Police Reforms: India
Police Reforms: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay

State Police Commissions

Mainly during the 1960s, numerous state governments showed interest in getting police problems examined by expert groups and appointed Police Commissions with fairly wide terms of reference. The following Police Commissions were appointed by the state governments, in chronological order:

Bihar Police Commission - This commission was appointed on October 16, 1958 and submitted its report on May 23, 1961. Mr. B.P. Jamuar, a retired High Court Judge, acted as the chairman, while a Member Secretary and six members made up the rest of the body.

Uttar Pradesh Police Commission - The Uttar Pradesh Police Commission was appointed on January 23, 1960 and submitted its report on August 1, 1961. Mr. Ajit Prasad Jain, a Member of Parliament, stood as chairman, with a Member Secretary and 13 members.

West Bengal Police Commission - The next in line was appointed on March 10, 1960 and submitted its report on December 29, 1961. Mr. K.C. Sen, a retired officer of the Indian Civil Service, filled the position of chairman with a Member Secretary and two other members.

Punjab Police Commission - This commission was appointed on May 11, 1961 and submitted its report on April 30, 1962. Mr. Mehr Chand Mahajan, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was its chairman, and it also had a Member Secretary and 13 members.

Maharashtra Police Commission - Appointed on May 1, 1962, the Maharashtra Police Commission submitted its report on May 30, 1964. Mr Y.V. Dixit, a retired High Court Judge, occupied the chairman's seat, with a Member Secretary and six members.

Delhi Police Commission - This commission was appointed on November 5, 1966 under the chairmanship of Mr. G.D. Khosla, a retired judge of the High Court. It had a Member Secretary and two members. It submitted its report on April 15, 1968.

Assam Police Commission - The Assam Police Commission was established on May 21, 1969 under the chairmanship of Mr. Shanti Prasad, a retired Indian Police (IP) officer. In addition to a Member Secretary, it consisted of four members.

Tamil Nadu Police Commission - This commission was appointed under the chairmanship of Mr. R.A. Gopalswamy, (I.C.S) on December 20, 1969. It submitted its report on January 1971. It had a member secretary and three more members.

Uttar Pradesh Police Commission - This was the second commission set up by the UP government. It was appointed on May 11, 1970 and submitted its report on August 31, 1971. Mr. Gangeshwar Prasad, a retired High Court Judge, was the chairman, with a member secretary and four members.

The terms of reference, though different for different commissions, covered some common ground. Generally, the focus of each commission was on the need to examine the adequacy of strength, equipment and other resources of the police; recruitment, training and disciplinary standards; the working of the rural police; separation of investigation and law and order functions of the police; powers and duties of the police; maintenance of records; morale and efficiency of the police; corruption in the police and measures to deal with it; and police community relations. None of these commissions was required to recommend measures and institutional arrangements to prevent misuse of powers by the police, and/or misuse of the police by politicians or other pressure groups, which was one of the most important terms of reference of the National Police Commission.