period extending upto-the date of his retirement or promotion in the normal course, whichever is shorter. This tenure should be put statutory basis by being included in a specific provision in the Police Act itself. It shall also be provided that the removal of the Chief of Police from his post before the expiry of the tenure period shall require approval from the State Security Commission whose set up is being recommended separately.
(Para 15.43)
18.68 We recommend that the posting of Chief of Police in a State should be from a panel of IPS officers of that State cadre prepared by a Committee of which the Chairman of the Union Public. Service Commission will be the Chairman and the Union Home Secretary, the senior most among the Heads of Central Police Organisations, the Chief Secretary of the State and the existing Chief of Police in the State will be members. The panel should not have more than three names at any time. Posting from the panel should be according to seniority : We visualise that in the future police get up at the Centre and in the States, the Chiefs of State Police and the Heads of Central Police Organisations will be of comparable status and it should be possible for the Central and State Governments to arrange for periodic interchange of officers at this level without involving any loss of rank or status as experienced now. The association of the Central Government and the State Government in jointly preparing this panel would ensure its acceptability to both and facilitate smooth interchange of officers at the highest level in the normal course. (Para 15.45)
18.69 There is immediate need to devise a new mechanism of control and supervision which would help the State Government to discharge their superintending responsibility in an open manner under the framework of law, with due regard to healthy norms and conventions that may develop in due course. For this purpose we recommend the constitution o( a statutory Commission in each State which may be called the State Security Commission which shall have the State Minister incharge of police as the ex-officio Chairman and six others as Members. Two Members shall be chosen from the State Legislature, one from the ruling party and another from the opposition parties. They shall be appointed to this Commission on the advice of the Speaker of the State Legislature. The remaining four members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Chief Minister, subject to approval by the State Legislature, from retired judges of the High Court, retired Government servants who had functioned in senior positions in the Government while in service, social scientists or academicians of public standing and eminence. The Chief of Police will ex-officio function as Secretary of this Commission which shall have its own Secretariat for the transaction of its business. Arrangement of funds for the functioning of this Commission will be made on the same lines as for the State Public Service Commission.
(Para 15.46)
18.70 The term of the Members of the Commission (other than the Chairman) shall be three years. any among the four non-political Members were to join a political party after being appointed to the Commission, he shall immediately cease to be a Member of the Commission and the vacancy shall be filled by fresh appointment from the non-political category.
(Para 15.47)
18.71 The functions of the State Security Commission shall include—
(i) laying down broad policy guidelines and directions for the performance of preventive tasks and service-oriented functions by the police ;
(ii) evaluation of the performance of the State Police every year and presenting a report to the State Legislature ;
(iii) functioning as a forum of appeal for disposing of representations from any police officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above regarding his being subjected to illegal or irregular orders in the performance of his duties;
(iv) functioning as a forum of appeal for disposing of representations from police officers regarding promotion to the rank of Superintendent of Police and above ; and
(v) functioning as a forum of appeal for dispose of the police in the State.
(Para 15.48)
18.72 The Commission shall devise its own procedures for transaction of business. It shall be open to the Chairman and Members of the Commission and also the Chief of Police to bring up for consideration by the Commission, any subject falling within its jurisdiction.
(Para 15.49)
18.73 The Commission shall meet at least once every month and may meet more often, if required by the Chairman or Members of the Commission or the Chief of Police for considering any particular subject proposed by them.
(Para 15.50)
18.74 As the Chairman of the Commission, the Minister-in-charge. of police will be able to project the government point of view during the Commission's deliberations. Any policy direction or guidelines which the government desire to issue shall have to be agreed to by the Commission before they are passed on to the police for implementation. However, in an emergency, the Government may directly issue a policy direction or guidelines in regard to a specific situation, but such direction or guidelines shall as soon as possible be brought before the Commission for ratification and be subject to such modifications as the Commission might decide.
(Para 15.51)
18.75 The constitution of such a Commission will, in our opinion, help considerably in making police performance politically neutral. While retaining governmental responsibility for overseeing the police, this Commission will ensure that this responsibility is discharged in an open manner with publicly known policy directions and guidelines. The arrangement of an annual evaluation report from the same Com
mission and constant review of the functioning of the police by it would also further ensure that police performance in any given period has conformed to the prescribed policy directions and guidelines and has served public interests in the best possible manner. We recommend that the limits of supervisory responsibility of the State Government in regard to police performance as earlier observed by us, and the constitution of a State Security Commission as proposed above to help the State Government in discharging this responsibility may be spelt out in a new provision in the Police Act in replacement of the existing Section 3 of that Act.
(Para 15.54)
18.76 A sensitive area of police functions with considerable scope for misuse of police relates to collection of intelligence. Under the garb of having to collect intelligence regarding matters which have a bearing on the law and order situation, the intelligence wing of the State Police frequently collects a variety of information regarding activities of political parties and individual politicians.
(Para 15.55)
18.77 The Shah Commission of Inquiry has referred to some aspects of the functioning of the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation at the Centre and pointed out the need for appropriate safeguards to be evolved to ensure that these organisations are not put to misuse by the Government or some one in the Government. We would like to point out that the tendency to misuse these organisations would get accentuated by political instability in Government and, viewed from this angle, the functionaries in these organisations would need protection from improper and unhealthy pulls and pressures that might operate in such situations. We understand from the Ministry of Home Affairs that they have recently received the report of the high-level Committee headed by Shri L. P. Singh, a former Home Secretary and presently Governor of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura, which was appointed in pursuance of the observations of the Shah Commission of Inquiry regarding the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The points that may emerge from the analysis of L. P. Singh Committee Report would, in our opinion, be applicable in a substantial measure to the working of the intelligence wing in the State Police as also the State Anti-Corruption agencies. We recommend that the Central Government may communicate to the State Governments the essential observations and recommendations emanating from the L. P. Singh Committee Report for their information and further action in regard to their own agencies, not only for overseeing their performance but also for protecting them from unhealthy influences.
(Para 15.55)
18.78 Conduct Rules prohibit all Government servants including the police personnel from being members of or otherwise being associated with any political party, or any organisation which takes part in politics. However, in practice this important provision in the Conduct Rules does not appear to have been enforced with the required strictness and severity.
(Para 15,56)
18.79 We would recommend that the administration should take a severe view of any infringement of the above mentioned Conduct Rule and deal with erring officers in a deterrent manner. In appropriate cases resort may also be had to Article 311 (2) (b) or (c) to weed out such personnel from the system. In cases where this constitutional provision is invoked, all the available material .against the police personnel concerned should be scrutinised by a small Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief of Police. Members oft this Committee may be drawn from senior ranks in the prosecuting agency set up of the State and police officers of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (other than the one who may have been concerned either directly or in a supervisory capacity with the situations or instances that figure in the material for consideration by the Committee).
(Para 15.56)
18.80 While we do not hold any brief for or against any political party to say that the membership thereof or association therewith should not or should act as a bar for recruitment to the police at any level, we would state emphatically that the continued involvement in political activity of any land either directly or indirectly by any personnel after joining [he police at any level should not be tolerated in any circumstances. The weeding out of such persons should receive special attention of the Chief of Police from time to time. Here again, recourse may be had to the provisions of article 311(2)(b) or (c) of the Constitution, if need be in appropriate cases.
(Para 15.57)
18.81 We feel that police officers should be effectively protected from whimsical and mala fide transfer/ suspension orders. One step for securing this protection could be to incorporate a provision in the Police Act itself specifying the authorities competent to issue transfer/suspension orders regarding different rallies. Such a statutory provision would render null and void any transfer/suspension order passed by any authority other than those specified in the Act.
(Para 15.58)
* 18.82 Another step could be to lay down is a rule that every transfer/suspension order should also contain a brief paragraph indicating the reasons for the issue of the order, and making it a further rule that any transfer/suspension order which does not contain this explanatory paragraph shall not be valid order. The advantage in this arrangement would be that the recipient of the transfer/suspension order will have some material with him which he can agitate before the authorised available forums if he feels that the reasons are mala fide or otherwise not sustainable.
(Para 15.59)
18.83 In regard to the issue of oral orders, our recommendations are that oral orders should be avoided as far as possible and may be resorted to only in situations which call for immediate executive action and cannot wait for the issue of written orders in confirmation of the oral order; a record of every oral order be kept both by the issuing officer and the recipient officer in the relevant files; and a subordinate officer receiving oral orders from a higher ranking officer shall be entitled to ask for and get confirmatory orders in writing from the higher functionary, for record.
(Para 15.60)
18.84 We feel that if it is laid down as a code of conduct, that elected representatives will interact with the police at the level of the Deputy Superintendent of Police or above only, it would avoid situations in which the executives at the operational level in police stations and circles may be overawed by the stature of the political functionary and may be inclined to accept and act upon whatever information he passes on to them without making the necessary check and verification which they might make normally.
(Para 15.61)
18.85 We would recommend that the Conduct Rules applicable to Police personnel of all ranks in the States may embody provisions similar to those in Rule 3(3) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules which emphasise the responsibility of a member of the Service to act according to his own best judgment and not evade this responsibility by seeking instructions or approval from a higher authority, where such instruction or approval is not necessary according to normal working procedures.
(Para 15.62)
18.86 In the Government of India Department, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms letter No. 25/19/64-Ests(A) dated 29th April, 1975, addressed to the Chief Secretaries of all the State Governments, it was indicated that a Code of Conduct for Legislators was being separately processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Our enquiries reveal that this Code of Conduct for Legislators has hot yet taken any shape. We recommend that the Ministry of Home Affairs complete their exercise expeditiously and have the Code issued very soon so that the elected representatives as also the general public at large may know and appreciate the requirements of ethics and propriety in this important and sensitive matter.
(Para 15.63)
18.87 We also trust that the contemplated exercise on the political plane as decided at the Chief Minister's Conference of 6th June, 1979 will be taken up in right earnest and completed soon. 
(Para 15.63)
18.88 To bring home the primacy of the rule of law in a democracy and the paramount duty of every police officer to recognise this primacy and stoutly resist any interference with the course of his duties as enjoined by law and in accordance with the Constitution, we feel it would be appropriate if every member of the police is made to swear or solemnly affirm a declaration embodying this fundamental principle, at the time of his joining the police, whatever be the rank of entry.
(Para 15.64)
18.89 Apart from the initial declaration at the time of joining the police, it would further serve the purpose and embed the principle firmly in the minds of all the police officers if this declaration is remembered and repeated by them in groups and assemblies of police personnel drawn up on an annual ceremonial occasion like the 'Police Commemoration Day' which is observed on 21st October, every year. (Para 15.64)
18.90 The structuring of the initial training courses and the later in-service training courses for all police personnel should be suitably designed to facilitate the growth of proper attitudes and sense of values on the part of every police officer, viewing himself throughout as a servant of law to uphold and prefect the dignity and rights of every individual fellow citizen of the country.
(Para 15.65)
Gram Nyayalayas
18.91 The mounting pendency of cases in court in the present system of trials with emphasis on procedures and rituals rigidly spelt out in law, can not be brought down within manageable limits except by devising a totally new system with simpler procedures to deal with ordinary crimes involving simple and straight evidence. Such a new system would not only ensure inexpensive and speedy justice but, what is more, would also help in preserving the harmonious relationships in the community which usually get affected if criminal matters are subjected to prolonged trials which might ultimately involve prison sentences also. This is 'particularly relevant in the rural areas where community opinion and village harmony have been and continue to be perceptible factors of fife.
(Para 16.2)
18.92 During our tours in the States and discussions with a wide cross section of the public as also the services, we got the impression that the working of Nyaya Panchayats, though well conceived in principle, suffered in practice, mainly because of the lay members of the Panchayat being subjected to local influences and pressures which defeated the purpose of an objective and fair disposal of cases handled by the Panchayats. It was also pointed out that a Nyaya Panchayat solely made up of lay members was unable to handle the judicial work with requisite attention to the minimum requirements of a judicial process. It was further mentioned that Nyaya Panchayats would function far more effectively if they were manned by trained persons with a certain minimum knowledge of law, rules and procedure.
(Para 16.10)
18.93 We appreciate that if the Nyaya Panchayats arc made up of knowledgeable and academically competent persons alone, they would lose their lay character and, therefore, would merely appear as an extension of the existing sophisticated court system which, for a variety of reasons, does not command the confidence of the rural folk. On the other hand, if the Nyaya Panchayats are made up only of lay men who come up through a process of election, direct or indirect, they would become susceptible to unhealthy influences and pressures which may conflict with the interests of justice. We have, therefore, to adopt a via media which would preserve the lay character of the Nayaya Panchayat and at the same time ensure the disposal of cases with due regard to certain minimum judicial requirements.
(Para 16.11)
18.94 The observations of Justice Bhagwati Committee on the advantages of the Nyaya Panchayat system and its recommendations regarding the composition of a Nyaya Panchayat and procedures for transaction of its business are set out in paragraphs 6.11 to 6.31 of the Committee's report which are furnished in Appendix VIII.
(Para 16.13)
18.95 We have carefully gone through Justice Bhagwati Committee's report and we find ourselves in whole-hearted agreement with it. We fully endorse the recommendations therein, subject to the modifications and refinements as spelt out in the following paragraphs, which we consider desirable in the present context. '
(Para 16.14)
18.96 The new courts proposed at the grass roofs level may be called "Gram Nyayalayas", avoiding any reference to Panchayat as such so that they may not be viewed as an adjunct or extension of the Panchayats which are totally executive bodies with which political functionaries arc associated.
(Para 16.15)
18.97 A Gram Nyayalaya shall be made up of three Members. One shall be the Presiding Judge who will be appointed by the District Judge from retired judicial officers or other retired Government servants who, from their experience while in service, would have acquired the requisite knowledge of law and minimum requirements of judicial processes.
(Para 16.16)
18.98 Two other members of the Gram Nyayalaya shall be lay members appointed by the District Judge from a panel of names prepared by the local elected body that goes by the name of Panchayat Samiti/ Panchayat Union/Block Committee or its equivalent, in the manner described below.
(Para 16.17)
18.99 One Gram Nyayalaya shall cover about 25 to 30 villages coming under 8 to 10 Panchayats. This would mean about 5 or 6 Gram Nyayalayas in the
jurisdiction of one Panchayat Union/Panchayat Samiti. The headquarters of each Gram Nyayalaya shall be fixed at some suitable place within the group of villages in its jurisdiction.
(Para 16.18)
18.100 The Presiding Judge for all the Gram Nyayalayas within the jurisdiction of a Panchayat Samiti shall be the same person appointed by the District Judge in the manner prescribed earlier. The lay members of each Gram Nyayalaya will, however, be separate for each Nyayalaya. The Panchayat Pradhans relevant to the jurisdiction of each Gram Nyayalaya will be associated in proposing the names of lay members for that Gram Nyayalaya. The Presiding Judge shall hold proceedings of each Gram Nyayalaya in the Panchayat Samiti by visiting the respective headquarters once a month by turn, or more often if required by the volume of work to be handled, and associate the two local lay members with the proceedings in each place.
(Para 16.19)
18.101 The Presiding Judge and the two lay members shall normally hold office for a term of 3 years from the date of appointment. They shall be deemed to be public servants as defined in the Indian Penal Code while they hold office.
(Para 16.20)
18.102 Gram Nyayalayas shall have exclusive criminal jurisdiction over the offences that are assigned to them in the relevant law.
(Para 16.21)
18.103 Gram Nyayalayas shall not be bound by procedural codes or laws of evidence. Their proceedings shall be in the nature of an inquisitorial inquiry which would mean that the Gram Nyayalaya would itself take a positive role in the inquiry to ascertain the facts regarding the involvement or otherwise of the person concerned instead of merely functioning as an adjudicating body to give its view on two versions put before it, one by the prosecution and the other by the defence.
(Para 16.25)
18.104 Parties to the proceedings before the Gram Nyayalayas shall not be allowed to be represented by lawyers. Exceptions may arise when a person happens to be arrested or otherwise detained in custody in connection with an offence related to the proceedings before the Gram Nyayalaya, in which case the provisions of Article 22(1) of the Constitution may get attracted. The observations of the Supreme Court in (he case of State of Madhya Pradesh versus Shobharam and others (AIR 1966 SC 1910) would be relevant in this connection.
(Para 16.26)
18.105 The findings of the Gram Nyayalaya shall be based on the majority view of the component members including the Presiding Judge, subject to the provision that in any case where the two lay
members agree on a finding with which the Presiding Judge does not agree, and the Presiding Judge is clearly of the opinion that it is necessary for the ends of justice to submit the case to a higher court, he shall record the grounds of his opinion and submit the case for adjudication by the Chief Judicial Magistrate. We are recommending this procedure specially to guard against local unhealthy influences and pressures operating on the system.
(Para 16.29)
18.106 Punishment awardable by a Gram Nyayalaya shall be limited to fines not exceeding to Rs. 500. Fines shall be recoverable by processes applicable to arrears of revenue. A Gram Nyayalaya shall not be competent to award any sentence of imprisonment, even in default of payment of fine.
(Para 16.30)
18.107 If in any particular case, having regard to the circumstances thereof, the Gram Nyayalaya feels that the person found guilty by it merits a more serious punishment than is awardable by the Gram Nyayalaya, it shall remit the case to the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district for further action on the lines indicated in section 325 
(Para 16.31)
Maintenance of crime records and statistics
18.108 Maintenance of crime records at the police station level and submission of periodic reports and returns from there to the district level and the State level should be so designed as to fit into a scheme of computerised maintenance of data/information at the State level/National level.
(Para 17.5)
18.109 Changes in the existing crime record system in different States should be minimal for the limited purpose of achieving the objective mentioned above.
(Para 17.5)
18.110 Detailed recommendations made by a Committee of DIsG set up in 1962 regarding the type of records to be maintained at police stations may be kept as model and worked upon further in States.
(Para 17.5)
18.111 A District Crime Record Bureau, State Crime Record Bureau and the National Crime Record Bureau should be set up with legal backing and adequate staff.
(Para 17.5)
18.112 The Central Finger Print Bureau which is now located in Calcutta should merge with the National Crime Record Bureau which may be located either in Delhi or Hyderabad. Hyderabad location will facilitate useful interaction with the SVP National Police Academy.
(Para 17.5)
18.113 Collection and maintenance of data for national and Interpol purposes, at present handled by the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the Central Bureau of Investigation, may be integrated with the proposed National Crime Record Bureau.
(Para 17.5)
18.114 Computerisation of Finger Prints at the State level and National level should be taken up on hand and completed within a reasonable time frame, say five years.
(Para 17.5)
18.115 Communication channels in the shape of VHF telephones and teleprinters between police stations and district headquarters, between district headquarters and State headquarters and the final link up with the headquarters of the National Crime Record Bureau should be built up to facilitate prompt exchange of data/information. This will be very necessary to aid investigational work and reduce infructuous arrests and prolonged detention of persons on mere suspicion without adequate grounds.
(Para 17.5)
18.116 One or more educated constables must be specifically designated in every police station as Collators who will be responsible for maintenance of crime records at the police station, preparation of the input forms originating from the police station in respect of all police computer applications, placing all computer cutouts received in the police station before the Station House Officer for their effective utilisation, handling the P&T telephone and other technical equipment, if any, in the police station, and generally assisting the Station House Officer in all correspondence with the District Crime Records Bureau and the State Crime Records Bureau.
(Para 17.5)
18.117 The existing "Identification of Prisoners Act 1920" should be replaced by a new comprehensive law which may be called "The Crime and Offender Records Act" which would facilitate the collection of wide ranging data and information regarding crimes and criminals which would be of use not only to the police in the performance of their investigative jobs but also to the functionaries in probation services and correctional institutions besides criminologists and social scientists, in then respective fields of correctional work and analytical studies. A draft for the proposed new Act is enclosed to the report as Appendix XII.
(Para 17.7)
18.118 Government of India should continue
financial aid in increasing measure to the States for installing computers in the police communication and record systems and complete a time bound computerisation plan.
(Para 17.8)
Sd/(DHARMA VIRA)
Chairman Sd/-
(N. KRISHNASWAMY REDDY) Member
Sd/(K. F. RUSTAMJI)
Member
Sd/(M. S. GORE)
Member
Sd/(C. V. NARASIMHAN) Member Secretary
NEW DELHI
l6th August, 1979