Praja Foundation ‘State of Policing and Law & Order in Mumbai, 2021’

·         It would take 30 years to complete judgement of all the cases that are pending as on 2020 based on the average number of judgements / withdrawals (2550 cases) in the last 5 years of Class II serious offences and assuming no further cases go for trial henceforth.

·         85% of accused in Class II serious offence IPC cases were acquitted in Mumbai’s Sessions Courts as on 2020.

·         58% (445) of total rape cases in Mumbai were committed against children in 2020.

·         Out of total 1,26,921 IPC cases registered, 96,057 (76%) cases were pending for investigation at the end of 2020.

·         A high pendency of investigation was noticed in cases of crime against children (80%), women (77%) and SLL (Special and Local Laws) crimes (77%), as on 2020.

·         Forensic investigation fell from 55% in 2019 to 50% in 2020. 16,608 cases were pending for forensic investigation at the end of 2020.

·         98% (2,49,027) of total IPC cases (2,55,355) were pending for trial as on 2020.

·         There was an overall shortage of investigating officers – for example, 18% shortage in Police Sub Inspector (PSI) post and 20% shortage in Assistant Police Sub-Inspector (ASI) posts were also noticed.

·         Shortage in personnel in the forensic laboratories (45% shortage) was observed, in which, none of the 28 sanctioned posts for scientific officers were filled.

·         A shortage in personnel of 30% (35 working out of 50) was seen in the position of Sessions Court public prosecutors as on March 2021.

·         A 30% shortage was seen in filling positions of Sessions Court judges where only 69 judges were seen to be working of the total 98 sanctioned as on March 2021.

Mumbai, December 8: Praja Foundation released its report on ‘State of Policing and Law & Order in Mumbai, 2021’ highlighting the need for improvements in various aspects such as human resources, monitoring and accountability, sensitization and improvements in the state of policing and law & order in Mumbai.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has had a global impact on all our lives and has put the various systems that surround our lives, to the test. As doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers went into overdrive, so did our police personnel. Often risking their own lives (100 police personnel deaths in Mumbai happened due to COVID-19 in 2020), they were seen to be on duty to maintain law and order in our cities. We thank Mumbai police personnel for their selfless service in these troubling times.”, stated Nitai Mehta, Trustee, Praja Foundation.

Though the report found that there has been a marginal decrease in reported major crimes in 2020, however looking at historical data, the policing and law and order situation hasn’t improved. Increasing pending investigations and IPC cases, discrepancies in POCSO cases, low forensic investigation, pending trials and so on are still prevalent in the city.

As per the POCSO Act, the judgement of all POCSO cases should be tried in POCSO courts and should be completed within a period of one year from the time of cognizance of the offence. However, 28% of the total POCSO cases as on 2020, were not tried in the special POCSO courts and 49% (in 2018), 48% (in 2019) and 45% (in 2020) of total cases took 1 to 3 years to receive judgement.

“These gaps in the state of policing and law & order situation in Mumbai can however largely be attributed to the massive shortage in personnel in both these departments. As of 31st July 2021, the number of sanctioned police personnel posts was 51,255, of which 41,396 personnel were working – indicating a shortfall of 19%. Furthermore, 50% cases sent to the forensic department were also pending as of 2020.”, said Yogesh Mishra, Head - Research and Data, Praja Foundation.

“For the judiciary, position for Sessions Court judges were also not filled appropriately. The condition is similar for Sessions Court public prosecutors as well. With increasing urban population of Mumbai, it is not just important to fill the remaining sanctioned posts, but also to revisit the number of sanctioned posts each year to cope up with the increasing number of trials.”, stated Mehta.                                                                                 

“While it is important to hire new personnel, it is equally important to ensure other amenities such as allotment of houses/quarters for them. In 2020, there was a shortage of a massive 31,839 (62%) housing units whereas only 18,402 (36%) housing units were allotted.”, added Mishra.

Police Complaints Authority (PCA) was set up in 2014 in Maharashtra, however PCA was not operational for Konkan Division, which consists of Mumbai region, until September 2021. Separation of policing and law and order functions ensures that police personnel involved in investigation of cases are not diverted to perform law and order functions. This reform will enable use of separate investigation unit staff who will be able to undertake timely investigation of cases. The data for the segregation of unit staff is not available on record for 2020. Furthermore, State Security Commission (SSC) that lays down broad policy guidelines and evaluates the performance of the police personnel has also not been established.

“Mumbai’s Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) need to ensure that deliberations are followed through and reforms are made in correlation to their deliberations. A maximum number of questions (97 questions) were asked on ‘Police and establishment’. However, reform in this area has not been effectively implemented.”, added Mishra.

“Apart from that, there is a dire need to have adequate police force, forensic personnel, judicial personnel and to fill the sanctioned posts for effective investigation and trial of cases. Giving independent authority to try cases and take decisions against atrocities by police, effective monitoring of implementation of special laws such as POCSO Act are also important steps towards better policing. However, citizens also play an important role in reducing crime in a city. Therefore, a multi-stakeholder approach needs to be adopted for creating awareness and sensitising people to prevent sexual abuse of children while also implementing community policing to improve police-citizen relationship.”, concluded Mehta.

About PRAJA Foundation:

Over the last two decades Praja has been working towards enabling accountable governance. We conduct data driven research on civic issues and inform key stakeholders such as Elected Representatives (ER), citizens, media, and government administration and work with ERs to equip them to address inefficiencies in their work processes, bridging the information gaps, and mobilising them in taking corrective measures while advocating for change. PRAJA's goals are simplifying people's lives, empowering the citizens and government with facts and creating instruments of change to improve the quality of life of people in India. PRAJA is committed to creating an accountable and efficient society through people's participation.