Bringing the dialogue on judicial and police reforms outside the premises of the institutions and making people actively participate in them, All ladies league and The Pioneer organised a thought-provoking seminar on the same as a part of their Pioneering Parivartan initiative at India International Centre (IIC) on Tuesday.
Addressing a completely packed auditorium, a distinguished panel consisting of BJP MP Chandan Mitra, Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand and All ladies league chairperson Harbeen Arora made some riveting observations on various reforms that are needed in policing and judiciary. The discussion was moderated by senior journalist and vice-chairman of The Pioneer Amit Goel.
While the panel called for some general as well as specific reforms in the two institutions, it, however, unanimously maintained that what needs to be done is already known; it’s a matter of how to do it is what needs to be figured out. “We all know what to do. The question is: Can we do itIJ” asked Harbeen Arora.
“When media decided to talk about politics, we all started to talk about it in our living rooms. We started to understand what politics is all about. And now when it comes to police and judicial reforms, the media is on board. And I assure you that we all are going to understand what we believe to be the complexities of judiciary and police. It (Pioneering Parivartan) is going to be a series with a difference,” Arora said.
Talking about reforms needed in policing, she called for separation of functions of police so that those functions could be carried out effectively. “Police has to perform a lot of duties from maintaining law and order to investigation to even VIP protection, what we call bandobast. These functions need to be separated for the police to function effectively,” she said.
As for judiciary, she called for separation of cases on the basis of level of gravity. She also called for bringing more women into the judicial system. “That, I believe, will achieve three things. First, there will be a decrease in the misogyny in the system. Second, by looking at those women in the judiciary, more women will come forward to become a part of it. And third, more women will feel comfortable to approach the judicial system if they will see more women as a part of it,” she said.
Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, however, said that things are already improving and more and more women are already looking at law as a viable and preferred career option. She stressed on the swift delivery of justice to be of paramount importance to the common people.
On policing, she also stressed on the need for different functions of the police to be separated. “Police functions can be broadly divided into two parts. One is what police does after a crime been committed: the investigation. And the other is policing; to ensure that the crime is not committed in the first place. I believe that for a secure society, policing needs to be ensured,” she said. She also called for modernity in investigation, while maintaining that we are moving in the right direction.”
Calling police a necessary evil, Chandan Mitra said that no matter the wrong activities that police may sometimes indulge in, we want them to function better. “For that, we need to stand up and ask for better conditions for them,” he said.
He added that as far as reforms in police and judiciary are concerned, we have to move beyond the commissions and their reports. “No matter how many reports or recommendations we get, the main question is how do we reform the attitude and behaviour of the policemen who have to interact with the publicIJ There’s indifference, a lack of attention, politeness and concern which anyone who has ever interacted with them may have noticed. There is a need to change that,” he said, adding that police should inspire confidence, not fear.
“If you can’t take people into confidence, you can’t protect them. You cannot get the information that you need from the public as for that to happen, people need to trust you. There is a need to reinvent the relationship between public and the police personnel at the grass roots level,” Mitra said, adding that reform is needed at the beat constable level.
On judiciary as well, the Rajya Sabha member reiterated the need to humanise the relationship between the judges and the public. And no commission can achieve that,” he said.
“But one reform that I really feel is needed when it comes to judiciary is on the matter of judicial delay. And I say that based on personal experience. I am defending a 13-year-old defamation case for an article in my newspaper had allegedly defamed the leader of a certain sect who is long dead. And I still have to go to Andhra Pradesh as the case is still going on,” he said. He added that delay in delivering justice not only causes frustration for the litigants, but because of that, even the society feels cheated somewhere.
On the issue of police reforms, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi maintained that there is no need for overhauling reforms. If the police can just do its job as per rule of law, then most of the problems will be solved. “But for that, certain provisions of law and certain limitations on the organisation need to be altered or done away with,” he said, adding that as far as reforms in police are concerned, they need to come from within the organisation and not from outside.
The top cop further added that people perceive policing to be a very simple activity which is not the case. “Policing is a complicated exercise and that’s why for any reforms to be brought to policing, the policemen on the ground need to be involved,” he said.
He also said that after December 16, 2012 gangrape, the security of women has become a priority for the Delhi Police. “That incident proved to be a watershed. Ever since then, we have been continuously working on security of women on priority basis. I can assure you that now every single rape case is registered. And once the case is registered, we are duty-bound to carry out the investigation and file the chargesheet,” he said.
Standing with the vulnerable section of the society (women, kids and aged), Bassi said he will not leave any stone unturned. He said, “Delhi Police, with time, has become more conscious about the susceptible section of the society and I will make sure that any case regarding them does not go unnoticed and unregistered.”
He, however, said that the department which is considered to be responsible to maintain the law and order in the society is least heard and is least vocal. “The time an officer reaches a position where he can be heard, cynicism overtakes his personality,” added Bassi.