15.39 Police tasks may be broadly divided into three categories for die purpose of this analysis. They are (i) investigative; (ii) preventive and (iii) service oriented. Investigative tasks will include all action by the police in the course of investigating a ease under Chapter of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Preventive tasks will cover such actions like preventive arrests under section 151 Cr. P.C., initiation of security proceedings, arrangement of beats and patrols, collection of intelligence and maintenance of crime records to plan and execute appropriate preventive action, deployment of police force as a preventive measure when breach of peace is threatened, .handling of unlawful assemblies and their dispersal, .'' Service-oriented functions will include rendering service of a general nature during fairs and festivals, rescuing children lost in crowds, providing relief in 'distress 'situations arising from natural calamities.
Investigative tasks—Professional independence15.40 As far as investigative tasks are concerned we have a clear ruling from the Supreme Court that the nature of action to be taken on conclusion of investigation is a matter to be decided by the police only and by no other authority—vide para 18 of the Sepreme Court judgment in criminal appeal No. 218 of 1966 reported in AIR 1968 Supreme Court 117 (V 55 32). In view of (he importance of this judgment which sets out a fundamental principle, a copy thereof is furnished in Appendix-VI. It may, therefore, be safely projected as a fundamental Principle governing police work that the investigative tasks of the police are beyond any kind of intervention By the executive or non-executive. Any arrangement in which the investigative tasks of the police are sought to be brought under executive control and would go against this fundamental principle spelt out by the Supreme Court and hence should be deemed illegal. We would, therefore, recommend in the-first place that all the executive instructions issued by (he, government having a bearing on investigative tasks of the police may be scrutinised and either cancelled or modified to conform to the above principle.
15.41 during the pendency of an investigation, any person including a political functionary gets information which he feels should be passed on to thepolice for appropriate follow up action during the course of investigation itself, he should merely pass on such information to the police without in any way attempting to interfere with the investigation.
Preventive tasks and service-oriented functions-Policy control by Government15.42 In the performance of preventive tasks and service-oriented functions, the police will need to interact with other governmental agencies and service organisations. For example, in planning preventive measures in a near-strike situation in an educational institution or an industrial unit, police will have to keep in touch with the educational authorities or the labour departmental authorities to have a proper perception of the developing situation. In the performance of such preventive tasks there is considerable scope for exercise of discretion, having in view the overall public interests involved in any particular situation. every police officer should normally be left free to exercise this discretion on his own judgment but there may be situations the disposal of which may have repercussions beyond the jurisdiction of one police officer and it will become necessary in such cases for the supervisory ranks to step in and exercise discretion at their level. Extending this analogy one can visualise a State wide situation in which the exercise of discretion in regard to preventive tasks may have to take into account several factors of State wide significance and it would be appropriate in public interest that the exercise of discretion in such situations conforms to some policy approach that may be" evolved at the highest political level in the government which has the ultimate responsibility for proper governance of the State. We, therefore, recommend that in the performance of preventive tasks and service-oriented functions police should be subject to the overall guidance from the government which should lay down broad policies for adoption in different situations from time to time. There should, however, be no instructions in regard to actual operations in the field. The discretion of the police officer to deal with the situation, within the four comers of the overall guidance and broad policies, should be unfettered.' An erring officer can always be made accountable for his action. Such policy directions should be openly given and made known to the State Legislatures also as and when occasion demands. '
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