In India’s democratic history the relationship between the police and politicians has been the subject of heated debate. Many believe that outdated criminal laws have severely crippled the justice system, fostering corruption across government sectors—including the judiciary—while enabling politicians to misuse their power for personal gain. This toxic mix has undermined the very essence of democracy, denying ordinary citizens the fundamental rights they deserve.
In response to these persistent issues, civil society and legal professionals have long clamored for reforms, urging the creation of new laws to clear the roadblocks that hinder justice. The Indian government recently enacted three landmark pieces of legislation: the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), implemented with effect from July 1, 2024. While it's too early to measure the full impact of these laws, early indications suggest that they may speed up the justice delivery process and require authorities to provide clearer grounds before making arrests.
However, these reforms may not be enough to dismantle the deeply entrenched illegal practices at the ground level, particularly in local police stations. A worrying aspect is the absence of mechanisms to stop some police officers from fabricating investigation reports if bribed by vested interests or pressured by political patrons. The lower judiciary is similarly susceptible to external influence, which allows the police-politician collusion to persist unchallenged. This trend has been continuing ever after we got independence but in the last few decades, it has assumed monstrous proportion. The poor and downtrodden are mostly at the receiving end. Right from my adulthood, I had been hearing heart-rending stories of people who had fallen victims to this political interference, but fortunately never had any personal experience of dealing with the vicious ‘jugalbandi’ of the two. I, however, closely witnessed an incident recently which virtually shook my conscience. The police in independent India can go to any extent at the behest of their political masters. This interference is so entrenched that it has become an inherent part of the system, and its ramifications are deeply damaging to the fabric of our democracy.
The Deeper Roots of the Collusion

This unholy partnership thrives because it benefits both sides. Unprincipled politicians need the support of the police to maintain their grip on power, whether it's for manipulating criminal cases, silencing opponents, or protecting their own illegal activities. The police, in turn, rely on politicians for career advancement, lucrative postings, and protection when they're in trouble. Over time, this symbiotic relationship has grown so pervasive that it's become institutionalized—a fundamental part of how politics functions in India. There have been several attempts at Reforms of the Police Service which would give independence to police officials from political bosses.

Areas of Political Interference

The politicians’ interference manifests in various ways. Some of the most common areas of interference include: manipulating arrests: Politicians influence whether someone is arrested or not, especially when the case involves cognizable offenses; bail decisions: Politicians often pressure police officers to oppose or support bail applications based on political considerations; suppressing evidence: Political interference can lead to the suppression of crucial evidence or even the creation of false evidence during police investigations; charge-sheet manipulation: Political influence often decides who gets included or excluded from a charge sheet; forcing the police to take sides: Whether it’s rallying a police force to one political side during elections or using police force to target political rivals, interference is rampant; misusing preventive custody: Politicians use police power to immobilize opponents or critics by placing them in preventive custody; foisting false criminal cases: This can be done to settle political scores or intimidate opponents; law enforcement discretion: The police selectively enforce laws based on political pressure, turning a blind eye when it suits their political masters; false complaints: Politicians can engineer complaints that involve police intervention, often leading to wrongful arrests or harassment.

The Way Forward

The persistence of this deeply rooted alliance between the police and politicians is doing irreparable damage to India’s democratic structure. But there are ways to break the cycle.
i) The Supreme Court in a judgment in the case on Public Interest Foundation (2015) directed that all cases against MPs/MLAs be concluded within a year and preferably by having day to day trial. But the ‘cases against MPs/MLAs are not moving’, observed an SC judge who visited a dedicated court in Delhi. In a recent case filed in Supreme Court, seeking direction for a life-long disqualification instead of existing 6 years, from contesting election, on such politicians who have been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years, the Supreme Court has issued notice to Central Govt. and Election Commission for their reply. This is a welcome development. If the Supreme Court allows the SLP, it will make an enduring dent on could not-care-less sort of psyche of politicians; ii) Free and fair elections are absolutely necessary for a healthy and vibrant democracy. All states should, therefore, be placed under Governor’s rule from the date of issuance of election notification by the Election Commission till formation of new government, so as to reduce the influence of politicians over the police; iii) In implementing the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the matter of Prakash Singh, for Police Reforms, many states have been lax. The government must ensure these reforms are enforced in both letter and spirit, creating a more accountable police force. Their implementation will pave the way for many other reforms.
iv) There are about 46 percent of MPs in the present parliament who are facing serious criminal charges, two of whom are behind the bar, facing trial for terror related charges. There is an urgent need to enact a law to debar tainted persons in whose case the police has filed a charge-sheet in court, from contesting elections; v) The Parliamentary and Assembly elections should be held together. Besides saving lot of Govt. expenditure, it will substantially cut down use of money and muscle power of politicians because their resources will be scattered at multiple locales. In that sense, the Union Government’s initiative for simultaneous polls is welcome; vi) The politicians know rather too well the importance of policemen for furtherance of their interest. Everyone, therefore, seems to be vying with each other for grabbing power to control the police. The least that they strive to achieve is police protection on one or the other pretext. The Govt. should re-examine the guidelines to assess the gravity of threat perception and should make them more stringent.
vii) Citizens, especially those in positions of influence, should campaign to defeat criminally tainted candidates during elections, thereby creating a broader social movement to push for cleaner politics; viii) The Superintendents of police/ Commandants of CAPFs should not depute one person with a particular protected person for more than a specified period of a year or so and total period on VIP security for more than 3 years. They should also take strict action against all such personnel who use their proximity with a VIP for undue favours and furtherance of their service interest; ix) Introducing a mandatory Code of Conduct for political leaders is crucial. Such a code would ensure ethical behavior, transparency, and accountability in the political process.
In the interest of citizen’s security, for that matter any emergency, the police is the first point of call. People tend to call the police for any untoward incident anywhere they come across. Therefore, it is deeply necessary to free the police from undue and illicit political interference. The accountability of police is maintained within their department which is more rigorous and disciplined. Politicians need not have that authority over the police personnel. That is how this dangerous trend of political interference can be reversed.

Author is a former DIG, CISF, Govt of India
Email:---------------------dr.dkgiri@gmail.com