Abstract

India consists of 29 separate states and 7 United States. The Indian Constitution classifies "Police" as a State topic. This implies that they are governed by the laws and ordinances of the state in which they are situated. State-level rules and regulations provide the parameters for how the police are organised and function. Each state and federally recognised area has a unique police force. Additionally, the union government established centralised police forces to carry out certain duties. As of January 1, 2003, there were around 14, 68,776 individuals working for state and union territory police forces. The combined strength of the top five paramilitary groups was estimated to reach 6, 01,328. If more than two million individuals are motivated to uphold the law and held responsible for their crimes, if any, they have the ability to significantly contribute to constructive social change. The techniques of control and supervision used to them directly affect whether or not they should be held responsible. In this section, we'll examine four important aspects of police accountability in India. The paper's introduction gives an overview of the principles that the British used to build the police force they established in this nation and demonstrates how the colonial model of policing that was implemented did not include the concept of holding the police accountable to people outside the system. The underlying structure, procedures, and lack of public accountability of the police system, it is said in the second part, notwithstanding significant post-independence changes in India. It also discusses the several events that led to increased use of force and incidents of police power abuse, as well as stricter executive oversight of the police. In light of police claims against them, the last chapter explores the need of holding police officers responsible and outlines the internal and external procedures currently in place to do so. The issue is summed up in the final line, which makes the case that police reforms are necessary now and cannot wait any longer.

Keywords