The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is an institution established as an independent civilian oversight mechanism to ensure police accountability in India. Its creation was mandated by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment, Prakash Singh and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors., delivered on September 22, 2006. The judgment sought to address the endemic lack of accountability and the high volume of complaints against the police under the colonial-era Police Act of 1861.
The ratio of the 2006 judgment was that all States and Union Territories must implement a set of structural police reforms, including the establishment of a PCA at the state and district levels, to ensure the police function without unwarranted political influence.
The mechanism involves a two-tier structure: the State-level PCA and the District-level PCA. The State PCA is mandated to look into complaints of serious misconduct—such as death, grievous hurt, or rape in police custody—against officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above. The District PCA handles complaints against officers up to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The State PCA is to be headed by a retired Judge of the High Court/Supreme Court. The PCA has the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for summoning witnesses and requisitioning records. Crucially, the Court directed that the PCA's recommendations for action against a delinquent officer shall be binding on the concerned authority.
The PCA connects to the broader concept of police reform and the other directives from the Prakash Singh case, such as the State Security Commission and the Police Establishment Board. While the Supreme Court directed compliance until new legislation was framed, seventeen States have since established PCAs through State Police Acts, and ten States through executive orders. However, a significant change is that many state legislations have not made the PCA's recommendations binding, which is contrary to the original Supreme Court directive.