Chain of bad precedents

The conflict between the state police of Punjab, Delhi and Haryana — which unfolded over the past weekend — has added to the chain of precedents that don’t augur well for governance in the future. High-drama Tajinder Pal Bagga episode came just a week after Jignesh Mevani was arrested from Gujarat by Assam police over a contentious social media post. It must be cleared at the outset that inter-state arrests have been a norm in India and there is nothing quite odd per se in these two recent arrests in procedural terms. However, the fact that these arrests grabbed national headlines can be largely attributed to the political coloring or influences working in the hindsight. It is a bad sign that politics, remaining at the focal point, is able to manipulate the due process of law and drag highly regarded institutions in somewhat trivial pursuits. State police are entrusted with the executive responsibility of ensuring lawful functioning of society, thereby serving people. Overbearing influence of politics can divert their allegiance towards politicians — cutting upon their commitment towards public service. Last week, the entire nation saw Punjab Police directly pitted against Haryana and Delhi Police combined. In a shocking incident, the Delhi Police, acting on a complaint filed by Bagga’s father, had registered a kidnapping case for the ‘missing’ Bagga — despite having full knowledge that Bagga was under Punjab Police’s custody. This appears to have been done tactically for quick release of Bagga from Punjab Police’s custody but a bad precedent is nevertheless a bad precedent. At the same time, opposition parties in Punjab have been criticising the AAP government for “politicisation of Punjab police” among other things. Legal aspects of the case apart, the entire episode is being perceived through the lens of the BJP-AAP rivalry. Though both parties have largely remained silent on this front, the perception presents ominous signs. Furthermore, the kidnapping case filed by Delhi police, in particular, is a serious blowback to the law-andorder and security framework of the nation as inter-state cooperation forms the bedrock of security arrangement. This cooperation should not only be governed by clearly defined laws but also by robust trust and understanding between state police units. In the Bagga’s case, the efficacy of both has been tested. Going by the law, ideally, a state police must coordinate with the local police before rightfully arresting a local person. However, the state police, over years, appear to have been working on a convention of sorts where the visiting police have been acting with minimal restraints. Not much ago, we saw the arrest of Disha Ravi from Bengaluru by Delhi Police, with a very shortperiod notice to Bengaluru police. Inconsistencies arising out of this convention require redefining of laws in a manner where scope of manipulation is least. Amid lack of such redefinition, inter-state police operations will be pushed into chaos, if a similar trend is followed by other state police as well. On the front of promoting trust between any two state police, the best way forward will be to bring in greater professionalism and political independence in the police services by revisiting and implementing police reform measures. Furthermore, former home minister of India, P Chidambaram apprehended that if such a trend continues unabated, “federalism will be dead and buried” in the country. He was in fact referring to the larger question of inter-state and Centre-state relations ranging far beyond police functioning. Indeed, the despicable turn of events in the Bagga case may dampen the spirit of federalism envisaged in the Indian Constitution. Hopefully, some of these aspects will be covered by the Mohali High Court today and the real points and agents of conflict will be recognised during the course of hearing. However, while the judiciary resolves this particular case, policymakers must make serious long-term considerations towards nipping this rather unsavory trend in the bud and prevent greater chaos that may be waiting in the wings.