At the chief ministers' conference on internal security, prime minister Manmohan Singh highlighted the urgent need for police reforms. However, with the states and union themselves having resisted such reforms, the PM's statement runs the danger of ringing hollow, according to the findings of a recent study. The report titled 'Feudal Forces- Reforms Delayed 2010' brought out by the Commonwalth Human Rights Intiative (CHRI) indicts the governments in the federation for showing lack of will to implement reforms - even after the apex court had asked for them.

“We cannot continue to police our society with archaic laws and policing systems, " the PM said at the conference. But the think tank believes that the government may be doing too little even after having woken up to the need for reforms quite late.

It highlights that four year's after the supreme courthad ruled on reforms, the union government has done precious little. The apex court had directed the government to take initiatives toward revamping policing in the country in the matter of Prakash Singh vs Union of India and others judgment, but there hasn’t been much change ever since.

“Till date, only 11 states have enacted fresh Police Acts to replace the old legislation and two states have amended their earlier laws on the subject to accommodate the new directives of the court,” the report pointed out.

It said that both state and union governments have resisted such reforms. “The reason is that no government is willing to weaken its control over the police force,” the report held.

“The politicians do not want their unfettered control over the police curbed and wish to retain their present ability to use it for narrow political ends, to intimidate enemies and to stifle dissent,” the study added.

The centre’s apathy on police reforms led the apex court to set up a committee under the chairmanship of retired judges to monitor the progress in July, 2008. “Only 13 states have so far enacted new police legislations, where others have issued executive orders,” the report said.

The study found that 19 states set up complaint authorities but it is functional in only seven states. According to the report, “No state government has established police complaint authorities at both the district and state levels that fully comply with the SC’s orders.”

While the human rights violations are sometimes perpetrated by the police and the sufferers are mostly innocent victims, the report noted that public in several states are completely unaware that their government is in the process of reforming the police laws. “Involve the community and public at large in the reform process,” the study advised the government.

It also recommended that social audits of police stations must be given special emphasis.

The prime minister also asked the union home ministry to prepare a model Delhi Police Bill for other state police forces to emulate. But, the report finds several drawbacks in the bill.

A model bill, drawing from suggestions supreme court, was to form the skeleton for the Delhi Police Bill. But the one the home ministry presented in 2010 has striking departures from what had been proposed in the model bill.

“It is discouraging to note that the safeguards of independence and accountability explicitly drawn up by the court and reflected in Model Bill have been ignored in the draft Delhi Police Bill,” the report highlighted.

The study said Delhi should not ignore recommendations of the court directive on police reforms.