Law enforcement and police officials are organised along a ranked structure whereby each officer has an assigned role and a number of persons placed under him to assist. Hence a superior is expected and duty-bound to fulfill his obligations with a sense of accountability and responsibility that earns him respect of those placed below. This presentation examines a few relevant aspects, particularly in the context of human rights observance.

1. COMMAND
&
SUPERIOR
RESPONSIBILITY

2. Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar
Director
Amity Law School
Noida

3. Vertical Interaction Course
on
Ethics and Accountability
in Police
04 February 2014

4. Key Words Relating to the
Topic
of Presentation
*
*
*
*
*
*
Ethics
Command
Superior
Responsibility
Accountability
Moral courage

5. Each of these words have
concise and significant
import.

6. Ethics
means
a set of principles of right
conduct;
the
rules
or
standards governing the
conduct of a person or the
members of a profession.

7. Ethics is knowing the
difference between what
you have a right to do
and what is right to do.

8. 1.
2.
3.
4.
Command
means
to direct with authority, give
orders to.
to have control or authority
over rule.
to have at one’s disposal.
to exercise dominating
authority or influence over.

9. Superior
means
1.greater in size or higher in
position
2.power

10. An organization like police is
manpower oriented.
It has
different
ranks or posts and having at
every
level certain subordinates.

11. A Police officer exercises
command over his
subordinates.

12. A command is an order that one
has to follow, as long as the
person
who gives it has the authority
over
the subordinate who is given the
order.

13. Responsibility
means
something for which one is
responsible; a duty,
obligation, or burden

14. You cannot escape the
responsibility of tomorrow by
evading it today.
Abraham Lincoln

15. Accountability
means
answerability, liability and
expectation of account giving

16. Dereliction,
shirking
responsibility
or not undertaking it in the
desired
manner may bring about an
unacceptable situation calling
for
explanation,
and
where
required

17. Without accountability, power
brings out worst in people,
and
tyrannical behaviour can
undermine
the
trust
an
organization
has built up over time.

18. When
your
have
entrusted
with
power
you
accountable for
how you use it.
been
are

19. Rationale & Logic
A superior has been provided with
trained and disciplined manpower
to enable him to accomplish the
desired task. Success would be
attributed to him for having
succeeded in his mission. On the
other
hand, failure in mission would
entail a

20. Moral courage is the courage
to
take
action
for
moral
reasons
despite the risk of adverse
consequences.

21. Moral courage is different
than physical courage.

22. Command responsibility is
the
doctrine of hierarchical
responsibility.

23. The
terms
command
responsibility
broadly refers to the duty to
supervise subordinates and
incurs
liability for the failure to do so.

24. Use of Force Doctrine
The doctrine is employed by
police
forces to regulate the actions
of
police and guards.

25. Neither exceptional
circumstances
nor superior orders may be
used
by individual law enforcement
officials to justify unlawful
conduct.

26. Law enforcement officials
must
know, understand, respect
and
apply the law.

27. A
criminally
sanctioned
burden
is
placed
on
superiors to ensure that
their subordinates comply
with the law.

28. A person may use such
force as is reasonable, in
the circumstances, in the
prevention of crime, or in
effecting or assisting in the
lawful arrest of offenders
or suspected offenders, or
of persons unlawfully at
large.

29. The doctrine of superior
responsibility would be
attracted to make a
superior criminally liable
for failure to take action in
cases of human rights
violation by his
subordinates.

30. The
responsibility
of
preserving peace has to be
discharged with a sense of
service and an eye on fair
play.

31. In
the
context
of
functioning of police or law
enforcement
officials,
it
refers
to
disregard
of
human rights.

32. For the purpose of this
presentation, the command
responsibility does not relate
to
offences
like
traffic
violation or chair snatching or
petty thefts but is in the
context
of
human
right
violations.

33. “The police force is far from
efficient; it is defective in
training and organization; it is
inadequately supervised; it is
generally regarded as corrupt
and oppressive; and it has
utterly failed to secure the
confidence and cordial
cooperation of the people.
Sir AHL Fraser, Chairman, Indian Police Commission, July
1902

34. The Police Act of 1861 still
guides and governs our police
system. Because of their
colonial mindset, the distrust
people had for the police in
British India has continued to
date.

35. The
above
legislation
introduced immediately after
the 1857 unrest was meant
to suppress the natives by
use of brute force.

36. Police has been at times
accused of having acted
with unwarranted brutality
when they overreacted to
confrontational situations.

37. Police excesses
include
illegal or incommunicado
detention, fake encounters,
extortion and torture,
disappearances, custodial
violence and extra judicial
executions.

38. Encounter Killings
An encounter is a euphemism to
describe extra judicial killings in
which police or armed forces
shoot down suspected gangsters
and terrorist in gun battles. The
police officers engaged in such
incidents came to be called as
“encounter specialists”.

39. Law
enforcement
officials
may use force only when
strictly necessary and to the
extent
required
for
performance of their duty.

40. When the use of force cannot
be avoided, the principles of
legality,
necessity
and
proportionality
must
be
observed.

41. It is generally believed that
police departments usually
suppress
incidents
of
misconduct by individual
police officers because the
revelation of the facts could
damage the image of the
organization.

42. World Report 2013; India
by Human Rights Watch
asserts
that members of security
forces implicated in serious
rights abuses continued to
enjoy immunity, in large
measure due to India’s
laws and policies.

43. Case Studies
On Police Excesses
incidents taken cognizance
of by the National Human
Rights Commission

44. Enumerated here are six
different cases.
These
relate to different States in
India.
A study of these
incidents would disclose
absence
of
requisite
supervision, monitoring and
proper command system.

45. Surely, the incidents would
not have been so horrific if
the superior officers had
exercised proper control and
check
over
their
subordinates.

46. 1993 – 94
Atrocity in police custody alleged
amputation of male organ of Sri
Jugtaram in police custody in
Barmer, Rajsthan, one ASI and
constable were arrested after the
CBI report, and a charge sheet
was filed. Simultaneously, they
along with one SI and two other
constables were placed under
suspension.

47. Custodial torture of Rakesh
Kumar Vij, UP case No
12982/96-97, electric shocks
were administered to the
victim in Varanasi. The
individual had been rendered
incapable of living normally for
the rest of his life. Disciplinary
action recommended against
five persons including one SSP
and one SP.

48. No 3
1997 – 98
Case of torture of Sri A Ram
Singh a member of
Cuddalore Bar Association,
Tamil Nadu. High Court
ordered payment of
exemplary cost.

49. 1998 – 99
A college lecturer was
beaten mercilessly by the
police in Kerela. When he
become unconscious, his
legs and hands were tied
and he was shifted to a
mental hospital. A case
was made out that he was a
violent mental patients.

50. not admit him because of
his serious condition. The
reporters and
photographer who tried to
report the torture were
also assaulted by the
police. NHRC intervention
led to suspension of two
sub inspectors, one ASI,
one head constable and
three police constables.

51. Department enquiry of
Maharashtra Police blamed
Senior Police Inspector
Lata Dhonde and two police
inspectors of Shahu Nagar
Police Station for their
refusal to lodge an FIR on
complaint by one Farooq
Shaikh for assault on him
on 7 November 2012.

52. Case was brought before
the bench of Justices A S
Oka and S S Jadhav of
Bombay High Court.

53. 25 April 2013
Taking strong exception to
a police officer slapping a
young girl during a recent
protest against rape of a
five year old girl, a bench of
Supreme Court headed by
Justice G S Singhvi directed
the Police Commissioner of
Delhi to file an affidavit to
explain.

54. Offences by public servants
for breach of command
responsibility
made
culpable under section 14
of
the
Prevention
of
Communal and Targeted
Violence (Access to Justice
and
Representation
and
Reparations) Act 2011.

55. The police should be
trained to improve
professionalism and
enhance operational
efficiency. They should
serve as a model for
conduct and efficiency.
APJ Abdul Kalam

56. 1. Believe in, foster and
support
team work
2. Strive to develop mutual
respect and trust
among
subordinates

57. 3.Improve systems and
examine
processes before
placing blame on people.
4.Encourage creativity through
risk taking and be tolerant of
honest mistakes

58. mistakes or errors of
judgment.
2. Due sensitization and
training of
police personnel.
3. Case studies be prepared
and
discussed to bring out
suitable
lessons.
4. Zero tolerance for
excesses.

59. Reporting and review
procedures must be
observed and the misuse of
force-particularly that
resulting in death – must be
promptly, thoroughly and
impartially investigated and,
if the evidence warrants, the
use of force must be
punished as a violation of

60. Accountability should flow
from the higher level of the
police force down to the
police constable.
APJ Abdul Kalam

61. It is not only for what we do
that we
are held responsible, but also
for
we do not do.

62. SUMMARY
Exemplary leadership by
the superiors coupled
with requisite training
and trust in their
subordinates is expected
to cultivate the desired
quality of command.

63. No alibi will save you from
accepting
the
responsibility.
Napoleon Hill

64. CONCLUSION