Rights and entitlements while interacting with the police
4 Aug, 2013Many of us may be aware of our rights and entitlements when we interact with the police while making a complaint about a crime or in some other context. Our knowledge is often based on information available in the public domain like the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) and other related laws. However, these laws contain only broad provisions to guide, citizens about their rights; and the police about the extent or limits of their authority. Very often we do not have much knowledge of the Police Department’s internal guidelines and instructions for operationalising these statutory provisions. The Police Manual which contains these operational guidelines is also a confidential document in many States. This is an age-old practice of secrecy retained from colonial times.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) requires every public authority to publicly disclose the operational procedures and guidelines it uses to perform its mandated functions [Section 4(1)(b)]. Many Police Departments around the country have not disclosed this information despite eight years of the existence of the RTI Act. The Delhi Police belongs to this category of non-compliant public authorities. Only recently has the Delhi Police uploaded Standing Orders issued in relation to handling crimes against women and children. These are accessible on its sister website: http://www.spuwac.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=54. However, the Standing Orders on other subjects such as recording First Information Reports about criminal offences, guidelines for arresting any person, how to conduct investigations, controlling crowds, community policing are not available on its website despite this being a statutory requirement under the RTI Act.
The copies of the Standing Orders issued by the Delhi Police on these subjects have been obtained under the RTI Act. Some of these documents were provided in 2009 and others this year. Copies of the Standing Orders were sought this year again as the law on some subjects such as arrest and summoning witnesses or other persons to a police station has changed with amendments made to the CrPC from time to time. The Standing Orders that are still in vogue for are being circulated for the reference and use of the readers (first attachment). This email contains a set five Standings Orders on the subject of registering FIRs. The subject line of these documents is provided below:
Sl.# |
Subjects |
Year of issue |
1) |
a) First Information Report (FIR) b) Recording FIR on Court’s Directions c) Supply of copy of FIRs to Informants d) Non-Cognizable Offences Register (NCR) e) Registering FIRs in dowry death cases (all 5 Standing Orders (SOs) are in a single file in the serial order give above) |
1980 2008 2011 2010 2010 |
As evidence of the authenticity of these documents we have also attached the replies received from the PIO of the Delhi Police who supplied this information in 2009 and 2013 (second attachment). We will upload these Standing Orders on our website shortly. In case of doubt regarding the contents of these documents, please contact the Delhi Police’s PIOs directly for clarification.
As these Standing Orders are issued by their own Department, they are binding on all officers of the Delhi Police. Citizens armed with information about how the Police should function will be better equipped to demand compliance with official rules and procedures. A major problem that arises often in citizens’ interface with the police is that they are unaware of what is it exactly that the police should do according to official rules and regulations. For example, many of us are not aware that the officer-in-charge of a Police Station has no choice but to record an FIR when he receives information about the commission of a cognizable offence. Recording FIRs in all such cases is compulsory. No preliminary investigation should be conducted before recording the FIR. Only when the information is received by telephone or telegram should the police satisfy themselves as to the veracity of the information received and then decide whether or not to record the FIR. Then again, Informants who report the commission of criminal offences to the Police must be provided a copy of the FIR as soon as it is recorded. The Delhi Police Standing Orders state that there must not be a delay of more than 24 hours to provide a copy of the FIR to informants. All of this and more information contained in these Standing Orders is invaluable for citizens to demand their rights and entitlements while interacting with the Police. Knowledge of the limits of the authority of the police will be useful to challenge its abuse and demand redress.
Readers around the country should try to push for the disclosure of Standing Orders by Police Departments in their respective States.
Venkatesh Nayak