Even as the reports of atrocities against hapless victims continue to tumble out of the police cupboard, the public seems to have lost faith in the State Police Complaint Authority (SPCA) if the numbers of cases registered with the quasi-judicial body are any indication.
If 808 cases were registered in 2017, it dropped to just 45 (until August) this year. According to SPCA chairman and former judge V.K. Mohanan, the authority has received a total of 5,218 cases since it was constituted in 2012 and disposed of 5,152 cases, leaving only 66 cases pending.
According to a senior bureaucrat who was instrumental in forming the authority, the huge drop in yearly cases handled by the SPCA does not mean that all is well in Kerala. People have lost faith in the system, as the SPCA has no binding powers to initiate disciplinary action against errant cops or slap compensation on the accused.
When asked, Mr. Mohanan confirmed that the SPAC has no statistics on the number of police personnel who were subjected to disciplinary action based on the recommendation of the authority.
As per the statute of the SPCA, it can recommend to the Police department to take disciplinary action against the police officials who were found guilty of the charges levelled against them or to recommend registering a first information report (FIR) against the official if found guilty.
Though the SPCA was constituted under Section 110 of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, for examining and inquiring into the complaints against police officers of and up to the said rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, it lacked enforcement measures.
An amendment has to be made in the Police Act to give enforcement measures to the authority, which is the domain of the State legislature. Without enforcement powers, the SPCA can only recommend action with the powers vested in the statute, said Mr. Mohanan.
Published – September 10, 2025 12:15 am IST
