Human rights and police predicament

Human Right violations are prevalent and "practiced" in almost all societies-from modern. First World democracies to the tin-pot dictatorships in the Third World countries-albeit in different shades and degrees. Besides sub-human living conditions of their people. Third World countries have been charged with poor human right records too. The Govts. have been accused of a range of misdemeanors in regard to human rights violations-from apathy to tolerance to encouragement.

Security forces in these countries have attracted considerable flak for their habitual disregard and frequent abuse of human rights. Sense of outrage has been particularly acute in cases of custodial violence-situations where protectors turn persecutors. India, despite having an enviable record of a half-a-century of stable democracy, too, scores poorly on this count. Police still views human right as an obstacle in the way of effective law enforcement. Custodial violence continues to substitute scientific interrogation! Reasons need to be identified. After all, convenience made available to a society should not be outweighed by inconveniences caused in the process of delivery. This book tries to locate variables in "Police culture" that drives policemen to act in as inhumanly a manner as they do.

This is the high time to decide whether police should be the tool of governance or an instrument of law. Professional requirements of the job of policing need to be put in black and white to keep the police record of human rights straight. National Human Rights Commission has a vital role to play in safeguarding the human rights. A critique of the functioning of the NHRC since its inception and nomenclature of police methods of torture are some of the special features of the book.

The subject of Human Rights with emphasis on violation of Human Rights in Police Custody in India has been elaborately dealt in the book. In author's view this book will not only serve as a text book for students of learning in the field of Human Rights but also a reference book for researchers, police officers, advocates, judges and teachers. It is expected that the book will generate a new thinking and raise many questions in the minds of right thinking people to find answers to the legal and practical problems relating to the concept of Human Rights qua the police.