Little sense of fair play

Manoj Joshi

Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi

WHETHER it is the economy or the polity, the country doesn’t quite seem to be moving towards Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. In fact, looked at another way, it appears headed for perdition. This is not just about the lynching of people, bull-dozing shanties, or of the ‘caged parrots’ ED and CBI being used to harass the Opposition, attacks on the media, or leaders encouraging their forces to shoot alleged criminals.

Law and order can’t be maintained just by the ‘danda’ of the police, but the politico-legal mandate that gives them their legitimacy in the eyes of society.

The police all over the country have always done the bidding of their bosses—ruling party politicians and ministers. But recent incidents suggest that they are increasingly doing so without any concern for propriety and judicial due process. This is fraying of an already crumbling police system and setting the stage which all societies ought to dread—that of anarchy.

The fiasco over the arrest of BJP leader Tejinder Singh Bagga is a case in point. First, the Punjab Police (PP) arrests Bagga on a case filed against him in Mohali for creating communal enmity and threatening Arvind Kejriwal. While being escorted to Mohali, the Haryana Police (HP) blocks the convoy and forcibly seizes Bagga, and on his return, the Delhi Police (DP) also files an abduction case against their Punjab counterparts. These are serious developments and presage a breakdown of relations between police forces of states ruled by different parties.

There is, of course, the question as to whether what Bagga is alleged to have done really warranted his immediate arrest. While the PP accuses him of ignoring their notices, he claims that he has responded and a judicial due process was in process.

Arresting people in other states is a fairly routine process. Common sense suggests that the state seeking an arrest cooperate with the local police. Usually, they seek a transit remand from a local court to take the arrested person to their home state. This opens a window for the arrested person to seek bail; so many police parties simply whisk away the arrested person and present him to their local magistrate, a process which is legal if done within 24 hours.

In criminal cases, there is usually no friction. But the problem arises in cases, such as that of Bagga, who was arrested by the PP, acting allegedly at the instance of the Aam Aadmi Party. Conversely, the Haryana and Delhi Police actions in ‘rescuing’ Bagga was allegedly on behalf of the BJP.

The Bagga episode has revealed the chaos that is threatening to grip our judicial and police system, especially when they are to act on issues relating to politics or politicians. And none of this is to argue that MPs and MLAs should not be arrested. But like all citizens, they should be subjected to legal due process.

The AAP was probably following the BJP’s handling of Jignesh Mevani, a Dalit MLA from Gujarat, who was arrested and taken to Assam on the basis of a complaint by a local BJP leader relating to some tweets against PM Modi. After he got bail in the case, the Assam Police rearrested him and accused him of assaulting a female police officer. How dubious this was, is brought out by the judge who gave him bail again. The magistrate pulled up the Assam Police for lodging a ‘false FIR’ and questioned the narrative of assault.

Just how politics poisons the effective application of the law comes out through some actions or non-actions of the Delhi Police, which is run by the Union Home Ministry. There are many questions about the DP’s handling of the February 2020 violence in north-east Delhi, or for that matter the recent riot in Jahangirpuri.

Emblematic of the force’s approach is the case of the January 5, 2020, assault on the students of JNU that injured dozens. It is clear that organisations close to the ruling party were behind the attack. But the police has muddied the case, and so it is yet to arrest anyone.

It is not surprising that it has taken the Supreme Court to haul up the DP on the Hindu Yuva Vahini case. Here, Sudarshan TV’s Suresh Chavanke talked of fighting for a Hindu Rashtra, and, if necessary, kill for it. The DP told the court that there had been no instances of hate speech, indeed and incredibly so, the event was about ‘empowering one’s religion’.

The apex court was not amused and asked the police to file ‘a better affidavit’. Last week, the police said they had reviewed the affidavit and filed an FIR, and would file it.

Efforts to reform the policing system are almost as old as the republic. There have been police commission reports, directives of the Supreme Court, but things only seem to be going from bad to worse. Many states, including Delhi, have police complaint commissions, but they are so hemmed by rules and procedures that make their functioning meaningless.

‘Law and order’ can’t be maintained just by the ‘danda’ of the police, but the politico-legal mandate that gives them their legitimacy in the eyes of society. These, everyone will agree, are already frayed in India. When the issue is ordinary crime, the police are as good as its counterparts elsewhere. But when their political bosses use them to harass opponents, we are on a slippery slope. A basic respect for the Opposition is the bedrock of democracy. If the Opposition political leaders can be victimised, what sense of security will an ordinary citizen have? Eventually people may be forced to look for other means of protecting themselves.

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