Police Complaints Authorities

A Police Complaints Authority is an independent body intended to examine complaints of serious misconduct by police personnel. In Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), the Supreme Court directed the establishment of these authorities at state and district levels to strengthen police accountability through scrutiny outside the police hierarchy.

Two levels of independent oversight

The Supreme Court envisaged separate authorities according to the rank of the police personnel complained against. Their leadership by retired judges was intended to provide independent scrutiny of allegations.

• The State Police Complaints Authority would examine complaints against police officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above.
• The District Police Complaints Authority would examine complaints against police officers up to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
• The state authority would be headed by a retired High Court or Supreme Court judge, while the district authority would be headed by a retired District Judge.

Misconduct covered by the mandate

The authorities were envisaged primarily for complaints against the police themselves, rather than for investigating every offence reported to the police. Their core concern is serious misconduct, especially grave violations arising from the exercise of police power.

• The state authority would take cognisance of allegations of serious misconduct, including incidents involving death, grievous hurt or rape in police custody.
• The district authority would examine these categories of serious misconduct and could additionally inquire into allegations of extortion, land or house grabbing, or any incident involving serious abuse of authority.

Recommendations and accountability

The Supreme Court directed that the authorities’ recommendations for disciplinary or criminal action against delinquent police personnel would be binding on the concerned authority. This gives the complaints mechanism a stronger role than merely forwarding grievances back to the police.

• The mechanism provides an avenue for examining alleged abuse by police personnel outside their ordinary departmental hierarchy.
• Its relevance to women’s safety includes accountability for sexual violence in custody and serious abuse of police authority.
• The authorities complement police accountability mechanisms; their mandate is to examine police misconduct, not to replace the police’s general responsibility for preventing and investigating crime.