Political Intervention In Police Work In India – A Deep Root Of Control And Corruption

Political intervention in police functioning is one of the deepest and most dangerous causes of corruption in the Indian law enforcement system. While corruption in police forces is present at different levels around the world, it has taken a particular institutional and political form in India, where police are not independent institutions, but act as a tool in the hands of political powers. From ordering police deployment, transfer, promotion and suspension, to affect the investigation and save the criminals – politicians hold a large part of unconstitutional control over the police. This has systematically reduced professionalism, fairness and public confidence in police institutions across the country.

1. Colonial Heritage of Control – Foundation of Political Intervention

The foundation of political intervention in the Indian police system is associated with British colonial rule, especially after the Indian rebellion of 1857. To crush the future rebellions and establish complete control, the British implemented the Indian Police Act of 1861, which still controls police functioning in most parts of India. Under this law, the police was accountable not towards the public, but to the executive officials like the District Collector or the British Governor. The purpose of the police was not to serve or protect common people, but to suppress disagreement, monitor anti-British elements and to implement colonial rule through fear.

Unfortunately, when India gained independence in 1947, the newly formed democratic government opted to maintain this colonial structure instead of improving it. From the 1950s to the 1960s, the Indian police continued to work under the control of bureaucrats and politicians, working on executive orders rather than democratic or judicial surveillance. During this period, police were used to crush the strikes of trade unions, political protests and peasant movements – in states like West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab. It marked the beginning of political intervention as an ideal, where ministers and MLAs began to influence police actions to fulfill political objectives.

Despite being given rights such as expression, gathering and freedom of protest by the Constitution of India, the police often favor the ruling governments and suppress the opposition movements. Thus, the methods of colonial policing continued in the early years of independent India, which laid the foundation of political manipulation and corruption within the police force.

2. 1970s and Emergency – Political misuse at its peak

Emergency from June 1975 to March 1977 declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is the most black chapter in India’s democratic history, especially in the context of police misuse. Under Article 352 of the Constitution, the Emergency suspended fundamental rights, allowing the government to detain people without trial. The police became a weapon of harassment, rather than maintaining justice, working under the direct orders of political authorities and Congress party leadership.

During these 21 months, thousands of opposition leaders, journalists, students and critics were arrested without warrant or legal process. There were reports of custody torture and deaths in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Police raided media houses, destroyed printing presses and often implemented rigorous sensorship on oral orders of politicians. No judicial surveillance or legal process was followed.

The Shah Commission report (1978), formed after the Emergency, revealed that the police had completely abandoned their independence. The officials followed the illegal orders of political bosses, ignored legal norms and were actively involved in violation of rights. The report emphasized that this collapse of police loyalty was a direct result of political intervention and pressure.

Even after the Emergency ended, its legacy continued to bother the Indian police system. It set an example of political and ruling police conduct, showing how force can be used to fulfill political interests rather than public duty. Several practices adopted during this period – arbitrary arrests, preventive detention and monitoring – in modern India, especially in the management of protests and disagreement, continues to today.

3. Era after liberalization – The rise of political patronage in police work

In 1991, India’s economic liberalization brought rapid changes not only in the economy, but also in criminal-political alliances. Along with new industries, infrastructure projects and rising personal property, corruption also gained rapid, which was often protected or assisted by the police. Politicians began to use the police as their personal weapon to control emerging commercial areas, suppress rivals and influence legal proceedings. This was particularly clear in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

During this period, political patronage became common in police work. Politicians demanded loyalty from the officers and in turn offered them attractive posting and promotion. The police were pressurized to protect the criminals associated with the party, allow illegal activities such as sand mining, land grab and forced recovery and even organize fake encounters against rivals. Opposition leaders and those who expressed disagreement were arrested regularly on fake charges.

The Report of the Vohra Committee (1993), constituted by the Government of India, warned of increasing alliance between crime syndicate, politicians and police. It said that some criminals have formed deep relations with bureaucrats and police officers and are using them to increase their illegal empires. Unfortunately, the report was put in cold storage and was never implemented, as its conclusions were very explosives.

Thus, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Indian police became a pawn in the hands of powerful regional parties, which reduced its freedom. The idea that the police could do justice without political intervention, began to disappear and instead the culture of protection, loyalty and cunning began to flourish.

4. Transfer and promotion as political tools

By the 2000s, political intervention in police transfer and promotion had taken deep roots. In most Indian states, MLAs, MPs and Ministers of State at the level of police officers, especially SP, SSP and DGP control the progress, transfer and progress of career. These decisions are not based on merit, performance or honesty, but are based on the trap of political loyalty and bribery.
Postings favorable in urban areas, crime branches, intelligence units or anti -corruption branches are often “sold” to officers who are willing to pay or serve for political interests. Meanwhile, honest officers are punished for transfer to remote, Naxal -affected or struggling areas for refusing to follow illegal orders.

A prominent example of this is Maharashtra (2021), where the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh accused Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of demanding ₹ 100 crore per month from businesses through police officers. Singh was suddenly transferred and several FIRs were lodged against him in a few weeks – how the whistleblower officials are harassed.

In Uttar Pradesh, during the rule of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the early 2000s, police officers who allegedly supported the strong leaders of the Samajwadi Party were promoted. Similarly, in West Bengal, both the Left regime and the Trinamool Congress were accused of using senior police officers and accused of ordering illegal monitoring and politicians motivated.

Although the Supreme Court’s Prakash Singh Decision (2006) ordered a fixed term and the independent police board, most of the states have ignored these reforms. As a result, the transfer of transferred political gains remains the largest way, making police officers servants of ministers rather than the Constitution.

5. Politics motivated FIR and selective investigation

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in politics -motivated FIRs and selective investigation, where the police acts on the instructions of the ruling political parties, not according to the law. This has severely reduced public confidence in the fairness of the police.

During the anti -CAA protests (2019-2020), several peaceful protesters in Delhi, Assam and Uttar Pradesh, including students, teachers and activists – were arrested under the allegations of treason and UAPA. The police refused to register an FIR against those who made inflammatory speeches on behalf of the ruling party, while protesters associated with the opposition were put in jail.

The Delhi riots (2020) further exposed this prejudice. Muslim activists like Omar Khalid and Khalid Saifi were jailed for conspiring, while there were extensive allegations that the riots were raging with hate speeches of the ruling party members. The Center -controlled Delhi Police was accused of saving the accused associated with the government, targeting critics.

In Tamil Nadu (2022), both BJP and DMK accused each other of registering fake cases against their political activists. This has become a nationwide trend – where the law is not implemented in a selective manner, but on the basis of political equations.

Such practices destroy democratic accountability, which makes the police look like a private army of the ruling. This leads the message that the law is flexible for the powerful and harsh for those who express disagreements, causing corruption and injustice to deepen.

6. Communication of disagreement and police use in protests

From 2015 to 2024, there has been unrest in India, protests and civil movements have seen an increase. Unfortunately, instead of allowing peaceful expression of disagreement, police have been used to suppress protests, arrest opposition workers and intimidate workers and journalists, often at the behest of political leaders.

A prominent example of this is the Kisan Protests (2020-2021), where thousands of farmers traveled towards Delhi against the three controversial agricultural laws passed by the central government. As soon as the farmers reached the borders of the capital, Delhi and Haryana Police used water showers, lathicharge and barricades to stop them. This repression was not only law enforcement – it was seen as a politics -motivated repression under the BJP -led governments at Haryana and the Center. The protesters were detained without a warrant, the internet facility was discontinued and the police refused to file a complaint against those who provoked the violence.

Another example is frequent harassment of journalists between 2021 and 2024. Police targeted the FIRs for tweets, discussions and facts related to investigative journalists like Rana Job, Mohammad Zubair, Siddiqui Kapin and others. While people with opposition ideology were arrested or summoned, there is often no punishment when the leaders of the ruling party using abusive language.

In 2022, during the India Address Yatra, Congress leaders alleged that their workers were illegally detained in BJP ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to prevent their political reach.

These incidents prove that the police are being politically directed to control public dissatisfaction. Instead of acting as a neutral patron of law and order, they have become an agent of political repression, who punish those who question power and protect people associated with power.

7. Comparative absence of freedom compared to western countries

In democratic societies, independent police functioning is necessary to maintain the rule of law. Unfortunately, while Western countries have set up strong police accountability systems, India is still working under a colonial and politically compromised structure, which has very little improvement and weak monitoring mechanisms.

In the United States, the police departments are usually decentralized and operate under local regime, such as city councils and police boards. The allegations of misconduct can be extended to the Civil Monitoring Board and State Advocate General, ensuring accountability beyond political influence. There have also been many high-profile resignations and cases of police officers in cases of favoritism or misconduct, which shows that the police are not untouchables.

In the United Kingdom, the Independent Office (IOPC) for police conduct is responsible for investigating serious complaints against the police, including cases related to political bias or illegal arrest. This body is legally independent, and politicians cannot interfere with its investigation.

Similarly, in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigates public grievances related to the Civil Review and Grievance Commission (CRCC) misconduct. These independent bodies ensure that political celebrities cannot manipulate the conduct of the police.

In contrast, it has no functional counterpart in India. The State Police Grievance Authority, who is entrusted with the Supreme Court’s 2006 verdict (Prakash Singh case), is either existent or powerless. The Lokpal constituted to take action against high-level corruption rarely touches cases of corruption. Most of the complaints do not reach anywhere until the media intervenes or the matter becomes politically inconvenient.

Without really independent police accountability systems, the police of India remains sensitive to political exploitation, weakening justice, fairness and democratic rights.

8. Political control = police corruption

More than seven decades after independence, the Indian police system remains one of the most politically manipulated institutions in the country. Direct control over police works by political parties – whether regional or national – has made a fair public service a means of political enforcement.

The police act of 1861, from the colonial origin of police control, excesses of 1975–77 emergency, ranging from criminal-political alliances exposed in the 1990s, transfers for loyalty, FIRs for political gains and police to suppress disagreement through barbacks-the present era of suppressing disagreement-political intervention in every decade.

This intervention has results in real life:

• Honest officers are marginalized or punished.
• If the victims of crime do not get political support, they are ignored.
• Opposition leaders, students and journalists are harassed.
• Justice is delayed, it is being denied, or deformed.
• People’s confidence in the police is broken.

In addition, reform efforts – such as Prakash Singh Police Reform, Vohra Committee’s findings, or proposed independent Grievance Authority – have been ignored or weakened by the ruling. There is no political will to create a real autonomous police force, as the ruling parties benefit from the corrupt status quo.

Unless India implements intensive structural reforms, including:

• Complete implementation of Police Reform Guidelines of Supreme Court
• Independent police monitoring bodies at the state and national level
• Fixed term and qualification-based promotion for officers
• Legal protection for informer policemen
• Strict restrictions on filing FIR and political intervention in investigation

The Indian police will remain a slave of political masters, not the servants of the people.

This is no longer corruption – it is a tradition, a system and a political weapon. And until citizen, civil society, judiciary and reformer will not unite to break this alliance, the police will continue to apply injustice – not the law.

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