As a public outrage, this takes the cake even by the standards of some of India’s ‘brave’ members of the security forces.

Generally, the Indian police are reputed for ‘skill sets’ that set them apart from the police forces in other democracies. In the present case, the Indian army is directly involved, and it is supposed to be a highly disciplined “force.” The facts have not been disputed. A senior army officer was leading a heavily armed contingent of troops to rescue members of a polling party when he was confronted by a large crowd of civilians pelting stones at the military convoy. The officer commanding the troops caught hold of a civilian, tied him to the bonnet of his jeep as a human shield to protect himself and his men.

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The sordid deed was caught live on camera and flashed by the national media. There is widespread shock and disgust at such a public outrage. This happened in the volatile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Members of security forces are routinely subjected to such offensives by the civilian population. But it is no one’s case that the crowd was armed with anything more lethal than pebbles and stones.

The unprecedented act of the senior Army officer rightfully sparked an outcry across the nation and in the national media. The Army ordered a Court of Inquiry into the incident. There is no news that pending the outcome of the inquiry the officer was transferred out or sent back to the barracks.

Quite the contrary. The officer has been busy justifying his action before the media, specifically how he had averted an ugly situation by his “timely” action. Adding insult to injury, he has described his action as good “tactics” that an army officer should be proud of.

Enter the recently-appointed Army Chief, a brave and experienced soldier, has positioned himself centre-stage (pun intended) and assumed the burden ~ gratis ~ of resolving the law and order problems in the troubled State. Admittedly, this is a heavy and onerous responsibility. The Chief has further commended the action of the officer concerned, and praised his presence of mind by employing brilliant “tactics”.

He has announced the award of a Commendation Certificate to him, no doubt for his act of rare “bravery”. Some bravery indeed! Certain disturbing, if not alarming, questions arise out of the entire episode. These must be addressed urgently if Indian democracy is to survive in the 21st century.

Otherwise, the Constitution will be largely reduced to a dead letter, and the rule of law will be the first casualty. As it is, the civilian control over the armed services is being gradually eroded, and the increasingly assertive armed forces, fortunately a handful of retired soldiers so far, are relentlessly shrilling for the removal of ‘bureaucratic control’, indeed the last vestige of civilian control.

Law and order is a State subject, the Constitutional responsibility of the elected State Government. It is regulated by the oldest law on the statute book of pre-Independent India, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1860. It is so well-drafted that it was adopted verbatim by the Government of India and all the State Governments at the time of Independence. It has stood the test of time for more than a century and a half. The armed forces of the Union have no role in law and order duties, which are under the Central Government.

The only occasion when the Army comes in is in the event of a collapse of law and order, when the situation cannot be controlled by the State authorities. The police forces are commanded by executive magistrates in the field, under the CrPC. In case the situation so warrants, the first assessment to seek the aid of the Army is that of the field magistrate. As the man on the spot, he is the best judge of the situation, so to speak. Of course, he has to consult the State Government. The law also provides that the armed force so deployed will have to work under the control of the local executive magistracy.

The commander of the armed force has to take orders from the field magistrate. He cannot usurp the authority of the magistrate; he is not fighting an enemy but dealing with his fellow citizens. The law is explicit on the issue. He is “required” to obey the magistrate. Indeed, it is a certitude of civilian democracy, a precious legacy of the British, who have practised this form of Government for more than seven centuries.

Unfortunately for India, law and order is progressively, or shall we say regressively, being taken over by the armed services of the State, including the police force. The role and the status of the magistracy is being whittled down. As the armed forces are increasingly asserting their status and authority, the magistracy is being increasingly marginalised. The results are there for all to see ~ trigger-happy armed services that resort to firing, often indiscriminate at the first sign of disturbance.

Something similar is happening in Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government is invisible, for all practical purposes. The magistracy is absent from the scene. As governance abhors a vacuum, the space vacated by the Government is increasingly being occupied by the armed forces.

The Government panics in such situations, and is now increasingly resorting to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, handing over governance to the military, no questions asked. Indeed, no one dare ask. Democracy is thereby jettisoned, wherever the AFSPA rules. The situation is fraught.

The Army Chief has posited himself at the centre, or shall we say Centre, and taken upon himself to tackle the situation with his heavily armed troops.

One of his first acts was to confer a Commendation Certificate on the officer concerned. This has been done while the Court of Inquiry is still looking into the officer’s conduct. In other words, he has virtually trashed the Court.

Evidently, he has himself delivered the verdict, in advance. On hindsight, the farce of an elaborate inquiry has been short-lived.

(To be concluded)

The writer is a retired IAS officer