India, Nov. 11 -- A protest by Delhi Police personnel against summary transfers - the orders came after a clash with lawyers over a minor issue escalated - underscores the challenges police reforms face in India. A Supreme Court judgment from 2006 issued seven directives on police reforms, and Delhi Police has complied with one relevant in the present instance: The formation of a Police Establishment Board (PEB) to handle transfers and postings. The transfers in the present instance was ordered by PEB; but, the resistance from the aggrieved officers and their supporters shows that procedural safeguards intended to insulate police decision-making are often followed in letter but not in spirit.

The suspension of the assistant commissioner ...