Law Enforcement & Police Reforms is a concept and a movement for fundamental structural and functional change in the Indian police system, primarily aimed at insulating the police from undue political control and making it accountable to the law. The need for reform originates from the continued use of the colonial-era Police Act, 1861, which was enacted after the 1857 Rebellion to maintain control and prioritize obedience over community service. The first major post-independence effort was the National Police Commission (NPC), which submitted eight reports between 1979-1981 recommending wide-ranging changes.
The concept was crystallized into a set of binding directives by the Supreme Court in the landmark judgment Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006). The ratio of the judgment was that the Court would issue seven directives to insulate the police from political interference and modernize its functioning until the Union and State governments enacted new, appropriate legislation.
The mechanism of reform works through these seven directives, which include: constituting a State Security Commission (SSC) to lay down policy guidelines; ensuring a minimum two-year tenure for the Director General of Police (DGP) and other key field officers; separating the investigation and law and order functions; setting up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) for transfers and postings; and establishing a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at the state and district levels.
The concept connects directly to the constitutional provision that 'Police' is a State Subject under Article 246 of the Constitution. While the directives were binding, the core framework has not been fully replaced; many states still operate under the Police Act, 1861, or have enacted new state laws that partially comply or circumvent the directives, such as by allowing mid-term transfers for 'administrative exigencies'. The proposed Model Police Act, 2006, drafted to replace the 1861 Act, has not been uniformly adopted.