Criminal justice system gets road map for change

It has recommended the constitution of permanent criminal benches in high courts and the Supreme Court to be presided by specialised judges. Also, to ensure discipline and better code of conduct among judges, it has suggested that the Chief Justice be conferred with certain special powers.

Rights of the victim and the witness are recognised for the first time by the committee. It has suggested a witness protection programme and also the right of the victim to participate in the trial for offences punishable with imprisonment of seven years and above. The victim too should have the right to protection and right to compensation.

The six-member committee has recommended additional rights for women in some cases of crimes against women, like entitling a woman living with a man, as his wife, for a reasonably long period to maintenance. It has also recommended creation of a separate offence prescribing adequate punishment for non-penile penetration.

However, the committee has suggested that section 498-A of IPC — cruelty against woman by husband and his relatives — be made less stringent, by making it bailable and compoundable. The committee said that the section accounts for undue harassment.

While some of the recommendations are bound to ruffle a few feathers, others would be accepted as much needed, albeit coming a bit late. While presenting the report to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Justice Malimath said that this was the first-ever comprehensive review of the country’s Criminal Justice System in 150 years and suggested major reforms in police, prosecution, judiciary and the fundamental principles governing the system.

Advani said it would be the government’s endeavour that the recommendations in the report are expeditiously dealt with and implemented soon. The committee was constituted in November 2000, and started working in January 2001.

The guiding star of reforms, Justice Malimath said, has to be ‘‘quest for truth.’’ As part of quest of truth, the court shall be empowered to summon and examine any person as witness. It will also have the authority to question an accused during trial, and his silence be construed adversely. This, Justice Malimath said, is to be implemented without affecting the right of the accused, not to be a witness against himself.

Attempting to make things easier for the prosecution, the committee said that it should be enough for an accused to be proven guilty if the evidence against him is ‘‘clear and convincing.’’ The standard of proof — ‘‘beyond reasonable doubt’’— places a very unreasonable burden on the prosecution and should be done away with.

A recommendation that may raise eyebrows is amending the Evidence Act, making the confessional statement of a witness, recorded by an official of the rank of SP or above — with simultaneous audio/video recording — admissible in court. A similar provision in POTA was criticised by the human right activists. Another such recommendation is enactment of a federal law to deal effectively with organised crime and terrorism. While, the committee has gone along with the government’s expressed views on Evidence Act and organised crime, it differs regarding punishment for rapists. The committee is not in favour of imposing death penalty on rapists since it could endanger the victim. Instead the committee suggested life imprisonment without commution or remission of sentence.

In fact, the committee said that life imprisonment without commution or remission of sentence should be added as an alternate sentence — to be higher than that of life imprisonment.

The committee has recommended that investigating wing should be separated from the law and order wing and has endorsed the recommendations of National Police Commission (NPC). Also to insulate the investigating agency from political and other influences, the committee has recommended setting up of National Security Commission and state security commissions. The committee also endorsed another NPC recommendation — of having a new Police Act. Noting the police tendency of not registering all the cases, the committee said that the distinction between cognizable and non-cognizable offences should be done away with, and the police have to register and investigate every crime that is reported.