The Long Arm Of The Law Or The Heavy Hand Of Power?

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Hansin Kapoor, B.A. (Hons.) Criminology & Criminal Justice, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University

ABSTRACT

This research essay critically examines the persistent tension between police investigative powers and individual human rights within the Indian criminal justice system. Rooted in colonial legal architecture, particularly the Police Act of 1861 and the Criminal Procedure Code, Indian policing continues to privilege control, coercion, and executive discretion over constitutionalism and rights-based governance. Through doctrinal analysis, judicial critique, and empirical data on custodial violence, the study demonstrates how statutory safeguards and constitutional guarantees are routinely undermined by institutional culture, judicial deference, and systemic impunity. Drawing on Supreme Court jurisprudence, human rights reports, NCRB and NHRC data, and illustrative case studies, the essay exposes the structural normalisation of custodial abuse and the symbolic nature of accountability mechanisms. It further interrogates the failure to criminalise custodial torture and the stagnation of police reforms despite international obligations and Law Commission recommendations. Finally, the paper proposes a multi- layered reform framework encompassing independent oversight, technological transparency, and community engagement, arguing that investigative efficiency and human rights are not competing values but mutually reinforcing pillars of democratic policing. The study concludes that unless India reconceptualises policing as a service anchored in dignity, legality, and accountability, the rule of law will remain vulnerable to the very institutions entrusted to protect it.

32. THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW OR THE HEAVY HAND OF POWER.pdf

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