ABSTRACT

A symbiotic mutually beneficial relationship develops between these three that is

politicians, police and criminal elements when the politician reaches a particular stature
and develops a clout, he dictates terms to Police and Bureaucracy much to the delight
of the criminal elements. The bonds become stronger and either finds it difficult to
survive without the help of the other and the point of no return is reached. The prevailing
trend is spreading like cancer. It is nullifying all the constitutional safeguards of
democracy; that is, it is spoiling bureaucracy by making it partial; it thwarts press; and
even threatens judiciary; and thus is destroying the foundation of democracy. So the
people should wake up at once and force the political parties to mend their ways. If our
Democracy is to survive the onslaught of criminal elements - the organised crime - on
the system, there is a need to take urgent and decisive steps. Do we have the political
will to do so? Can Indian public be roused to demand stern action against this nexus?

INTRODUCTION

In the era of modernization and industrialization, it's indeed a story state of affair to see
the rise of such a nexus which is an irony to the democracy of our country. The nexus
between Politicians and Criminal elements and the proliferation of criminal gangs under
political patronage has come before the eyes of people time and again. Lack of
seriousness to tackle this menace has been displayed by the Government of India in
nominating Union Home Secretary as the Chairman of the nodal agency and the chiefs
of Intelligence agencies as members.Politicians, devoid of a record of service, sacrifice
and a mass base, need money and muscle power to keep their positions of power and
to bludgeon their constituency into submission. Criminal elements thrive on
wrongdoings and they need someone to keep the police away from their back and
heels. They also need the co-operation of Bureaucracy to regularise their illegal
activities. Personnel of Police and Bureaucracy need political patronage to have
comfortable postings and smooth advancement in career. As a result of this, a symbiotic
relationship develops between these three. Organised crime is opposed to all values
cherished by a liberal Democracy. Its activities deny the basic Human Rights to the
“have not's” and undermines the principle of rule of law and equality before law. It
vitiates the electoral process by denying the opportunities to many to exercise their
franchise freely. It undermines the rights of women, children, labor and others.

The number of political parties in India has been phenomenally increasing. The
mushroom growth of political parties is not the result of improvement in political
standard; nor is it because more qualified and service-minded persons are entering the
field of politics, determined to serve the country and its people. In all political parties, the
rowdies are given red-carpeted welcome; because their ‘services' are needed to these
parties frequently for carrying on unlawful activities during thebandhs,strikes, rallies etc.,
organized by them. When such criminals become political leaders, they seek to achieve
whatever they want without caring for rules and regulations; they would not hesitate to
adopt criminal methods for attaining their goals; whether it is winning an election or
elimination of rivals. For these hard core criminals, the offences like threatening officials,
kidnapping and even murder do not appear bad.

The recent issue of the infamous Radia tapes shows us a clear-cut picture of the nexus
between the politicians, industrialists and bureaucrats. Even though there is a claim of
right to privacy being violated but such conversations do not fall under a private sphere
when it affects the public domain. No doubt this situation has raised some prickly issues
for the courts and the media as the rule of law stands to be violated. These people must
know where privacy ends and public interest begins. Top Journalists, politicians and
other powerbrokers are found to be in such a nexus.

The politicians are thriving today on the basis of muscle power provided by criminals.
The common people who constitute the voters are in most cases too reluctant to take
measures that would curtail the criminal activities. Once the political aspect joins the
criminal elements the nexus becomes extremely dangerous. Many of politicians chose
muscle power to gain vote bank in the country, and they apply the assumption that, if
we are unable to bring faith in the community then we can generate fear or threat to get
the power in the form of election.

Independence has taken place through a two-stage process. The first stage was the
corrupting of the institutions and the second stage was the institutionalization of
corruption. As we look at the corruption scene today, we find that we have reached this
stage because the corrupting of the institutions in turn has finally led to the
institutionalization of corruption. The failure to deal with corruption has bred contempt
for the law. When there is contempt for the law and this is combined with the
criminalization of politics, corruption flourishes.

The police-politician-criminal nexus can embolden the criminal elements. Their activities
can create an environment of lawlessness, where influential and rich people violate the
law with impunity. The police is not the only component of the criminal justice system
that has suffered because of this nexus. In fact, the entire criminal justice system is
under strain. Not all crimes are being registered and those registered are not being
properly investigated; and even out of those charge-sheeted, very few are ending in
conviction. The conviction rate in case of heinous crimes is steadily falling. In some
North-Eastern states it has reached almost zero level, where the police have stopped
even submitting the charge sheets in the insurgency-related cases. When the fear of
legal punishment disappears, organised crime finds it convenient to spread its tentacles.
Extortion and payment of the so-called ‘protection money' is more widespread than we
would like to believe. According to some reports, direct extortion from the government
funds runs into hundreds of crores of rupees. Many of the insurgent and militant groups
are not driven by ideology, but by sheer greed. Money power is a bigger motivating
factor than ideology. Vested interests have developed around these groups with active
connivance of corrupt politicians, police officers and civil servants. Some politicians
even take their assistance during election times. They have to return their favors when
they come to power. This mutually beneficial relationship has seriously damaged the
quality of governance in the interior areas. The real losers are the people. The
development process gets seriously hampered in a violent environment. When large
development funds are siphoned out by this unholy alliance between the criminal and
corrupt forces, even the delivery of the most basic services like water, power,
healthcare, education and communications becomes a stupendous task.

A vicious circle starts. The deprived and the marginalised sections of the society, unable
to survive in the present system, get alienated. The militant and extremist forces thrive
in this environment. The rise of Left extremism is more due to these compulsions than
on ideological grounds. There are media reports about the carving out of a corridor by
the Left extremist forces from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. Even if there is no truth in these
reports, the involvement of hostile external forces in support of the Left extremist forces
to destabilise the country cannot be ruled out.

In India on the other hand, while the principle of judicial independence is accepted
legally, there is no implementation. For instance, while the Criminal Procedure Code
was rewritten in 1973 with the express intention that the judiciary be severed from other
parts of the government, the AHRC has constantly pointed to the fact that in West
Bengal the lower judiciary in particular is largely controlled by the police. In fact, the
police there control almost all aspects of criminal proceedings, whether it is arrest,
conviction, imprisonment or death. Numerous urgent appeals taken up by the AHRC
clearly show the power held by the police, and their complete disregard for the
institutional independence of the judicial and prosecution mechanisms

We boast of being the largest democracy in the world. We were aware of the nexus
between the politicians and the criminals for a long time. Now emboldened by the
combined money power and the muscle power and the respects a politician commands,
the criminals themselves are contesting elections! Our judiciary has become a mute
spectator unable to rein in them since a person is considered innocent until proved
otherwise. What is the panacea for this malady?

The ‘laid-back' attitude of the senior officers and politicization of the police
administration are two main causes of the apathy that has crept into the police over a
period of time. Shorn of pride and commitment to their job, most police officers are
content to serve their political masters. In the process, the enforcers of the rule of law
are frequently seen to be on the side of the violators of law.The recent terrorist attack in
Mumbai has exposed some glaring loopholes in our security apparatus. Arbitrary
interference in day-to-day functioning has played havoc with its organization and
morale. The command and control in this uniformed disciplined force is under great
stress. The ruling parties are directly interfering in their recruitment, posting, transfer
and promotions. Beholden to their political masters, the police take less interest in the
difficult task of enforcing the rule of law and spend more time in serving their
benefactors. Persons with political influence and money have little difficulty in
manipulating the police for their own selfish ends. Fear of legal punishment for these
persons has virtually disappeared. It is not a coincidence that almost all political parties
resist police reforms on one pretext or the other. They not only use and misuse the
police for party purposes, they manipulate it for all sorts of usavoury ends. Corruption
and nepotism are the order of the day. The police is not allowed to function in a manner
that would instill a feeling of confidence among the people. The government has
appointed one commission after another, but their reports have only gathered dust in
the government archives for the last fifty years. The National Police Commission (NPC)
submitted its last report in 1981, but till date no central government has been willing to
implement any of its major recommendations. The political rulers should know that they
have no role in day-to-day functioning of the police. There is no place for arbitrary and
malafide intervention in the police administration. There are well-set rules notified in the
police manuals by state governments about postings, transfers and promotions of
officers, but they are being blatantly flouted by many persons in high authority.

Police postings cannot be made subject of political patronage as is the case today. The
politicians are interfering even in the investigation of crimes. In important cases, it is
they who decide who should be arrested and who not. They decide which complaint
should be registered and investigated. Even after a case charge-sheet is submitted in
the court, it is not free from political interference. There is pressure not only in the
appointment of the senior prosecuting lawyer, but undue interest in how the case is
presented in court. There are instances when the prosecution made a complete
turnaround in its arguments after a new government at the Centre or the state took
office. The cases under trial in the court are often not properly argued by the
prosecution because of directions from the new dispensation. Even the premier
investigation agency of the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is not free
from such allegations.

The much needed reforms in the police and criminal justice system can no longer be
postponed. Putting police reforms on fast-track could be a fitting reply to the ever-
increasing number of policemen who have lost their lives in fighting terrorists. There is a
danger of the whole system collapsing unless immediate steps are taken to bring back
credibility to the system in the eyes of the people. Essential reforms for effective policing
can be divided in three parts: systemic, personnel, and accountability. They include the
elimination of all type of arbitrary and undue external interference in police functioning;
improvement in recruitment procedures, training, working and living conditions,
equipment, leadership and supervision; but most importantly, to ensure that the police
officers are accountable to the Constitution and the people of the country.

CONCLUSION

As a first step, all National political parties in India should realise the threat to the
foundations of democracy from organised crime. Fighting the nexus between the
politicians and criminal elements should become a National agenda transcending party
politics. Conscious efforts should be made by all parties to prevent infiltration of criminal
elements in their ranks. They should lend their support to amend the Representation of
People's Act to deny opportunities to people with criminal records of moral turpitude and
violence, to contest the elections. They should also lend support to pass legislation to
deal firmly with organised crime.
Existing criminal laws are woefully inadequate to deal with various manifestations of
organised crime. There is need for a special legislation - like other countries - to deal
with this menace. We need special courts and suitable modifications in the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Acts to make justice swifter. A stitch in time saves nine. The
inability of the criminal justice system to deal firmly with infractions like rowdyism,
gambling, prostitution, drugs lead to development of organised crime. Yesterday's petty
criminals are today's dons. Hence, the need to nip the budding criminal in early stages.

Organised crime treats the criminal justice system with contempt and exploits the
loopholes in law. A proactive, public spirited judiciary can change this scenario. Laws
enacted to deal with organised crime should be implemented in spirit and criminal
elements should not be allowed to get away due to narrow interpretations of the letter of
law. For example, while the slogan, ‘Bail is a right ' may be commendable in respect of
law abiding citizens, its denial to a member of the organised crime prevents many a
crime and serves a social purpose. Since granting of bail is the discretion of the
judiciary, it should be exercised in the larger interests of society. Reestablishment of the
Rule of Law and its majesty is a sure way of decimating the organised crime. Members
of the public and non-governmental organisations can play a vital role in this sphere.

Police, who are the gate keepers of the mighty criminal justice system and the
Bureaucracy, who are the dispensers of welfare measures to the society, are at the
mercy of politicians for their survival. Politician's displeasure bring down on them
harassment like frequent transfers and disruption in career advancement. Hence, they
quietly tow the line of politicians. Since Police and Bureaucracy act as catalysts for the
growth of the nexus between the politician and criminal elements, it is necessary to
liberate them. To make the Police and Bureaucracy people oriented and act without fear
or favour, control of politicians over them should be carefully structured. The
recommendations of the National Police Commission to establish a State Security
Commission should be vigorously implemented. Similarly, there is need to establish an
autonomous State Administrative Commission.

Activities of organised crime transcend State and National boundaries and are illegal.
To deal with them effectively and bring them to book, professional expertise of a high
order in detection, investigation and application of science and technology are called
for. Central Bureau of Investigation possess all these. As part of Interpol network, it has
access to the resources of National Police agencies all over the world. It has got the
reputation for impartiality and integrity. It is in the fitness of things that the CBI should be
made the Nodal agency and the clearing house for all information and intelligence on
organised crime. A separate wing styled asAnti-Organised Crime Division should be
opened in the CBI with an additional Director as its head. This division should have
officers in all Metropolises and cities known for the activities of organised crime and also
in Centres like DUBAI abroad. Its members should be deputed to visit Italy, U.S.A.,
France and other countries which have well established organised crime network and
study the work of Law Enforcement Agencies there.
To take head on the nexus between politicians and criminal elements, moral courage
and vision is needed. It is sad, since 1967 and particularly after 1977, the Indian
National Congress has allowed itself to be dominated by lumpen elements. Their
success at the grass roots level had spurred other parties, with little or no hope of
coming to power, to refine the strategy. This has resulted in the criminalisation of
political process. Political parties are unable to control the geni let loose by themselves.
Tandoori Murder, finding of dead body in M.P's quarter, procurement of a Diplomatic
Passport for financial consideration, are all becoming a daily affair. These undermine
the credibility of the democratic process, making the youth to embrace politically violent
movements. Political sagacity demands that our leaders should cry a halt to this
downward trend in ethics of politics. Leaders of Nineteenth Century paved the way for
Indian Democracy in the Twentieth Century. What will be the claim of our present day
leaders and how will they be remembered in the twenty first century? - Defenders and
preservers of Democratic values or as harbingers of lumpenisation of political process?
There is yet time to avert an adverse verdict of history. Without wasting time, let us act
decisively.

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Criminalization of Politics

After 60 years of India’s independence the lives of commoners is far worse than under
Britishers. The benefits of independence have reached only few, thus creating islands
of few ultra rich people surrounded by vast sea of utterly poor. The rich people in
nexus with those in power are getting favourable laws enacted to suit their ends.
Those in power are shamelessly enjoying 5-star luxuries all at tax payer’s expense,
while more then 50 million are starving to death. The criminalization of politics,
executive & judiciary is almost complete. The corruption has spread its tentacles far &
wide, there is corruption from womb to tomb, from maternity hospital to grave yard.
The injustices mated out, the atrocities perpetrated by public servants are worse than
Britishers. The biggest confounding factor in the political environment of business is
criminalization of politics: people with criminal backgrounds becoming politicians
and elected representatives. Around 20% of the members of the current Lok Sabha
have criminal cases pending against them. The charges in several of these cases are of
heinous crimes such as murder, robbery, kidnapping, and not just violation of Section
144, or something similar.

It is well known that all parties take the help of criminal elements to dominate the
election scene in India. But this process is influencing the mind and the will of the
people both to gain the majority to rule the country according to their will. The system
of democracy is now changing into the dictatorship of some. Because the democracy
of India are now in hands of the criminal who are not capable any way to hold the post
if legislature.

Components:-
(1) Muscle Power:-
The influence of muscle power in Indian politics has been a fact of life for a long
time. As early as in 1977, the National Police Commission headed by Dharam Vira
observed: ``The manner in which different political parties have functioned,
particularly on the eve of periodic election, involves the free use of musclemen and
‘Dadas’ to influence the attitude and conduct of sizable sections of the electorate. The
Panchayat elections, like other elections in the recent past, have demonstrated once
again that there can be no sanity in India as long as politics continues to be based on
caste and

Gangsterism.
The politicians are thriving today on the basis of muscle power provided by criminals.
The common people who constitute the voters are in most cases too reluctant to take
measures that would curtail the criminal activities. Once the political aspect joins the
criminal elements the nexus becomes extremely dangerous. Many of politicians chose
muscle power to gain vote bank in the country, and they apply the assumption that, if
we are unable to bring faith in the community then we can generate fear or threat to
get the power in the form of election.
(2) Money Power:-
The elections to Parliament and State Legislatures are very expensive and it is a
widely accepted fact that huge election expenditure is the root cause for corruption in
India. A candidate has to spend lakhs of rupees to get elected and even if he gets
elected, the total salary he gets during his tenure as an MP/MLA will be meagre
compared to his election expenses. How can he bridge the gap between the income
and expenses? Publicly through donations and secretly through illegal means. The
expenditure estimation for an election estimated as Rs 5 per voter as election
expenditure, for 600 million voters, and calculation of all the expenses in a general
elaction estimated around Rs 2,000 crore. Then there is the period between elections.
This requires around Rs 250 crore. Then there are state elections and local elections.
All told, the system has to generate around Rs 5,000 crore in a five year cycle or Rs
1,000 crore on average each year. Where is this money to come from? Only criminal
activity can generate such large sums of untaxed funds. That is why you have
criminals in politics. They have money and muscle, so they win and help others in
their party win as well.

Reasons Of This Criminalization:-

(1) Vote Bank:-
The political parties and independent candidates have astronomical expenditure for
vote buying and other illegitimate purposes through these criminals or so called
goondas. A politician’s link with them constituency provides a congenial climate to
political crime. Those who do not know why they ought to vote comprise the majority
of voters of this country. Therefore majority of the voters are manoeuvrable,
purchasable. Most of them are individually timid and collectively coward. To gain
their support is easier for the unscrupulous than the conscientious.

We have long witnessed criminals being wooed by political parties and given cabinet
posts because their muscle and money power fetches crucial votes. Elections are won
and lost on swings of just 1% of the vote, so parties cynically woo every possible vote
bank, including those headed by accused robbers and murderers. Legal delays ensure
that the accused will die of old age before being convicted, so parties virtuously insist
that these chaps must be regarded as innocent till proved guilty.

(2) Corruption:-
In every election all parties without exception put up candidates with a criminal
background. Even though some of us whine about the decision taken by the parties,
the general trend is that these candidates are elected to office. By acting in such a
manner we fail to realize that the greatest power that democracy arms the people is to
vote incompetent people out of power.
Independence has taken place through a two-stage process. The first stage was the
corrupting of the institutions and the second stage was the institutionalization of
corruption. As we look at the corruption scene today, we find that we have reached
this stage because the corrupting of the institutions in turn has finally led to the
institutionalization of corruption. The failure to deal with corruption has bred
contempt for the law. When there is contempt for the law and this is combined with
the criminalization of politics, corruption flourishes. India is ranked 66 out of 85 in
the Corruption Perception Index 1998 by the German non-government organization
Transparency International based in Berlin. This means that 65 countries were
perceived to be less corrupt than India and 19 were perceived to be more corrupt.

(3) Loop Holes In The Functioning Of Election Commission:-

The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between
the criminals and the politicians. The forms prescribed by the Election Commission
for candidates disclosing their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their
nomination papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly. Too much
should not be expected, however, from these disclosures. They would only inform
people of the candidate’s history and qualifications, but not prohibit them from
casting their votes, regardless, in favour of a criminal.

For the past several general elections there has existed a gulf between the Election
Commission and the voter. Common people hardly come to know the rules made by
the commission. Bridging this gap is essential not only for rooting out undesirable
elements from politics but also for the survival of our democratic polity. This is an
incremental process, the rate of success of which is directly proportional to the
increase in literacy rate in India. The electorate have made certain wrong choices in
the past, but in the future national interest should guide them in making intelligent
choices.

(4) Denial Of Justice And Rule Of Law: -

Criminalization is a fact of Indian electoral politics today. The voters, political parties
and the law and order machinery of the state are all equally responsible for this. There
is very little faith in India in the efficacy of the democratic process in actually
delivering good governance. This extends to accepting criminalization of politics as a
fact of life. Toothless laws against convicted criminals standing for elections further
encourage this process. Under current law, only people who have been convicted at
least on two counts be debarred from becoming candidates. This leaves the field open
for charge sheeted criminals, many of whom are habitual offenders or history-
sheeters. It is mystifying indeed why a person should be convicted on two counts to be
disqualified from fighting elections. The real problem lies in the definitions. Thus,
unless a person has been convicted, he is not a criminal. Mere charge-sheets and
pending cases do not suffice as bars to being nominated to fight an election. So the
law has to be changed accordingly.

Legal Threads:-
(1) Vohra Committee:-
12 bombs blasts that shook Bombay on 13 march 1993, had involved the collaboration
of a diffuse network of criminal gangs, police and customs officials as well as their
political

Patrons, a commission were institutes to investigate the so-called nexus. The report by
N.N.Vohra found such deep involvement of politicians with organised crime all over
India that it was barred from publication. Here Vohra observes "the various crime
syndicate/mafia organisations have developed significant muscle and money power
and established linkage with governmental functionaries, political leaders and other to
be able to operate with impunity. As highlighted by the Vohra Committee Our
elections involve a lot of black money and it is this use of black money in elections
which has also brought about the criminalization of politics. After all, the story of the
Hawala scam started by the police stumbling to the Jain diaries in their effort to trace
the money received by the Kashmir militants. The scam brought out the linkage
between the corrupt businessmen, politicians, bureaucracy and the criminals. The
1993 Bombay blasts which took away the life of 300 people was made possible
because RDX could be smuggled by allegedly bribing a customs official with Rs.20
lakhs. Some 15 years ago Vohra committee submitted its report to curb
criminalization of politics but the fact is that no application in this way is being made.
This was mentioned in the petition submitted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and
President of India on 16th may that- “The subject of criminalisation of politics is one
that concerns the entire nation closely. It is deeply disturbing that on the one hand, our
polity is tolerant of ‘fake encounters’ (summary executions) of alleged criminals and
terrorists, while our highest representative body – Indian Parliament – harbours people
caught red-handed in acts of human trafficking, and convicted on charges of
abduction and suspected murder.”

(2) Supreme Court’s Judgement:-

The Supreme Court judgment of May 2, 2002 mandated that candidates disclose their
criminal antecedents, if any, as also their financial and educational background. The
Election Commission had proposed amendment of statutory rules and the format of
nomination papers, to give effect to this judgment of the Supreme Court. The Apex
Court judgement to check corruption among public servant is a welcome step. No law
should provide protective shield to the corrupt public official and the court has rightly
held that no prior sanction of competent authority would be required to prosecute
them. With this order, 93 MPs and 10 ministers in Manmohan Singh's ministry are
under the scanner on various criminal charges. This is appalling. It is ironical that the
executive and legislatures who make and implement policies and guidelines for the
development are themselves acting as stumbling block in the development of the
nation. The role of Supreme Court becomes very important here. The Apex Court as
custodian of constitution should take all necessary steps to strengthen democracy in
the country. The legislature and executive have been complaining about the Supreme
Court’s intervention on their domain, but it becomes imperative in such kind of
unwanted situation. The Supreme Court of India upheld a PIL which made it
mandatory for everyone seeking public office to disclose their criminal, financial and
educational history. It was a way to ensure that the voters knew the important details
about their “honourable” leaders, and steamed them were indeed.

Some of the parties would be able to draw advantage from the Supreme Court order
because they have had less opportunity to indulge in crime and corruption. They
would have a greater chance of watching candidates of other parties squirm and suffer
in agony. Some others might be happy because they already have efficient watchdog
systems and batteries of lawyers in place that would permit them to file counter-
affidavits and challenge nominations of opposing candidates within hours of their
being filed.

(3) Right To Information Act And Criminalization Of Politics:-

The Court held that the right to information - the right to know antecedents, including
the criminal past, or assets of candidates - was a fundamental right under Article 19(1)
(a) of the Constitution and that the information was fundamental for survival of
democracy. In its Judgement of May 2, 2002, it directed the Election Commission to
call for information on affidavit from each candidate seeking election to Parliament or
the State Legislature as a necessary part of the nomination papers on: Whether the
candidate has been convicted / acquitted / discharged of any criminal offence in the
past - if any, whether the candidate was accused in any pending case of any offence
punishable with imprisonment for two years or more, and in which charge was framed
or cognisance taken by the court of law. If so, requires the details thereof; the assets
(immovable, movable, bank balance, etc.) of a candidate and of his/her spouse and
that of the dependents; liabilities, if any, particularly of any overdue of any public
financial institution or Government dues; educational qualifications of the candidate.
The Right to Information Act 2005 is a historical Act that makes Government officials
liable for punishment if they fail to respond to people within a stipulated timeframe.
Many public servants are leading luxurious lifestyles, beyond the legal sources of
their income. Many public servants are filing false affidavits about their annual
income, wealth details to Election Commission of India / Vigilance Commission /
other authorities, as the case may be. These authorities are not properly verifying
these affidavits. Many scams, scandals are coming to light day in & day out,
politicians are accusing each other of involvement in scams. Whereas, the said
authorities are keeping mum, as if those affidavits filed by tainted public servants are
true. The tainted public servants are not even providing full, right information to
public as per RTI Act, lest the truth come out.

This seen is very normal now a day that some public servants, caught red-handed
during luxurious spending, they easily say that it is at their political party’s expense or
their well wisher’s expense. However no entries are found in the account books of
said parties to that respect. The law forbids public servants from accepting gifts,
hospitality, favours beyond the value of rupees one hundred (Rs. 100 ) , as it may be a
form of bribe. But one may ask all these under RTI. Right to Know is an inherent
attribute of every person. Right to know differs only in one sense with right to
information. Right to know is a natural right and right to information is a provision
given by government to its people. Natural rights do not have any value legally until
they are legally considered. Hence right to know as such implied in the freedom of
speech and expression which is a legally considered right must have to be given a
special value. Right to information as such will bring transparency of the government
activities and allow the people to find remedies for those things by which they
suffered.

India: Crime and Politics

THE NEXUS IS AS LOGICAL AS IT IS PARADOXICAL
by Ajay K Mehra, 26 January 2009
 printable version

 other articles by the author

(Published earlier in: The Statesman, 25 January 2009)

Two major scams – the DDA housing allotments and the Satyam scandal – have hit the headlines
almost simultaneously. Both developments follow the lynching of the PWD engineer MK Gupta
by BSP goons led by its MLA, Shekhar Tewari, in UP’s Auraiya town. He had refused to raise
Rs 50 lakhs for chief minister Mayawati’s birthday bash.

The housing allotment and the Satyam scam highlight the level of corruption in the country. The
UP incident confirms what can be called the politicisation of crime. Although there is no direct
linkage between the three, corruption in public life has historically led to criminalisation of
politics and politicisation of crime.

It bears recall that it was the Vohra Committee that in 1993 had first exposed the criminalisation
of politics. Before that, several reports since independence had highlighted different aspects of
corruption. The Transparency International’s ratings over the years have not been flattering for
India. The 2008 report ranks the country at 72nd amongst 179 countries.

The Vohra committee report had sparked a political discourse. In his address to a joint sitting of
Parliament on the golden jubilee of Independence (August 15, 1997), the then President, KR
Narayanan, said: “Sheer opportunism and value-less power-politics have taken over the place of
principles and idealism, relationships between people, groups and parties... And corruption is
corroding the vitals of our politics and our society... It seems the people have to be in the
forefront of the fight against corruption, communalism, casteism and criminalisation of politics
and life in the country.”

Two weeks later, the Lok Sabha responded by adopting a resolution which stated: “All political
parties shall undertake all such steps as will attain the objectives of ridding our polity of
criminalisation or its influence’. Mulayam Singh Yadav, then the defence minister, added a
politician’s qualifier: “The NN Vohra Committee Report had talked of a nexus between judges
and criminals, and bureaucrats and criminals as well. But only the nexus between politicians and
criminals is mentioned."
The Supreme Court issued a directive to the Election Commission in 2002 to the effect that rules
must be framed to get candidates seeking election to Parliament or a state legislature to file
affidavits on any criminal activity, so that “the little man may think over before making his
choice of electing lawbreakers as law makers”.

The EC complied with the directive despite unprecedented political resistance. The constitutional
authority was able to generate popular awareness over the fact that politicians were acting like
criminals, and criminals getting space in the Indian polity.

It was revealed that 16.28 per cent of the candidates contesting the 2004 Lok Sabha elections had
criminal antecedents. Since one-fourth of the MPs elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 had criminal
cases against them, it is obvious that a large of number of tainted candidates won the contest.

The National Election Watch, a civil society initiative, reported that in comparison to 18 per cent
of tainted candidates winning in the state assembly elections, 20 per cent of such candidates won
in 2008.

Compared to the Congress, the BJP and the Left, there were more tainted members in the
regional parties, notably the BSP. No wonder, as many as 22 ministers in the 49-member
Mayawati government – ten holding cabinet rank – had criminal cases pending at the time of the
swearing-in ceremony in 2007.

The situation has reached alarming proportions as the first signals of corruption and
criminalisation were ignored. And when the matter was in the public domain, the political class
put up a spurious case for status quo.

It bears recall that Mahatma Gandhi and other senior leaders had commented upon corruption
when elected governments were formed in the provinces in 1937. The AD Gorwala committee
(1951) classified the deviation from moral standards of ministers, legislators and administrators
under three main heads: ‘corruption, patronage (based on communalism, sectarianism, nepotism
and favouritism) and influence.’

There have been a series of scandals since independence: the jeep scandal involving VK Krishna
Menon, the LIC-Mundhra deal, the HG Mudgal affair, etc. Not a single case led to any action.
The Santhanam Committee (1964), observed: “We wish we could confidently and without
reservation assert that at the political level, ministers, legislators, party officials were free from
this malady (corruption).” However, it was the assassination in February 1965 of Pratap Singh
Kairon, Chief Minister of Punjab from 1956 to 1964, that exposed the honeymoon of politics
with crime. He had resigned after being indicted by the Das Commission.

The nexus between politics and crime is as logical as it is paradoxical. It is logical because
politics is about power and the pursuit of power in highly competitive electoral contests requires
huge sums of money (preferably unaccounted), which are more easily available in the world of
big crime. The game of power is also incomplete without musclepower. This gives the contestant
a visible but undefined intimidating edge. The world of crime has two important ingredients
sought by the world of politics – the power of money and muscle. The investment of both
ingredients in politics is highly profitable in terms of legitimacy (in a purely legal sense) and
systemic protection. Irrespective of who seeks the other first, the nexus has a logic howsoever
contrived or resented by society.

It is paradoxical because democratic politics and the pursuit of legitimate power are based on the
rule of law. The nexus of politics and crime and eventual induction of criminally inclined
politicians, if not criminals themselves, in the process of governance contravenes the rule of law.
It violates the spirit of constitutional and democratic governance. For, if the government is run
by such elements, the law is enforced by forces that might swear by it but would believe neither
in constitutional government nor in the rule of law. In such a scenario, both society and the polity
are bound to suffer.

Coalition politics legitimises this process. In the 14th Lok Sabha, the communist parties along
with the Congress have the least number of members with criminal elements. Yet, the RJD with
the largest percentage of ‘criminal’ MPs in the Lok Sabha is a Congress ally. And in its zeal to
look for a popular leader for a resuscitated third front, the Left opted for Mayawati, whose BSP
closely follows the RJD.

There may be hope yet if citizens’ groups, civil society and the ‘so-called intellectuals’, who
according to Mulayam Singh Yadav do not know the basics of grassroots politics, mount a
sustained campaign against this process.

The writer is Director, Centre for Public Affairs, Noida

Politicians, Police and Criminal Nexus: Greatest
Threat To The Rule Of Law In India.
By : priya gautam on 13 February 2011    Print this

This paper deals with the effect of rule of law in India by politician, police and criminal nexus. The rule of
law in modern western tradition began with an emancipator promise but even by mid-nineteenth century
in the west law as emancipation was over-ridden by law as regulation and the task through this paper is
to rethink and revitalize the emancipator dimension of rule of law. It has been 5o years after
independence there is widespread unrest, discontent and conflicts among a large section of the
population as well as the people those who are governing them which is leading to the threat to the rule
of law in India. Due to this people are losing faith in the system, ability of law enforcement agencies to
maintain order and enforce the rule of law, ability of judicial system to provide justice. Seeing all this
political system needs readjustment and changes and the agenda for change must ensure stability at the
centre, states and lower levels based on the consensus and governance decentralized and people
oriented. The main concern of this paper to tell about how to establish the credibility and legitimacy of
the state and the institutions, so that the rule of law is being maintained, as because, without governance
all other areas are going to suffer.

In spite of our failures and derailment of the democratic system, India has survived and made progress
due to the resilience of its people. The key elements are good governance and credible politics.

The constitution of India declares that we are a Democratic. Secular and Socialist Republic. The Rule of
law governs our country. Equality before law and Equal protection of law is the most fundamental rights
conferred on its citizens. We believe in a rule of law is good for everyone and it respects and protects
without fear or favor the rights and liberties of every citizen and also provides the setting in which the
human spirit can develop in freedom and diversity. We as a nation are proud of being a great democratic
nation, guided by a constitution, which declares India to be secular, socialist republic. We are governed by
the rule of law. Law is supreme. We are a nation with hypocrites at the helm of affairs and innocent
gullible as its subjects. The rule of law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law.
The principle, which rule of law, follows logically from the idea that truth, and therefore law, is based
upon fundamental principles which can be discovered, but which cannot be created through an act of
will. In India, the meaning of rule of law has been much expanded. It is regarded as a part of the basic
structure of the constitution and, therefore, it cannot be abrogated or destroyed even by parliament. It is
also regarded as a part of natural justice. The Supreme Court enunciated the rule of law as one of the
most important aspects of the doctrine of basic structure [1]. The question is about our compliance with
the Rule of Law. Rule of Law can be summoned within three meanings as stated below: -

Supremacy of law.

Equality before law.

Predominance of legal spirit.

POLITICIANS AS THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE RULE OF IN INDIA

Politicians, devoid of a record of service, sacrifice and a mass base, need money and muscle power to
keep their positions of power and to bludgeon their constituency into submission.In our country, there
are many innocent people who are held guilty only because of the malicious act of few hypocrites.
Politicians have become the refuge of black marketers, corrupt and the means to wield influence and for
personal exaltation. It is really difficult to find good candidates during elections. Our leaders are law into
themselves. When the Supreme Court comes out with suggestions for election reforms giving the
electorate the freedom to know the criminal antecedents of the candidates contesting for elections, the
politicians, of all shades including the dogmatic communists join hands to see that such reforms are not
accepted. As we can see when elections are being held then they called upon the voters to not to waste
their vote and to vote for right candidate in their respective constituency, the constant question asked by
the average voters are whom do we vote for? We do not find a single good candidate among the
contestants.

Such is the state of affairs in our country that as on date no right thinking person is willing to risk his life
to plunge into politics. In India, our leaders are law unto themselves. In Tamil Nadu, Tamil God Lord
Muruga has two wives so do almost all our politician leaders. The prevailing trade of breaking rule of law
by the politicians is spreading like cancer. It is nullifying all the constitutional safeguard of democracy;
that is it is spoiling bureaucracy by making it partial; it thwarts press; and even threatens judiciary; and
thus is destroying the foundation of democracy. The number of political parties in India has been
phenomenally increasing but this increase in number is not resulting in the improvement in political
standard; nor are more qualified and service-minded persons entering the field of politics. On the
contrary, it is a definite indication of political standards going down to abysmal levels. Politician now
these days are eager to use their expertise and time for nation building in making them self rich and
dominate the officials and law abiding citizens. Politician doesnt promote patriotism and commitment to
nation-building rather they indulge themselves perpetuating the differences among the people and make
full use of those differences for creating conflicts among them. During the British period Bruisers followed
the policy of divide and rule; after that when India became independent, our learned politicians have
become past masters of the art of crating groups and inciting them against one other. They want to fish in
the troubled waters and when the water is placid, they trouble their selfish ends.

It is a sad commentary to witness what the politicians of India are involved in. the so-called secular,
brigades and the reservationist brigades have done to the governance and administration of India.
Political corruption is at the highest levels like the Quattorchhi cover ups, the Nandigram massacres on
political grounds, and the lalu yadav fodder scam. Criminalization of politics in India is an extremely
serious problem, which has already reached dangerous levels.

The main reason for such downslide in political standard is the absence of reasonable restrictions to
formation of political parties and admission of members to the political parties, and these things are
directly affecting and causing the threat to the rule of law in India.

POLICE AS A THREAT TO THE RULE OF LAW IN INDIA

The conduct of the police is an important indicator of the state of governance, and their performance can
significantly shape the social well being of nations. What distinguishes, good from bad policing is the
commitment to protect the civil and political freedoms of individuals, while helping to create an
environment an environment that will maximize the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights as
well[2]. Overall human and national security is compromised in a global in a global environment often
prone to terror without insurgency within. Implanting mechanisms to assure accountability of the police
to the public it serves did not become priority, as it should have, which creates direct affect on the rule of
law. The police system in India can be characterized as a regime force, which places the needs of
politicians or powerful individuals over the demands of the rule of law and the needs of citizens. In the
performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and
maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons. It requires the police to uphold the rule of law,
ensure safety of citizens, be responsible, accountable and protect democratic values.

It is painful to say that the activity of the police now these days are meted out against the marginalized
sections of the society. The report of the common wealth human right initiative on police accountability
reinstates the same in a global context. Almost everywhere, minorities and vulnerable groups such as the
poor and women, experience a more crushing weight of police activity [3]. It is well known that the
democratic governance would also require that the police force, described as the most visible arm of the
states authority[4] , reflects the norms and the ethos that people perceive as aimed at their common
good. It was observed in the case [5] that the officers charged with maintenance of law and order can use
only that much force as in necessary for disposal of an unlawful assembly and suppression of riot. This
principle had emerged from the common law. The police, who are the gate keepers of the mighty criminal
justice system and the bureaucracy, who are the dispensers of welfare measures to the society, are at the
mercy of politician for their survival. Opinion give by Mr.Arvind Verma in his book [6], voices the same
opinion and states that Politicization of police is the price that paid for the democratic function of the
country. In comparison with the police system in Canada, the combination of highly diverse population, a
liberal rights culture, and decentralized local policing had led to some of the most progressive
developments in community policing and local-level accountability. Similarly Arvind Verma, in his book
[7]suggests replication of successful models abroad as means to the end of fruitful police reforms. To
create no more threat to the rule of law police should accountable to the community and not to their
superior officers only. It is disturbing that the police in India resort to such acts of illegal arbitrary
detention against the law of the country and even against the standing directions of the Supreme Court
since the court had in the past categorically directed the law enforcement agencies to abide by the law or
to face severe consequences, these type of incident is yet another case which proves how far the rule of
law in India has deteriorated because of the police activity.

It is being urged that the immediate inquiry into the activity of the police should be made so that their
arbitrary action remain under control and they dont break the order of the rule of law which has
prevailed in India for so long period. I also urged that immediate relief should be provide if any harm is
being done by the unwanted or unlawful activity of the police people.

CRIMINAL NEXUS AS A GREATEST THREAT TO THE RULE OF LAW IN INDIA

Nexus is the term which tells about the means of connection between things linked in series or we can
say a connected series or group, so, this can be sum up and said that the criminal activity thrive on
wrongdoings and they need someone to keep the police away from their back and heels, so here they
required the need of the politician which act as the upper hand to them for supporting them in all type of
unlawful activity as they get commission out of it. This activity creates relation between the politician and
the criminal and they tougher indulge themselves in causing threat to the rule of law. There are five types
of criminal activity :- crime against oneself, or victimless crimes, crime against others, crime among
consenting adults, crime against collectives and crime against the international community and world
order. Criminal activity defined by Encyclopedia Britannica that the intentional commission of an act
usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous. All criminal acts directed against a state along with
intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons
or the general public. In case [8] it was observed that the expression criminal activity clearly represents
present danger to the country and the rule of law. It needs no emphasis that the rule of law is the
antithesis of violence and anarchy. The real risk of the criminal activity can be seen from the fact that
during the period from 1994 to 2010 47,399 people are being affected. The sad truth is that many types
of crime are considered by people to be normative and common behavior and, thus, go unreported which
lead to the increment of the criminal activity in the society which leads to the break of rule of law. In
country like India which is considered to be under developing country it is because of the injuries which
people incurred it is not being noted down and the so called responsible people of India they make their
point to lose the valuable evidence which badly create threat to the rule of law in India

The basic message that every citizen of this great country should remember is that threat to security and
the rule of law posed by terrorism should not give rise to measures which themselves tend to undermine
fundamental democratic values, human rights or principle of the rule of law. This message if it will come
into effect then it is going to reduce the risk that measures taken with a view to countering criminal
activity will themselves fuel new criminal activity or it can even promote terrorism also. This message
needs to be understood and accepted in democracies by the public, politicians, media and courts alike.
The society should join hand together with the government to fight against criminal activity.

CONCLUSION
It can be concluded and said that there is neither justice to the victims nor fairness to the accused then
what kind of Rule of Law are we talking about. When the politician itself indulged the people including
public servants just ignore the rule of law, even if it is for acts or omissions which are not difficult to
follow or that they should be a part of the normal routine. Everyone is in rush without any kind of
concern for the rest. Everyone wants to be first, whether it is on the road or in any other walk of life to
carve out short cuts for them to pass through and a psyche to justify their wrongs with a expectation only
for others to follow the law and wait for the day when all other subject themselves to the rule of law so
that they could follow suit. There is no initiative by the government to check such a breach. It is not the
rules which are required for such acts but some norms coupled with awareness will suffice. It can also be
compared with the ordinary traffic constable to the man driving a bicycle on the road, the pedestrian to
the richest all of us as Indian have one psyche to bend the law, cross the barricades whether it be on the
road or in any other walk of life to crave out short cuts for them to pass through and a psyche to justify
their wrongs with a expectation only for others to follow the law and wait for the day when all other
subject themselves to the rule of law so that they could follow suit. So, it will not be wrong to say that we
still are not rules by law and it will be a long wait without an initiative. So, not only the public servants but
people should wake up at once and force the political parties to mend their ways so that the criminal
activity could also be managed and can be put under control.

COVER PAGE
Priya Gautam

priyagautam92@gmail.com

Course:- B.SC.LLB (5 Year Integrated Course), 2ndyear ( 3rdsemester)

[1]Keshavanda Bharti v. State of Kerala(1973).

[2]Maja Daruwala and clare double police(Ed), Police Accountability: Too important to neglect, Too
urgent to delay, common wealth human right initiative, New Delhi, 2005,p.3

[3]At p.7, chapter 1 of the report mentioned.

[4]Police Overhaul: courts and reforms, economic and political weekly, may 7,2007.p.1584

[5]Hanuman v. State AIR 1969 ALL 130

[6]The Indian Penal Code: a critical evaluation

[7]ibid

[8]Madan Singh V. State of Bihar