by Police - Bureau of Police Research and Development

The Indian Police Journaltheir disputes. They look to police for providing this resolution andwhen they are told that the police has no role to play in civil disputes,they end up losing whatever little faith they have in the police system.civil disputes with more interest than their legitimate mandate. Inmany cases, civil matters are given the colour of cognizable offences,FIRs got issued, and the heavy-handed police methods used to “settle”the matter. Needless to say, this is often done with the connivance ofand antisocial elements have proliferated, who specialize in settlingredressal forums still more effective than the Civil Courts. Manytimes, unresolved civil disputes lead to commission of crime as well. with the bestof intentions also soon fall victim to allegations by vested interestsand get entangled legally. In many cases, lawyers who are affected byMost Police Manuals and Rules actually prevent the police from takinga proactive role in settlement of such disputes.For instance, the Andhra Pradesh Police Manual states in OrderNo. 322 as follows:“Problems arising out of Civil Disputes – Duties of PoliceMany persons approach the police for protection on accountof threats to their safety due to disputes relating to property.Several complaints are also presented in writing. A good numberof complaints pertain to forcible dispossession or possession ofproperties by use of violence or by hired goondas, or relate todisturbances or where habitual land-grabbers or criminalsyndicates are involved, etc. There are also cases, wherein agroup of people, when they face an immediate threat, approachthe police for relief. While the police should not interfere into thedisputes, which are purely of civil nature, they cannot shirk theirresponsibility of protecting persons against injury or trespass,particularly when the people complained against are powerful orhired goondas. The following instructions are, therefore, issuedJanuary - March, 201379