Maintaining Law and Order in India: An Exercise in Police Discretion

Abstract

The police in developed countries face relatively few incidents of organized public defiance, and therefore the exercise of police discretion in handling major law and order problems has not been a focus of study. In contrast, the multicultural and multiethnic society in India, struggling to form a modern nation through a competitive democratic framework, presents situations virtually every day in which the police have to use discretionary judgments in maintaining order within a legal framework. This paper examines the scope of discretion provided by Indian law and its utilization by the police in dealing with several kinds of such problems. In particular, it examines the application of discretion in handling communal clashes between different religious groups, in dealing with political agitations and demonstrations, and in controlling crowds during visits by political leaders. Several tactics utilized by police administrators in dealing with large masses of people in these situations are described as well as the problems that arise from their discretionary judgments. New information is provided about police practices in order maintenance functions, and other areas of research are suggested,