CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

April-2016
SUBMISSION FOR INTERNAL EVALUATION BALLB 6TH SEMESTER

Submitted by:
Raghav Malhotra(09416503813)
Section B

Criminal Procedure Code-II

PSDA-I
SUB: Section-354(3) Application and Relevance in Sentencing
To understand the relevance and importance of this provision of the Code as to how
it has turned the focus, at the sentencing stage, not only on the crime but also the
criminal, we shall study and analyze the Supreme Court Judgement in the case
EdigaAnamma v. State of Andhra Pradesh.1
And also reflect upon the importance of this section at the time of sentencing.
In the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the Parliament has wisely written into the law
a post-conviction stage when the Judges shall "hear the accused on the question of
sentence and then pass sentence on him according to law." (S. 235 & S. 248).
Section- 354(3) reads:
"354(3): When the conviction is for an offence punishable with death or, in the
alternative, with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of years, the
judgment shall state the reasons for the sentence awarded, and, in the case of
sentence of death, the special reasons for such sentence."
This section provides for recording of special reasons for awarding death penalty.
This provision puts a restriction on the exercise of discretion by the court. The term
special has to be given definite meaning and connotation. Special reasons in
contra-distinction to reasons simpliciter conveys the legislative mandate in this
regard. The court therefore has to consider matters like the nature of the offence,
how and under what circumstances it was committed, the extent of brutality with
which the offence was committed, the commission of the crime, the possibility of
the convict being reformed or rehabilitated, adequacy of the sentence of life
imprisonment and other attending circumstances. Between the aggravating and
mitigating circumstances a balance has to be struck before deciding punishment.
In any scientific system which turns the focus, at the sentencing stage, not only on
the crime but also the criminal, and seeks to personalize the punishment so that the
reformatory component is as, 0much operative as the deterrent element, it is
essential that facts of a social and personal nature, sometimes altogether irrelevant
if not injurious at the stage of fixing the guilt, may have to be brought to the notice
of the Court when the actual sentence is determined.

It cannot be emphasized too often that crime and punishment are functionally
related to the society in which they occur, and Indian conditions and stages of
progress must dominate the exercise of judicial discretion in this case. In India the
1EdigaAnamma v. State of Andhra Pradesh. AIR 1974 SC 799 (804)

subject of capital punishment has abortively come before Parliament earlier,

although our social scientists have not made any sociological or statistical study in
depth yet. On the statutory side there has been a significant change since India
became free. Under s.367(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, as it stood before its
amendment by Act 26 of 1955, the normal rule was to sentence to death a person
convicted for murder and to impose the lesser sentence for reasons to be recorded
in writing. By amendment, this provision was deleted with the result that the court
is now free to award either death sentence or life imprisonment, unlike formerly
when death was the rule and life term the exception, for recorded reasons. In the
new Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 a great change has overtaken the law.
It is obvious that the disturbed conscience of the State on the vexed question of
legal threat to life by way of death sentence has sought to express itself
legislatively, the stream of tendency being towards cautious, partial abolition and a
retreat from total retention.
In Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab2, it has been observed that "a real and abiding
concern for the dignity of human life postulates resistance to taking life through
law's instrumentality. That ought not to be done save in the rarest of rare cases
when the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed".

Guilt once established, the punitive dilemma begins. The choice between death
penalty and life term has to be made in a situation which is not altogether
satisfactory. Modern penology regards crime and criminal as equally material when
the right sentence has to be picked out, although in our processual system there is
neither comprehensive provision nor adequate machinery for collection and
presentation of the social and personal data of the culprit to the extent required in
the verdict on sentence.

Rarest of Rare (Test)

The language of Section 354(3) demonstrates the legislative concern and the
conditions which need to be satisfied prior to imposition of death penalty. The
words, be in the case of sentence of death, the special reasons for such
sentenceunambiguously demonstrate the command of the legislature that such
reasons have to be recorded for imposing the punishment of death sentence. This is
how the concept of the rarest of rare cases has emerged in law.
The Constitution bench judgement of Bachan Singh has been summarized in Machhi
Singh v of Punjab3. The conditions that it lays down are:

2Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab , AIR 1980 SC 898

3Machhi Singh And Others vs. State Of Punjab1983 SCR (3) 413

(i) The extreme penalty of death need not be inflicted except in gravest cases of
extreme culpability.
(ii) Before opting for the death penalty the circumstances of the offender also
require to be taken into consideration along with the circumstances of the crime.
(iii) Life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence is an exception. Death
sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an altogether
inadequate punishment having regard to the relevant circumstances of the crime,
and provided, and only provided the option to impose sentence of imprisonment for
life cannot be conscientiously exercised having regard to the nature and
circumstances of the crime and all the relevant circumstances.
(iv) A balance sheet of aggravating and mitigating circumstances has to be drawn
up and in doing so the mitigating circumstances have to be accorded full weightage
and a just balance has to be struck between the aggravating and the mitigating
circumstances before the option is exercised. (emphasis supplied)

In the exercise of its discretion in the above cases, the court shall take into account
the following circumstances:
(1) That the offence was committed under the influence of extreme mental or
emotional disturbance.
(2) The age of the accused. If the accused is young or old, he shall not be sentenced
to death.
(3) The probability that the accused would not commit criminal acts of violence as
would constitute a continuing threat to society.
(4) The probability that the accused can be reformed and rehabilitated.
The State shall by evidence prove that the accused does not satisfy Conditions (3)
and (4) above.
(5) That in the facts and circumstances of the case the accused believed that he
was morally justified in committing the offence.
(6) That the accused acted under the duress or domination of another person.

(7) That the condition of the accused showed that he was mentally defective and
that the said defect impaired his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his
conduct.4

Determination of Sentence:
On the question of standardization of sentence, the Supreme Court ruled as follows:
Regarding the question of laying down standards and norms restricting the area of
imposition of death penalty, if by "laying down standards", it is meant that 'murder'
should be categorised beforehand according to the degrees of its culpability and all
the aggravating and mitigating circumstances should be exhaustively and rigidly
enumerated so as to exclude all free play of discretion, the argument merits
rejection. Such standardisation is well-nigh impossible. Firstly, degree of culpability
cannot be measured in each case; secondly, criminal cases cannot be categorised,
there being infinite, unpredictable and unforseeable variations; thirdly, on such
categorization, the sentencing process will cease to be judicial; and fourthly, such
standardisation or sentencing discretion is a policy- matter belonging to the
legislature beyond the court's function.5
The imposition of sentence without considering its effect on the social order in many
cases is in reality a futile exercise.6

The saddest and the most disturbing part of the case is that the appellant never
showed any remorse for the terrible things he did. As seen earlier, in the initial
weeks after his arrest he continued to regard himself as a watanparast, a patriotic
Pakistani who considered himself to be at war with this country, who had no use for
an Indian lawyer but needed a Pakistani lawyer to defend him in the court. He made
the confessional statement before the magistrate on February 17, 2009, not out of
any sense of guilt or sorrow or grief but to present himself as a hero. He told the
magistrate that he had absolutely no regret for whatever he had done and he
wanted to make the confession to set an example for others to become Fidayeen
like him and follow him in his deeds. Even in the course of the trial he was never
repentant and did not show any sign of contrition. The judge trying him had
occasion to watch him closely and has repeatedly observed about the lack of any
remorse on the part of the appellant. The High Court, too, has noticed that the
appellant never showed any remorse for the large-scale murder committed by him.
This, to our mind, forecloses the possibility of any reform or rehabilitation of the
4Machhi Singh And Others vs. State Of Punjab1983 SCR (3) 413
5Mohd.Chaman vs State (N.C.T. of Delhi), (2001) Cr LJ 725
6 State through PS Lodhi Colony, New Delhi vs. Sanjeeva Nanda, AIR (2012) SC 3104

appellant. The alternative option of life sentence is thus unquestionably excluded in

the case of the appellant and death remains the only punishment that can be given
to him.7
CONCLUSION
All in all the question of sentencing and the quantum of sentence is to be decided
with reasonable application of the judicial mind while keeping in mind all the factors
associated to the case and also the social impact the sentence would have on
society as a whole. It is one of the most important part of the process of criminal
justice, thus, the responsibility on the shoulders of the Judge is immense and should
be respectfully carried out.

Criminal Procedure Code-II

PSDA-II

Compensation Jurisprudence and Victim Compensation

Schemes
Definition of Victim
According to the Criminal Procedural Code victim means a person who has
suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of the act or omission for which the

7Md.AjmalMd.AmirKasab vs State Of Maharashtra, AIR (2012) SC 3565

accused person has been charged and the expression "victim" includes his or her
guardian or legal heir.
Defi nition of Victimology:The study of the ways in which the behavior of
crime victims may have led to or contributed to their victimization.The claim that
the problems of a person or group are the result of victimization.
Abstract:
Compensatory Justice Jurisprudence took birth in the case of RudalSahv. State of
Bihar8when the Hon'ble Supreme Court broke one more link in the shackles of
restrictive interpretation and added another feather in the cap of Article- 21 to
crown the personal life and liberty of people. Post Rudal, there are a series of
judgments discussed in the present paper which strengthened the power of
Supreme Court and High Courts to compensate the victims or their dependents for
the excesses done by the State machinery or on failure of State to take care when
there was a duty imposed upon them to exercise reasonable care. There are cases
ranging from 'birth after vasectomy' to 'death due to open manholes' to 'custodial
death' wherein Supreme Court has ventured out to grant compensation.
Over a period of time, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has given a dynamic
interpretation to the constitutional remedies provision under the Constitution so as
to enhance the fundamental rights of an individual. The cases in which the Courts
have awarded compensation for the excesses committed by the state or for
negligence of the State as well as examine the self-imposed restrictions of Supreme
Court in not awarding compensation in certain cases. However, the question always
remains as to what is the rationale for providing such compensation and if granted
how much is to be granted. Further what is the criterion for providing the
compensation or it is ad hoc. What about the erring officials in discharging their
public duty and finally whether judicial activism has led to judicial adventurism?
Concept of Victimology
The word Victimology is a new coinage and has gained considerable importance due
to the untiring work of Miss Margaret Fry of the John Howard Association of England,
Benjamin Mendelsohn, who in 1937 developed a scientific method for the study of
the criminal act which utilized biopsycho- social data on the criminal, on the victim
and on the witnesses bystanders, and the World Society of Victimology having been
himself the victim of discrimination, Mendelsohn became interested in the victim
and in his/hers relationship with the criminal." Schafer defines Victimology as "the
study of criminal victim relationship". Drapin and Viano define it as "that branch of
criminology which primarily studies the victim of crime and everything that is
concerned with such a victim". In the words of Fattah: "While studying biological,
sociological, psychological, and criminological details about the victim -victimology
brings into focus the victim-offender relationship and role played by victim.
The 7th United Nations Congress on Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
came out with a declaration of basic principles of Justice of Victims of crime and
8RudalSahv. State of Bihar, 1983 AIR 1086, 1983 SCR (3) 508

abuse of power, which was later adopted by the U.N. General Assembly. In the
declaration, the U.N. defined the "Victims of Crime" as follows:
1. "Victims" means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm,
including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or
substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that
are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those
laws prescribing criminal abuse of power.
2. A person may be considered a victim, under this Declaration, regardless of
whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted and
regardless of the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The
term "victim" also includes, where appropriate, the immediate family or dependents
of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist
victims in distress or to prevent victimization. Victims are several time suffering
emotionally the most.

Compensation to Victims In Crime

The reactions to crime have been different at different stages of human civilization.
There are number of theories available pertaining to 'Reaction to crime'. Important
among these theories are Retribution theory, Utilitarian theory, Deterrent theory
etc. In common, every theory provides justification punishment. We can summaries
the objects of punishment as:
1. partly of making example of the criminal;
2. partly of deterring the criminal from repeating the same act;
3. partly of reforming the criminal by eradicating the evil will; and
4. Partly of satisfying society's feeling of vengeance which the act is supposed to
evoke.
The law in the early stages of civilization was to compensate the victim and not to
punish the offender. Narada was the first to recommend compensation to the
victims by the offender in order to expiate his sins. "If we go back to the origin of
criminal law, we see that the victim and his family occupy a central position: it is
the victim and his family who have the right to request revenge or penitence.
However, over the centuries, with the evolution of the state and the organization of
state prosecution the role of the victim has changed: from his central position the
victim has been shifted to a marginal one."
Compensation related to Constitutional Injuries
A constitutional solution to fill the gap in the legal right to compensation in the
monetary way for the abuse of the many human rights has been found by the apex

courts. The Apex Court in the case RudalSah v. State of Bihar 9 for the first time laid
down the principle that compensation can be given in the cases where any
fundamental right of an individual has been injured and that the upper courts have
the authority to do so through the exercise of writ jurisdiction and evolved the
principle of compensatory justice in the annals of human rights jurisprudence.
We can clearly see that monetary compensation had been made in cases where an
individuals legal rights have been damaged. Even though there isnt a statute
defining such a claim, the courts have exercised this power wherever they deemed
fit. If a persons fundamental right is violated or where a writ petition is not
generated by the court itself, the said persons right to compensation comes into
effect and he should be compensated adequately in such cases.
In Sebastain v. Union of India10, on account of failure of Government to produce
in habeas corpus petition filed by wives, apex court awarded cost of Rs. 1 lakh to be
given to wife of each of detenne.

Compensation under criminal law

The theory of compensation in criminal law is mainly about compensation to the
victim of a crime. A victim to a crime is one who has suffered any loss because of
some act or omission of the accused. The victim not only suffers physical injuries
but also psychological and financial hardships too. The plight of a victim is only
made worse by lengthy hearings and tedious proceedings of courts and improper
conduct of the police. The victim is literally traumatised again in the process of
seeking justice for the first injury. The legal heirs/guardians of the victim too come
in the same definition.
The law makers made provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 under
Section 357(3) to enable the Courts to award any amount of compensation to the
victims of a crime. This was depicted in the landmark case of Hari Kisan where the
Supreme Court had awarded compensation as punishment, of Rs. 50,000. Not only
this, the lower courts were asked and advised to exercise the power of awarding
compensation to the victims of offences in such a liberal way that the victims may
not have to rush to the civil courts

Compensation related to Rape

The victim of rape has to suffer from many hardships like mental shock, lost income
due to pregnancy and costs incurred during childbirth because of the offence. Also,
in the present Indian society, a raped victim is looked down upon even though she
is the victim and not the offender. During a rape trial, if the accused is just punished
9RudalSah v. State of Bihar, 1983 AIR 1086, 1983 SCR (3) 508
10Sebastain v. Union of India 1984 AIR 571, 1984 SCR (1) 904

or asked to pay fine, the judgment does not favour the victim as her position is not
restored. Hence it becomes extremely important to compensate such a victim.
A womens right to compensation originates from Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution which talks about right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme
Court held that a woman can be compensated even in the middle stages of the trial
as well as at the end of the trial. The Supreme Court even suggested the
establishment of criminal injuries compensation Board under Article 38(1) of
theConstitution of India whose function would have been to compensate such
victims and provide them relief. However, no such board has been formed. [xx]
In the landmark case of DK Basu v. State of West Bengal,11 the Supreme Court
held that a victim of custodial right has every right to be compensated as her Right
to life has been breached by the officer of the State.
In another case, the Supreme Court held that the sessions court too has the power
to award compensation to the victim even if the trial has not been completed. In
fact, in the case State of Maharashtra v. Madhukar N. Mardikar12, Supreme
court held that even a prostitute has a right to privacy and no person can rape her
just because she is a woman of easy virtue.

Article 32 And The Remedy of Compensation

Compensation to victims is a recognised principle of law being enforced through the
ordinary civil courts. Under the law of torts the victims can claim compensation for
the injury to the person or property suffered by them. It is taking decades for the
victims to get a decree for damages or compensation through civil courts, which is
resulting in so much hardship to them.
The emergence of compensatory jurisprudence in the light of human rights
philosophy is a positive signal indicating that the judiciary has undertaken the task
of protecting the right to life and personal liberty of all the people irrespective of the
absence of any express constitutional provision and of judicial precedents.
The renaissance of the doctrine of natural rights in the form of human rights across
the globe is a great development in the jurisprudential field in the contemporary
era. A host of international covenants on human rights and the concern for effective
implementation of them are radical and revolutionary steps towards the guarantee
of liberty, equality and justice. Though the concept is new, the content is not and
these rights have been recognised since ages and have become part of the
constitutional mechanism of several countries. India recognised these rights under
11D.K. Basu v. State of W.B., (1997) 1 SCC 416 : AIR 1997 SC 610
12State of Maharashtra v. Madhukar N. Mardikar, AIR 1991 SC 207

Part III of the Constitution providing remedies for enforcement of such rights.
Article 32(1) provides for the right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate
proceedings for the enforcement of the fundamental rights. The Supreme Court
under Article 32(2) is free to devise any procedure for the enforcement of
fundamental right and it has the power to issue any process necessary in a given
case. In view of this constitutional provision, the Supreme Court may even give
remedial assistance, which may include compensation in "appropriate cases".
A question regarding the awarding of monetary compensation through writ
jurisdiction was first raised before the Supreme Court in Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar
13
In this case, Bhagwati, J. observed:
"Why should the court not be prepared to forge new tools and devise new remedies
for the purpose of vindicating the most precious of the precious fundamental right
to life and personal liberty.
In SantBir v. State of Bihar14the question of compensating the victim of the
lawlessness of the State was left open.
In VeenaSethi v. State of Bihar15 also the Court observed that the question would
still remain to be considered whether the petitioners are entitled to compensation
from the State Government for the contravention of the right guaranteed
under Article 21 of the Constitution.
In the light of the views expressed by the Court in the above cases it can be said
that the Court had shown its concern for the protection of right to life and liberty
against the lawlessness of the State but did not actually grant any compensation to
the victims.
The seed of compensation for the infraction of the rights implicit in Article 21 was
first sowed in Khatri, SantBir and VeenaSethi, which sprouted with such a vigorous
growth that it finally enabled the Court to hold that the State is liable to pay
compensation. This dynamic move of the Supreme Court resulted in the emergence
of compensatory jurisprudence for the violation of right to personal liberty through
RudulSah The Supreme Court of India in RudulSah v. State of Bihar16 brought
about a revolutionary breakthrough in human rights jurisprudence by granting
monetary compensation to an unfortunate victim of State lawlessness on the part of
13 Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar, 1981 SCR (2) 408
14Sant Bir v. State of Bihar, AIR 1982 SC 1470
15VeenaSethi v. State of Biha,AIR 1983 SC 339
16RudalSah v. State of Bihar, 1983 AIR 1086, 1983 SCR (3) 508

the Bihar Government for keeping him in illegal detention for over 14 years after his
acquittal of a murder charge.

Judicial Jurisprudence Towards Compensation Law In India

In RudalSah v. State of Bihar17 Supreme Court through Chief Justice Chandrachud
held, "Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty will be denuded of its
significant content if the power of this court were limited to passing orders of
release from illegal detention. One of the telling ways in which the violation of that
right can reasonably be prevented and due compliance with the mandate
of Article 21 secured is to mulct its violators in the payment of monetary
compensation." There must be direct and proximate nexus between the complaint
and the arrest for the award of compensation under sec. 358 of the Cr. P.C. Any
person is entitled to compensation for the loss or injury caused by the offence, and
it includes the "wife, husband, parent and child" of the deceased victim. In Sarwan
Singh's case court held that in awarding such compensation, the court is to take into
consideration various factors such as capacity of the accused to pay, the nature of
the crime, the nature of the injury suffered and other relevant factors. "Power to
award compensation to victims should be liberally exercised by courts to meet the
ends of justice in addition to the conviction; the court may order the accused to
pay some amount by way of compensation to the victim who has suffered by the
action of accused. It is not alternative to but in addition thereto. The payment of
compensation must be reasonable. The quantum of compensation depends upon
facts, circumstances, the nature of the crime, the justness of the claim of the victim
and the capacity of the accused to pay. If there are more than one accused,
quantum may be divided equally unless their capacity to pay varies considerably.
Reasonable period for payment of compensation, if necessary by instalment, may
be given.
In a certain case the Court held that where the amount fixed was repulsively low so
as to make it a mockery of the sentence, it would be enhanced; the financial
capacity of the accused, enormity of the offence, extent of damage caused to the
victim, are the relevant considerations in fixing up the amount. The court in Balraj
v. State of U.P.18 held that the power to award compensation under section 357
(3) is not ancillary to other sentences but it is in addition thereto.
The compensation for illegal detention is the area, which unearthed new doctrines
pertaining to the compensation laws in India. In yet another case, two women filed a
writ of habeas corpus to produce two persons (their husbands) who were found
missing. The authorities failed to produce them. The Court concluded, on the basis
of material placed before it, that the two persons 'must have met unnatural deaths,
17RudalSah v. State of Bihar, 1983 AIR 1086, 1983 SCR (3) 508
18Balraj v. State of U.P., 1995 AIR 1935, 1994 SCC (4) 29

and that prima facie they would be offences of murder. The Supreme Court directed
the respondents to pay Rs. 1, 00, 000/- to each of the wives of the missing persons.

Awards of Compensation To Victims By Courts

There is plethora of case law where the Supreme Court has awarded compensation
to the victims whose plight was brought to the notice of the apex court either by
themselves or by way of PIL with the aim of protecting the human rights of the
victims in our criminal justice system and to fulfill the constitutional obligation the
Supreme Court can direct the government to confer jurisdiction on the criminal
courts by making statutory provisions for the compensation to the victims of crime
irrespective of whether the accused is convicted or not and to make statutory
provisions for participation of the victims in prosecution along with prosecuting
agency in a criminal case instituted on a police report.
The court has also granted monetary compensation to victims of custodial violence
in many cases. In a landmark judgment ofNilabatiBehera v. State of Orissa19 the
apex court awarded compensation of Rs. 1,50,000/- to the mother of deceased who
died in police custody due to torture. In D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal20
the Apex court held that compensation can be granted under the public law by the
Supreme Court and High Court in addition to private law remedy for tortuous action
and punishment to wrong doer under criminal law for established breach of
fundamental rights.
Universal declaration of Human Right, 1948 under Article 5 says that no one shall
be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
and also Article 8 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 14 of
International covenant on civil and political Rights in Provides for compensation for
violation of fundamental Rights.
Critical Analysis
When a crime is committed against a person, the victim loses out a lot apart from
incurring damages and injuries. The work of a judiciary should not only be to punish
the guilty but also compensate the victim as even if the accused is punished, the
victims loss is not compensated. The compensation given should at least try to put
the victim in a state in which he was before. It is not like victims of crime can never
ask for compensation as such a prayer is available under civil laws, but filing two
different suits for the same offence in two different courts. The proceedings for one
suit are most of the times is agonizing, that such a procedure of filing different suits
only gives the victim a second traumatisation.
19NilabatiBehera v. State of Orissa AIR 1993 SC 1960
20D.K. Basu v. State of W.B., (1997) 1 SCC 416 : AIR 1997 SC 610

The idea behind providing compensation is legal as well as humanitarian. The

inability to protect the person by the State makes it legally obligatory for the State
to compensate him. The victim goes through such pain and many times permanent
loss of income only makes it logical for him to be compensated.
In cases where a person dies or is sent into a vegetative state, compensation should
be very high as many times, the victim himself is the sole bread earner of the family
and hence his injuries affect the life of his family too. In such cases, if the accused is
only imprisoned or asked to pay a small fine, no good happens to either the accused
or the victims family.
In the Indian society of the 21st century, many people want their brides to be
pure virgins. A victim of rape in such cases not only loses out on the opportunity
to marry into an otherwise decent family but is also discriminated upon for no fault
of hers. It is often said that the most prised possession of a woman is her dignity
and respect. In the society where people still have an old mindset, the life of such a
woman only degrades. It only makes sense to compensate such a victim well apart
from punishing the accused.
Mental shock, loss of income and cost of litigation should be taken into
consideration when coming out with compensation and the Courts should hence
compensate the victims more frequently.

Conclusion
We come to the conclusion that compensation is not only required but is in fact a
very important aspect of even criminal law and the courts should not use this
sparingly but a little liberally. Of course they should be careful of not awarding too
high a compensation and hence should be careful.
The government should take into consideration the suggestions of the Supreme
Court and set up Compensation Boards to help the victims with financial issues.
Prior to CrPC(Amendment) 2008, India lacked an all-inclusive legislation for
compensation of victims. Compassionate treatment of victims under the criminal
justice system itself leads to the belief in the system which is enhanced by way of
compensation programmes, independent of conviction of offenders
It is need less to point out that the whole legislative paradigm coupled with lack of
judicial determination has exposed numerous flaws of the present legal system
about the compensation therefore there is need for revamping the whole legal
system once. The mandatory changes that are needed are as follows:
The suggestion given by the law commission of India in its 42nd report on Indian
Penal Code must be taken in to consideration and it would be better if the
legislature also take in to account the separate note of Justice R.L. Narsimha, a
member of the commission.

Criminal Procedure Code-II

PSDA-III

Role of judiciary in effective police management

It is important to put the criminal law enforcement role of police in its appropriate
perspective. Public policing bodies have a multi-faced role. Broadly speaking they

are responsible for peace keeping, criminal law enforcement and a general
community service function.
The judiciary is independent of any criminal investigation process undertaken by
Police. The role of the judiciary is one of the exercising by the Courts of their
jurisdiction to enforce, adjust or declare the rights and liabilities of persons, subject
to the law, in accordance with the law and the actual circumstances of the case.
Judiciary promotes systemic reform so that police act as upholders of the rule of law
rather than as instruments of the current regime. It aims at mobilising public
support for police reform.

Prakash Singh v/s Union of India21: the Supreme Court Directives 20062007
The judgment broadly deals with three aspects of police organisation- autonomy,
accountability and efficiency.
The Supreme Court gave detailed directions which are to be followed by the Centre
and State Governments until legislations in this regard are enacted.
The directions include :

Each State Government must constitute a State Security Commission to

ensure that police are protected from illegitimate political interference.

Fixing the selection and minimum tenure of Chief of Police (DGP);

Minimum tenure of other police officers including Inspector General of Police

(IGP), Deputy IGP, Superintendents of Police in-charge of districts and Station
Officers;

Separation of investigation function from law and order functions;

Setting up a Police Complaints Authority;

Setting up a National Security Commission;

Setting up a Police Establishment Board which will decide issues concerning

transfers, postings, promotions and other service related matters of officers
below rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Vijay Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others22

21 Prakash Singh v. Union of India, (2006) 8 SCC 1

Hon'ble the Apex Court in the case of Vijay Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and
others, while considering the Uttar Pradesh Police officers of the Subordinate Ranks
(Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1991, held as under:"Undoubtedly, in a civilized society governed by rule of law, the punishment not
prescribed under the statutory rules cannot be imposed. Principle enshrined in
Criminal Jurisprudence to this effect is prescribed in legal maxim nulla poena sine
lege which means that a person should not be made to suffer penalty except for a
clear breach of existing law." Needless to mention that in a civilized society
governed by rule of law, the punishment not prescribed under the statutory rules
cannot be imposed. Principle enshrined in Criminal Jurisprudence to this effect is
prescribed in legal maxim nulla poena sine lege which means that a person should
not be made to suffer penalty except for a clear breach of existing law.
People's Union for Civil Liberties vs. Union of India (2003) 4 SCC 399 23
The Supreme Court cracked down on the rise in fake encounter killings by the
police, ruling in a writ petition filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
PUCL had questioned the genuineness of 99 encounters by the Mumbai police
resulting in the death of about 135 persons between 1995 and 1997.
The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha and Justice
Rohinton Nariman, issued a 16-point guideline to be followed in the matters of
investigating police encounters in the cases of death as the standard procedure for
thorough, effective and independent investigation.
Notably, the court said that investigations into any police killings with guns must be
undertaken by experienced state CID or another police station, and magistrate and
state Human Rights Commission or the National Human Rights Commission must be
alerted in any such case.
The guidelines are as follows:
1. Tip-offs about criminal activities must be recorded either in writing or electronic
form
2. If pursuant to a tip-off the police uses firearms and this results in death of a
person, then an FIR initiating proper criminal investigation must be registered
3. Investigation into such death will be done by an independent CID team which has
to fulfil eight minimum investigation requirements
4. Mandatory magisterial inquiry into all cases of encounter deaths
22 Vijay Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others, 2012 (5) SCC 242
23 People's Union for Civil Liberties vs. Union of India (2003) 4 SCC 399

5. The NHRC or State commission must be immediately informed of the encounter

death
6. Medical aid to injured victim/criminal and a magistrate should record his
statement
7. Ensure forwarding FIR and police diary entries to court without delay
8. Expeditious and proper trial
9. Informing next of kin of the dead alleged criminal
10. Bi-annual statements of all encounter killings to be sent to the NHRC and state
commissions by a set date in a set format
11. Disciplinary action against and suspension of a police officer found guilty of
wrongful encounter
12. Compensation scheme under the CrPC to be followed for awarding it to kin of
dead victim
13. Police officers must surrender their weapons for investigation, subject to rights
under Article 20 of the Constitution
14. Also intimate family of accused police officer and offer services of
lawyer/counsellor
15. No out of turn gallantry awards for the officers involved in encounter killings
16. The family of the victim can complain to the Sessions judge if it feels that these
guidelines have not been followed, the judge will take cognizance
Conclusion
The debate has raged for almost four decades. The necessity for accountability of
the police organisation is not far to seek - the National Police Commission said in
the late 70's. 25 years on, the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh Case implored,
States should rise to the occasion and enact a new Police Act securing the rights
of the citizens under the Constitution for the Rule of Law.
Such profound reflection, such detailed guidelines but unfortunately such
unenthusiastic implementation. Till date public perceives the police as a body that
exists in order to protect the system and as an instrument of the state rather than
the people. They consider the force to be inefficient, slow and secretive - made up
of individuals lacking necessary education and training. Clearly reform has not
moved beyond the rhetoric.

Criminal Procedure Code-II

PSDA-IV

Recommendations of the Malimath Committee on reforms

of Criminal Justice System
A preamble shall be added to the Code [of Criminal Procedure] on the following
lines: "Whereas it is expedient to constitute a criminal justice system for punishing the
guilty and protecting the innocent.
"Whereas it is expedient to prescribe the procedure to be followed by it,
"Whereas quest for truth shall be the foundation of the criminal justice system,
"Whereas it shall be the duty of every functionary of the criminal justice system and
everyone associated with it in the administration of justice, to actively pursue the quest for
truth.
It is enacted as follows:"
2. A provision on the following lines be made and placed immediately above
section 311 of the Code: "Quest for truth shall be the fundamental duty of every court."
Section 311 of the Code be substituted on the following lines: "Any Court shall at
any stage of any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under the Code, summon any person as a
witness or examine any person in attendance though not summoned as a witness or recall
and re-examine any person already examined as it appears necessary for discovering truth
in the case."
Provision similar to Section 255 of the Code relating to summons trial procedure
be made in respect of trial by warrant and sessions procedures, empowering such
court to take into consideration, the evidence received under Section 311 (new) of
the Code in addition to the evidence produced by the prosecution.
Section 482 of the Code be substituted by a provision on the following lines:"Every
Court shall have inherent powers to make such orders as may be necessary to discover truth
or to give effect to any order under this Code or to prevent abuse of the process of court or
otherwise to secure the ends of justice."
A provision on the following lines be added immediately below Section 311 of the
Code: Power to issue directions regarding investigation
"Any court shall, at any stage of inquiry or trial under this Code, have such power to issue
directions to the investigating officer to make further investigation or to direct the
Supervisory Officer to take appropriate action for proper or adequate investigation so as to
assist the Court in search for truth."
Section 54 of the Evidence Act be substituted by a provision on the following
lines: "In criminal proceeding the fact that the accused has a bad character is relevant."
Explanation: A previous conviction is relevant as evidence of bad character.

3. Right to Silence - Article 20(3)

The right to silence is a fundamental right guaranteed to the citizen under Article 20 (3) of
the Constitution which says that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be
a witness against himself. As the accused is in most cases the best source of information,
the Committee felt that while respecting the right of the accused a way must be found to tap
this critical source of information. The Committee feels that without subjecting the accused
to any duress, the court should have the freedom to question the accused to elicit the
relevant information and if he refuses to answer, to draw adverse inference against the
accused.
At present the participation of the accused in the trial is minimal. He is not even required to
disclose his stand and the benefit of special exception to any which he claims. This results in
great prejudice to the prosecution and impedes the search for truth. The Committee has
therefore felt that the accused should be required to file a statement to the prosecution
disclosing his stand.

4. Rights of the Accused

The accused has several rights guaranteed to him under the Constitution and relevant laws.
They have been liberally extended by the decisions of the Supreme Court. The Accused has
the right to know about all the rights he has, how to enforce them and whom to approach
when there is a denial of those rights. The Committee therefore felt that all the rights of the
accused flowing from the laws and judicial decisions should be collected and put in a
Schedule to the Code. The Committee also felt that they should be translated by each State
in the respective regional language and published in a form of a pamphlet for free
distribution to the accused and the general public.
The following recommendations are made in regard to the rights of the accused:-

The rights of the accused recognized by the Supreme Court may subject to the
clarification in Chapter 4 and the manner of their protection be made statutory,
incorporating the same in a schedule to the Criminal Procedure Code.

Specific provision in the Code be made prescribing reasonable conditions to regulate

handcuffing, including provision for taking action for misuse of the power by the
Police Officers.

5. Presumption of Innocence and Burden of Proof

There is no provision in the Indian Evidence Act prescribing a particular or a different
standard of proof for criminal cases. However, the standard of proof laid down by our courts
following the English precedents is proof beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases. In
several countries in the world including the countries following the inquisitorial system, the
standard is proof on 'preponderance of probabilities.'
There is a third standard of proof which is higher than 'proof on preponderance of
probabilities' and lower than 'proof beyond reasonable doubt' described in different ways,
one of the being 'clear and convincing' standard. The Committee after careful assessment of
the standards of proof came the conclusion that the standard of proof beyond reasonable
doubt presently followed in criminal cases should be done away with and recommended in
its place a standard of proof lower than 'proof beyond reasonable doubt' and higher than the

standard of 'proof on preponderance of probabilities.' The Committee is therefore favours a

mid level standard of proof of 'courts conviction that it is true.'

6. Justice to Victims of Crime

An important object of the criminal justice system is to ensure justice to the victims, yet he
has not been given any substantial right, not event o participate in the criminal proceedings.
Therefore the Committee feels that the system must focus on justice to victims. Therefore
the Committee has made several recommendations which include the right of the victim to
participate in cases involving serious crimes and to adequate compensation. Hence, the
Committee has made the following recommendations:a) The victim, and if he is dead, his legal representative shall have the right to be impleaded
as a party in every criminal proceeding where the offence is punishable with 7 years
imprisonment or more.
b) In select cases notified by the appropriate government, with the permisssion of the court
an approved voluntary organization shall also have the right to implead in court
proceedings.
c) The victim has a right to be represented by an advocate of his choice; provided that an
advocate shall be provided at the cost of the State if the victim is not in a position to afford a
lawyer.
It is the considered view of the Committee that criminal justice administration will assume a
new direction towards better and quicker justice once the rights of victims are recognized by
law and restitution for loss of life, limb and property are provided for in the system. The cost
for providing it is not exorbitant as sometimes made out to be. With increase in quantum of
fine recovered, diversion of funds generated by the justice system and soliciting public
contribution, the proposed victim compensation fund can be mobilized at least to meet the
cost of compensating victims of violent crimes.

7. Police Investigation
The machinery of Criminal Justice System is put into gear when an offence is registered and
then investigated. A prompt and quality investigation is therefore the foundation of the
effective Criminal Justice System. Police are employed to perform multifarious duties and
quite often the important work of expeditious investigations gets relegated in priority. A
separate wing of investigation with clear mandate that it is accountable only to Rule of Law
is the need of the day.
Most of the Laws, both substantive as well as procedural were enacted more than 100 years
back. Criminality has undergone a tremendous change qualitatively as well as quantitatively.
Therefore the apparatus designed for investigation has to be equipped with laws and
procedures to make it functional in the present context. If the existing challenges of crime
are to be met effectively, not on the mindset of investigators needs a change but they have
to be trained in advanced technology, knowledge of changing economy, new dynamics of
social engineering, efficacy and use of modern forensics etc. Investigation Agency is
understaffed, ill equipped and therefore the gross inadequacies in basic facilities and
infrastructure also need attention on priority.
There is need for the Law and the society to trust the police and the police leadership to
ensure improvement in their credibility.

8. Public Prosecution
Prosecutors are the Officers of the Court whose duty is to assist the court in the search of
truth which is the objective of the Criminal Justice System. Any amount of good investigation
would not result in success unless the institution of prosecution has persons who are of merit
and who are committed with foundation of a well structure professional training.
This important institution of the Criminal Justice System has been weak and somewhat
neglected. Its recruitment, training and professionalism need special attention so as to make
it synergetic with other institutions and effective in delivering good results.

9. Courts and Judges

There is gross inadequacy of judges to cope up the enormous pendency and new inflow of
cases. The existing judge population ratio in India is 10.5:13 per million population as
against 50 judges per million population in many parts of the world. The Supreme Court has
given directions to all the States to increase the judge strength by five times in a phased
manner within the next five years. The vacancies in the High Courts have remained unfilled
for years. This must be remedied quickly.
The Commission is deeply concerned about the deterioration in the quality of judges
appointed to the courts at all levels. The Constitution of a National Judicial Commission is
being considered at the national level to deal with the appointment of judges to the High
Courts and the Supreme Court and to deal with the complaints of misconduct against them.
The mere entrustment of the power of appointment to the National Judicial Commission will
not ensure the appointment of competent and upright judges. We need a process to ensure
objectivity and transparency in this behalf.
The Committee also feels that criminal work is highly specialize and to improve the quality of
justice only those who have expertise in criminal work should be appointed and posted to
benches to deal exclusively with criminal work. As the expertise al all levels is found to be
woefully inadequate the Committee feels that suitably tailored intensive training including
practical programme should be devised and all the judges given training not only at the
induction time but also in service at frequent intervals.

10. Trial Procedures

The Committee is concerned with enormous delay in decision making, particularly in trial
courts. At present, a large number of cases in which punishment is two years and less are
tried as summons cases. The summary procedure prescribed by Section 262 to 264 of the
Code, if exercised properly, would quicken the pace of justice considerably.
However, the number of cases which are presently tried summarily is quite small and
maximum punishment that can be given after a summary trial is three months. In order to
speed up the process, the Committee feels that all cases in which punishment is three years
and below should be tried summarily and punishment that can be awarded in summary
trials should be increased to three years. At present only specially empowered magistrate
can exercise summary powers which the Committee feels should be given to all Judicial
Magistrates First Class.
Section 206 of the Code prescribes the procedure for dealing with 'petty offences.' This
provision empowers the Magistrates to specify in the summons the fine which the accused
should pay if he pleads guilty and to send the fine amount along with his reply to the court.

This procedure is simple and convenient to the accused, as he need not engage a lawyer nor
appear before the court if he is not interested in contesting the case. However, the definition
of the expression 'petty offences' restricts it to those offences punishable only with fine not
exceeding Rs. 1000/-. In order to give benefit of this provision to large number of accused,
the Committee has favoured suitable modification of the expression 'petty offences.'

11. Vacations for the Courts

In view of the large pendency and mounting arrears of criminal cases, the long vacations for
the High Courts and Supreme Courts in the larger public interest, the Committee feels that
there should be a reduction of the vacations.

12. Arrears Eradication Scheme

The recommendations made by the Committee in this report would help in reducing the
arrears and speeding up the trials, but to tackle the huge arrears a complementary strategy
is recommended. Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice has created a 'fast track
courts' scheme for dealing with sessions cases. Though the scheme is good it is beset with
many practical problems besides being limited to dealing with sessions cases.
The Committee is in favour of working out an 'Arrears Eradication Scheme' for the purpose of
tackling all the cases that are pending for more than 2 years on the appointed day.
To carry out the scheme, the Committee feels that a retired judge of a High Court who is
known for effective and expeditious disposal of criminal cases should be put in charge of the
Arrears Eradication Scheme as the sitting judges may not find the time for it.

14. Offences, Sentence, Sentencing and Compounding

Since the IPC was enacted in the year 1860, may developments have taken place, new
forms of crimes have come into existence, punishment for some crimes are proving grossly
inadequate and the need for imposing only fine as a sentence for smaller offences is felt.
Variety of the punishments prescribed is limited. There is thus a need to have new forms of
punishments such as community service, disqualification from holding public offices,
confiscation orders, imprisonment for life without commutation or remission etc. Hence the
Committee is in favour to review the IPC.
The IPC prescribes only the maximum punishments for the offences and in some cases
minimum punishment is also prescribed. The judge exercises wide discretion within the
statutory limits. There are no statutory guidelines to regulate his discretion. Therefore in
practice there is much variance in the matter of sentencing. There is no clear indication as
to what are all the factors that should be taken into account in the matter of assessing the
sentences to be imposed. In many countries there are laws prescribing sentencing
guidelines. The Committee is therefore in favour of a permanent Statutory Committee being
constituted for the purpose of prescribing sentencing guidelines.
As the fines were prescribed more than a century ago and the value of the rupee has since
gone down considerably, the Committee feels that it should be suitably enhanced.
The practice of jailing women who are pregnant or having young child: the Committee feels
that this is cruel and most unreasonable to virtually put the innocent child in prison for no
fault of the child which will also affect his future life. Therefore pregnant women or women
with child (below 7 years) should, instead of being sent to prison, be ordered to be under

house arrest. This the Committee feels is not a charity but the legitimate right of the unborn
and young children.
The Committee feels that the law should lean in favour of settlement of cases without trial,
where the interest of society is not involved.

15. Reclassification of Offences

It is recommended that non-cognizable offences should be registered and investigated and
arrestability shall not depend on cognizability, the present classification has further lost its
relevance.
However, the Committee feels that when reviewing the Indian Penal Code it may be
examined whether it would be helpful to make a new classification into i) The Social Welfare
Code, ii) The Correctional code, iii) the Criminal Code and iv) Economic and other Offences
Code.

16. Offences Against Women

There are several shortcomings or aberrations in dealing with the offences against women
which need to be addressed. The Committee feels that a man who marries a second wife
during the subsistence of the first wife should not escape his liability to maintain his second
wife under Section 125 of the Code on the grounds that the second marriage is neither
lawful or valid.
The Supreme Court has held that, for proving bigamy, it is to be established that the second
marriage was performed in accordance with the customary rites of either parties under the
personal laws which is not easy to prove. Therefore the Committee feels that evidence
regarding a man and woman living together for a reasonably long period should be sufficient
to draw the presumption that marriage was performed according to the customary rites of
the parties.
As a man can be punished under Section 497 of the IPC for adultery, for having sexual
intercourse with a wife of another man, it stands to reason that wife should likewise be
punished if she has intercourse with another married man.
There is a general complain that Section 498A of the IPC regarding cruelty by the husband or
his relatives is subjected to gross misuse and many times operates against the interest of
the wife herself. This offence is non-bailable and non-compoundable. Hence husband and
other members of the family are arrested and can be behind the bars which may result in
husband losing his job. Even if the wife is willing to condone and forgive the lapse of the
husband and live in matrimony, this provision comes in the way of spouses returning to the
matrimonial home. This hardship can be avoided by making the offence bailable and
compoundable.
As instances of non-penal penetration are on the increase and they do not fall in the
definition under the offence of rape under Section 375 of the IPC, the Committee feels that
such non-penal penetration should be made an offence prescribing a heavier punishment.

The Committee is not in favour of imposing death penalty for the offence of rape for in its
opinion the rapists may kill the victim. Instead, the Committee recommends sentence of
imprisonment for life without commutation or remission.
The Committee however feels that investigation and trial of rape cases should be done with
most expedition and with a high degree of sensitivity.

17. Organised Crime, Federal Crime and, Terrorism

Organised Crime and Terrorism have been growing globally and India has not escaped their
pernicious effect. The nexus between organized crime and terrorism has also been a cause
of serious concern to the Country. The Committee has given deep consideration to
intertwined and inter-dependent professional crimes in Indian as well as international
background. The task of dealing with the organized crime and the terrorism becomes more
complicated as structured group in organized crime is enmeshed with its counterpart (of
structured group) in terrorism.
The former is actuated by financial/commercial propositions whereas the latter is prompted
by a wide range of motives and depending on the point in time and the prevailing political
ideology. The Committee has given deep consideration to the growth of organized crime,
terrorism and their invisible co-relationship with the avowed objective to destroy secular and
democratic fabric of the country. The Committee feels that the time has come to sink
political differences for better governance of the country and address the task of dealing
with these menaces.

18. Economic Crimes

In spite of well over 70 laws, apart from earlier laws in the Penal Code, the magnitude and
variety of economic crimes is going at a fast rate. The number of agencies for regulation and
investigation has also increased. Yet the need for rigorous laws and strong regulatory
enforcement and investigation agencies cannot be more obvious. The attempts made in the
last few decades to legislate in the matter have not been quite successful. Our judicial
processes have not been helpful either.

19. Training - A Strategy for Reform

"Government and judiciary will be well advised to invest in training according to the eight
point agenda (set out in the section on 'Training Strategy for Reform') for reaping the
benefits of criminal justice reforms in reasonable time."

20. Vision for the future

Society changes, so do its values. Crimes are increasing especially with changes in
technology. Ad hoc policy making and piecemeal legislation is not the answer. The
Committee therefore recomends the following:

That the Government may come out with a policy statement on criminal justice and

That a provision be incorporated in the Constitution to provide for a Presidential

Commission for a perodical review of the functioning of the Criminal Justice System.

N R Madhava Menon committee on reforming the criminal

justice system
The Committee, appointed in May 2006, was asked to draft a National Policy Paper
on Criminal Justice, keeping in mind the prevailing law and practices, socio-cultural
values and the changing nature of crime, with a view to making the justice delivery
system faster, fairer, uncomplicated and inexpensive.
1. WHAT AILS THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM : PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS
There is widespread dissatisfaction with the way crimes are investigated, and
criminals prosecuted by our existing Criminal Justice System which, in public
perception, affords little protection to life and property and renders criminality as a
low risk, high profit business.
The apparent reasons for popular dissatisfaction with the system are :
Even after prolonged and costly procedures, not even one-fourth of cases end
in conviction.
Money and influence play a significant role resulting in double standards the
rich often get away lightly and the poor are put to suffering and
discrimination.
Delays defeat justice and the offenders go unpunished; witnesses are
threatened and have no protection.
Victims are totally ignored in the system and get no relief for the injuries or
losses suffered. Even registration of their complaints often becomes difficult
without money or influence.
An unholy nexus is perceived to prevail between criminal syndicates,
politicians and the law enforcement officials, affecting criminal proceedings
and the rule of law.
Corruption has taken a heavy toll of the system.
2. CRIMINAL LAW REFORM
De-criminalization, Diversion and Settlement: De-criminalization of marginal
offences, which can as well be tackled through civil or administrative procedures, by
a continuous process of review and revision, is an urgently needed reform. Further,
Legislatures should look for possible use of diversion to non-criminal strategies, for
settlement of injuries of civil nature. Criminal sanctions should be reserved only as
the last option in social ordering. Settlement without trial (compounding and plea
bargaining) should assume mainstream status in criminal proceedings and laws
should be developed accordingly.
A Victim Orientation to Criminal Justice: It shall be the policy of criminal justice
to focus on the victim of crime as much as the accused, thus restoring a balance in
criminal procedure between the offender, victim and society. Apart from recognizing
the right of the victims to implead themselves in criminal judicial proceedings, a
speedy and effective scheme of compensation to victims of at least serious crimes
to begin with, should be implemented, irrespective of the outcome of such
proceedings. For this, a Victim Compensation Fund has to be instituted, to be
administered through the Legal Services Authorities.

Multiple Criminal Codes Based on Rational Classification: Crimes need to be

classified and organized into four distinct and comprehensive CODES, on the basis
of gravity of the injury and the appropriateness of the response needed to deal
effectively with the same. The four-fold scheme would include a SOCIAL WELFARE
OFFENCES CODE (SWOC) for offences which are civil in nature and where the object
should be more of reparation and restitution rather than punishment and
retribution. Naturally, arrest and detention are unnecessary in such cases (except
when violence is involved) and compensation and community service can better
meet the ends of justice rather than incarceration of the offenders. Minor marriage
offences, prohibition offences, vagrancy, minor indiscipline in campuses and work
places etc. can well be brought under this Code. It is also possible to entrust
enforcement of these laws to agencies other than the police. The method of
settlement can be more conciliatory than adversarial and a lot of public
participation is possible for better management of these offences in a cost-efficient
and human rights-friendly manner. Under the scheme of decentralized
administration, these are cases fit to be entrusted to Grameen Nyayalayas and local
bodies to manage locally.
A second group of offences more serious than the social welfare offences and
which may need police intervention may be brought under another code, to be
called the CORRECTIONAL OFFENCES CODE (COC). This would include offences
punishable upto three years of imprisonment and/or fine. They are usually not
accompanied by violence and are, in most cases, liable to fine, probation and shortterm imprisonment only. Arrest and detention may be allowed in such cases,
ordinarily only with a warrant and all of them could be open to settlement through
Lok Adalats, Plea Bargaining and other alternative ways, avoiding prolonged trials.
For cases under SWOC and COC, it is possible to allow modifications in evidentiary
procedures through rebuttable presumptions, shifting of burden and less rigorous
standards of proof. They can be treated as summons cases with provision for
summary trials. The third set of offences, to be included in the PENAL CODE (PC),
are graver offences punishable with imprisonment beyond three years and, in rarest
of rare cases, even with death. These are cases which deserve careful and quick
processing under expert supervision, ensuring all the human rights protections
guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws, and where the maximum energy, time
and resources of the state are to be spent keeping in mind the need for speed,
fairness and inexpensiveness. There has to be greater accountability from
enforcement agencies in these cases as they create public alarm and insecurity.
Finally, an ECONOMIC OFFENCES CODE (EOC) needs to be created for select
offences from the Indian Penal Code and other relevant economic laws including
offences which pose a potential threat to the economic security and health of the
country. They might require multi-disciplinary, inter-state and transnational
investigation and demand evidentiary modifications to bring the guilty to book.
The four-fold scheme of re-organizing criminal law and procedure as above is a
desirable policy goal for better management of the crime scenario in future. It will
be prudent to incorporate in each of these codes, the respective rules of procedure,
the nature of trial and evidence, the types of punishment etc. The idea is to have a
self-contained code of law and procedure for each of the four distinct set of
offences, based on the gravity of the offences involved and the degree of flexibility
the system can afford under the constitutional scheme.
A Joint Sector in Criminal Justice: Despite constitutional difficulties if any, it has
become necessary for the Union to be now more actively involved in the fight

against crimes, such as terrorism, communal violence and organized crime, which
impinge on security of state. This calls for a joint sector organization of Central and
State Governments to deal with select crimes threatening the security of the nation
or having inter-state ramifications, which require ability to deploy all the resources
needed. The National Policy should identify all such crimes affecting the unity and
integrity of the country and create a united national agency to undertake
prevention, investigation and prosecution of such crimes with the support and cooperation of the State machinery concerned. Increased Punishment Choices and
Alternatives: There has to be a substantial increase in the range and variety of
punishments to provide for more choices in sentencing. The quantums of
punishment, particularly of fine, require revision given the contemporary value of
money and the impact of inflation. Disparities in sentencing need to be reduced by
evolving appropriate statutory guidelines in respect of each type of punishment,
which should be periodically revised at the instance of the proposed Board of
Criminal Justice.
It is also desirable to have a Sentencing Board of three judges including the trial
judge, for determining punishments in select offences punishable with life
imprisonment or death, to ensure objectivity. The Sentencing Board will also help
the objective application of the rarest of rare doctrine in death sentence.The
policy of fixing mandatory minimum sentences is to be discontinued as it does not
serve any social purpose in actual practice. Probation is to be invoked more often,
particularly where short-term imprisonment is to be awarded. Corrective labour
under supervision and the open jail system are to become part of sentencing
alternatives. Remission of term of imprisonment and parole have to be regulated
strictly according to statutorily prescribed norms and procedures.
Criminal Trial to be a Search for Truth: Criminal proceedings have to be an
organized, systematic search for truth. Procedures should not be practiced or
interpreted in such a way as to interfere with the search for truth. Criminal courts at
the level of sessions judges should have inherent powers to give such orders for
securing the ends of justice as are available to High Courts under Section 482 of the
Criminal Procedure Code. Without diluting the constitutional rights of every person
accused of crime, the law should place positive obligations on accused persons to
assist the court in the discovery of truth. Every citizen including those suspected of
having committed crime have an obligation to assist administration of justice. This
can be done by more liberal use of rebuttable presumptions and shifting the burden
of proof in appropriate cases.
Evidence and Proof: The axiom of proof beyond reasonable doubt seems to
have got blunted with the passage of time and requires to be clarified by the
legislature to avoid different approaches in the hands of different judges. With the
adoption of different sets of Criminal Codes for offences of varying gravity, the
standard of proof naturally may vary and it is only appropriate that each code
restates the principles of evidence and proof applicable to the offences under that
code.
Police Reform and Criminal Investigation: Criminal justice system demands
greater professionalism and accountability from its actors. This would require
dedicated, well-trained staff for crime investigation with adequate infrastructural
support and functional freedom. On-line registration of FIR in every police station
should be the goal. Non registration of complaints should be considered a criminal
misconduct, to be severely dealt with.

The norms, standards and procedures relating to arrest decreed in D.K. Basu case
and now incorporated in the Criminal Law Amendment Act should be scrupulously
followed by every police officer. Superior officers should also be made severally and
jointly accountable if officers working under them violate the norms. The proposal to
invoke notice of appearance as a substitute to arrest is to become a normal
practice in police work.
Custodial violence should be looked upon with utmost severity and quick,
transparent remedies should be available for victims of such violence. Statements
made to the police should be audio/video recorded and made admissible in
evidence provided the accused has had the benefit of consulting his lawyer. Also,
the directions of the Supreme Court on police reform require immediate
implementation by all State Governments.
Prosecution Reform: Prosecution continues to be the weakest link of the criminal
justice system. Selection, training, service conditions and supervision of the
prosecutors demand urgent attention to enhance the quality of prosecution and to
achieve the synergy between investigation and prosecution essential for effective
criminal justice administration. An independent Directorate of Prosecution
accountable to the Courts need to be set up, under the control of the proposed
Board of Criminal Justice, with a well-trained, well-paid cadre of prosecutors for
delivery of quality justice.
Role of Defence Lawyers: Defence lawyers too have a responsibility for the
proper functioning of the system. There is need for drawing up a separate Code of
Ethics for lawyers, in this regard, to be jointly enforced by the Bar Councils and the
Criminal Courts.
Legal Aid in Criminal Proceeding: Criminal legal aid has to be modernized with
multiple services needed for the victim as well as the accused. Legal Aid is not to be
limited to merely providing a lawyer to indigent accused. The State has to organize
psychiatric, medical and rehabilitative services under Legal Aid. Victim
compensation should also be the responsibility of the Legal Services Authority.
Criminal Courts to Ensure Speedy and Human Rights-friendly Procedures:
Criminal Courts have the obligation to render speedy justice. For this, they have to
speed up the processes through more effective management of dockets and
proceedings. Day to day trial has also to be restored. Government should provide
better resources and infrastructure to criminal courts to help them speed up trial
procedures. Use of technology should be able to achieve the objects less
expensively.
A modern Criminal Court Complex with single window services has to come up
initially in at least the district headquarters. It will have a police station and
interrogation room on the ground floor; police lock-ups/sub-jail, and magistrates
courts on the first floor; prosecutors offices, legal aid services, witnesses rooms etc.
on the second floor; sessions court in the third floor and the administrative office on
the fourth floor. Special schemes should be drawn up for protection of
witnesses/victim in appropriate cases.
Prison and Correctional Services: Under-trial prisoners should be kept in
separate institutions. Prisons should not be overcrowded. By liberal use of bail and
probation and avoiding short-term imprisonment, the prison population can be kept
to reasonable limits. The living and service conditions of prison staff should be
improved and strict measures taken to stop corruption in custodial institutions.
Women and children accompanying them should have special facilities in prisons.
The policy on custodial justice for women recommended by the Expert Committee

as early as 1979 should be implemented fully. A fair, transparent system of

grievance redressal should be in place in all prisons and other custodial centres.
Remission of sentence and granting of parole should be rationalized according to
standard norms and procedures and administered under judicial supervision.
Training for Professionalism: Training and continuing education of all criminal
justice personnel including judges is the key to improving quality, fairness and
efficiency of the system. Each segment of criminal justice should progressively
upgrade its training capabilities and allot up to 2 percent of its total budget towards
training on modern lines. Inter-sectoral training is also necessary at middle and
higher levels to achieve co-ordination. A transparent, objective system of
performance evaluation should be put in place and career progression linked to it.
3. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND WEAKER SECTIONS
In the spirit of the affirmative action policies of the Constitution, criminal justice
administration should adopt pro-active policies and procedures for protecting the
weaker sections of the society including women and children. In fact, children are
supposed to be treated differently by the criminal justice system in a manner
conducive to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since children
constitute over 40% of Indias population, criminal justice should adopt clear
policies and allocate adequate resources focusing on the child and the youth. The
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 is to be enforced in the spirit of this approach. There is
need to have two separate legislations, one dealing with juvenile delinquency (child
in conflict with law) and the other on child in need of care and protection (neglected
and exploited children). Violence against children should receive prompt
intervention from the criminal justice system and the victims treated with due care
and concern. Missing and trafficked children should be a subject of special focus in
criminal justice administration.
Because of several disabilities which women as a class suffer in society, gender
justice demands special provisions in criminal proceedings. Several special laws
have affirmative action provisions in this regard. These need strengthening and
their implementation needs to be given due importance in the system. In camera
proceedings, imaginative and prompt legal aid services including counseling and
rehabilitation, and priority consideration of cases involving women, are necessary to
make the system responsive to the needs of women and girls.
The Protection of Civil Rights Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
warrant a new mind set and a pro-active approach from the enforcement machinery.
These and related laws designed to give protection and equal justice to the
disadvantaged sections of society require special attention of judicial officers
involved. Legal aid services also have to be developed to suit the requirements of
SC/ST persons. The beneficial provisions of the law relating to disabled persons
including the elderly and the mentally unsound persons should get full recognition
throughout criminal proceedings and the judicial officers should ensure its full
compliance. The Board of Criminal Justice should have full and separate data on the
impact of criminal justice on each category of weaker sections. A special
Monitoring Cell in the Board should be directly responsible to promote the full
implementation of the beneficial provisions of criminal law and procedure for these
sections of people. There must be greater accountability in the system in this
regard.
The Criminal justice system in India has special responsibilities to promote
communal harmony and prevent communal conflicts causing untold suffering to

innocent persons including women, children and minorities. Besides vigorously

enforcing the penal provisions of the law in this regard, the system should ensure
that victims of communal violence are provided prompt and adequate
compensation and rehabilitation. There is need for a comprehensive law on the
subject to, inter alia, educate the public before hand and to deter communal
elements from exploiting the situation.
4. A SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE FOR ECONOMIC CRIMES
Globalization, market economy and spread of new technologies have tended to
facilitate serious economic frauds with relative ease, making it difficult for criminal
justice to bring the offenders to book. There is a case for revamping the law on
financial transactions and developing new institutional arrangements under coordinated central control to deal with serious economic crimes. An independent,
multi-disciplinary Serious Fraud Unit staffed by technical as well as investigation
experts needs to be set up with adequate powers and resources to respond
promptly and effectively to such crimes. A white paper in this regard is necessary to
identify the nature, extent and implications of this threat to the economic security of
the country and to mount the responses accordingly.
5. CORRUPTION A SERIOUS THREAT TO JUSTICE
Corruption in criminal justice distorts its processes and delays delivery of justice.
Technology can help solve the problem partly. An Ombudsman for Criminal Justice
can also correct the system to some extent. In addition, a fair and transparent
Complaints Redressal System has to be put in place immediately in the police,
judiciary and the prisons services.
The Right to Information Act should be fully applied to all segments of the criminal
justice system. Action taken against corrupt officials should be widely publicized to
redeem public confidence in the system.
Investigation and prosecution of corruption cases involving national security or
likely to compromise the standing of constitutional institutions need to be
undertaken by a truly independent and professional body enjoying a status
comparable to the Election Commission or the Comptroller & Auditor General of
India. The Central Bureau of Investigation is not independent enough for the job nor
has the jurisdiction, resources or personnel required for the purpose. Therefore, the
need for an independent national law enforcement agency with the necessary
authority and resources to undertake investigations of corruption in high places and
other offences referred to it in a truly professional manner with accountability only
to the law and the courts. Unlike the CBI, it should have the freedom to investigate
cases across the nation and a budget not dependent on executive fiat. It should also
have a permanent cadre of officials. Its head should be a collegial body of three
officers appointed for a fixed term through a process that is transparent,
independent and inspiring confidence in the public.
Unless serious cases of corruption are dealt with an iron hand, irrespective of party
affiliations, their impact on governance generally and criminal justice in particular is
going to be very serious. All efforts in the past to reform the election finances and to
break the nexus between politics and crime have not yielded the desired results and
the people have started believing that they will have to live with it. The National
Policy should give some hope in this regard by mounting an investigationprosecution system which inspires confidence.

Simultaneously, it is necessary to put in place a more transparent and effective

method of dealing with corruption in the judiciary. The proposed Judges Inquiry Bill
hopefully will provide for the machinery for the purpose. In addition, all judges
should be required to make public disclosure of their assets annually to a Judicial
Ombudsman which may be a three-member body of retired Chief Justices, Election
Commissioners or Comptroller and Auditor Generals, appointed by the President of
India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The Judicial Ombudsman can be
associated with the body created under the Judicial Inquiry Bill for disciplining erring
judges.
6. MEDIA AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Media plays an important role in achieving the objects of criminal justice. However,
the role and responsibilities of the media in this regard have to be streamlined and
standardized lest it should interfere in the administration of justice and violate the
fundamental rights of the people involved. The Law Commissions recommendations
in this regard should first be considered by the Press Council and media bodies and
declared in the form of a Code of Ethics. In appropriate cases, these guidelines
should be enforced through criminal sanctions, if necessary.
7. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
No system of criminal justice can function effectively without public support and
participation. Both in prevention and prosecution, the system should provide more
and more opportunities for public participation. A Law Enforcement Assistance
Programme in criminal proceedings, to be managed jointly by the Police and NGOs,
is a desirable reform. There is need to evolve a Best Practices Manual on
community policing. Honorary probation officers and justices of peace should be
inducted in different jurisdictions, depending on resources, need and interest. A
citizenship education programme for youth, who constitute 40% of Indias
population, should be mounted to seek their assistance in maintaining order and
assisting law enforcement. Similarly, in every city, a large number
of senior citizens are available to assist the government agencies in prevention of
crime and administration of justice. This is a great resource which the Government
should mobilize for social defence.
The principle of decentralization is a constitutionally mandated directive in
governance which should apply to criminal justice administration. The time for
Grameen Nyayalayas, which are talked about, has come. Limited criminal
jurisdiction to settle disputes locally must be part of the function of Grameen
Nyayalayas.
8. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Several treaties and conventions to which India is a signatory have led to standard
setting in different aspects of criminal justice. There is urgent need to revise
statutory provisions and administrative regulations on behaviour of different
criminal justice functionaries to bring the same in conformity with international
human rights standards.
In fact, according to the Supreme Court, these treaties can be enforced as part of
municipal law.
Though India has not yet acceded to the Treaty of Rome, we need to take note of
the establishment of the International Criminal Court to deal with crimes against
humanity.
Our criminal justice system must be able to give better justice than what any
international court can possibly offer under prevailing circumstances.

International co-operation in collection of evidence, extradition of fugitives,

prevention of terrorism and organized crimes, sharing of intelligence and resources,
training and equipment etc. has become a necessity today. The Board of Criminal
Justice should monitor developments internationally and endeavour to maximize cooperation among countries and criminal justice institutions for improving the
efficiency of the system.
9. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Developments in Science and Technology (S&T) have both positive and negative
implications for the crime and justice scenarios. S&T can help solve more efficiently
the problems and challenges of crime particularly those perpetrated with
technological tools and devices. However, our criminal justice system has not been
able to make full use of S&T tools in criminal investigation and proof because of lack
of infrastructure, personnel and resources. Forensic Science has undergone
tremendous changes and there must be a concerted, co-ordinated plan between the
State Governments and the Central Government to develop the crime laboratories;
to update the relevancy and admissibility of scientific evidence; and to modernize
the criminal justice system with the use of information communication technology.
The National Policy should make it imperative for governments to commit adequate
resources and to provide an effective legal-administrative framework to make
criminal justice system depend more and more on scientific investigation and
scientific evidence. In this regard, the initiative of Technology Information and
Forecasting Advisory Council (TIFAC) of the Ministry of Science and Technology
deserves to be strengthened.
Training, accreditation, standard-setting, professionalism and research should
receive adequate attention if forensic science is to fully harnessed in the
administration of criminal justice in future. The Union Government should sponsor a
Science and Technology Mission for Effective and Efficient Criminal Justice to be
developed in the country in the next two Five- Year Plan periods.
framework to deal with the same needs a continuous review and the capacity of the
system to deal with changing patterns of cyber crime needs continuous
upgradation.
Another significant area for policy development is in respect of security of our
national assets not only on the land but also in the sea and in space. Given the
advances in its scientific capabilities in outer space, India may have to enact its own
national laws to safeguard its own strategic interests in space and regulating the
launching and uses of space vehicles and objects. Similarly, the protection of the
countrys interests in the high seas require legislative changes based on
international treaties and conventions.
Providing security to the bio-diversity and biological resources of the country is
another area warranting attention in the national policy on criminal justice.
Bio-terrorism is a possibility in future and criminal justice has to be prepared for
such an eventuality. The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prohibition of Unlawful
Activities) Act, 2005 is geared by and large to export control. A number of offences
are created under the Act, which interestingly, are supposed to be enforced by half
a dozen Union Ministries including External Affairs and Defence but excluding Home
Affairs, the nodal point in security matters. It is necessary to set up a National
Authority, duly empowered to co-ordinate between all concerned agencies of the
Government, and enforce the law to ensure security against catastrophic terrorism.
10. A NATIONAL STRATEGY TO REDUCE CRIME

India needs a national strategy to reduce crime. The national strategy should aim at
crime prevention through education, mobilization and involvement of different
sections of the community. A National Mission to Reduce Crime is the need of the
hour and it should be one of the main planks of the National Policy on Criminal
Justice. A full-fledged independent, professionally managed, Board of Criminal
Justice should be immediately set up as a statutory body, at the Centre and in each
State. The
Board should have three specialized divisions A Bureau of Criminal Justice
Statistics (BCJS), a Research and Monitoring Division (RMD) and a Law Enforcement
Assistance Division (LEAD). The BCJS should collect and collate all information
relating to crime on a regular basis. The RMD should gather and experiment ideas
through pilot projects in crime control and management, evaluate performance of
all segments and recommend changes to make the system people-friendly and
efficient. The LEAD should experiment with public participation models to make the
peoples involvement at every stage of criminal justice administration possible and
efficient.
Delay reduction should be a major focus of the national strategy. It can be achieved
by extensive use of modern technology, intensive training of personnel and better
systems of performance evaluation and accountability. The Central Government
should provide to the States, programme-based grants, distributed through the
Board of Criminal Justice, duly guided by objectively-assessed performance on
mutually agreed criteria. A management orientation is required in all segments of
criminal justice, especially the criminal courts. Criminal justice functionaries
especially the police and prisons officials should have insurance cover for
occupational risks. Service benefits of these personnel should be comparable to
those in the Defence Services to attract talented persons to police/prison services.
A National Commission on Criminal Justice on the lines of the National Human Rights
Commission, consisting of experts in crime and justice, should be put in place to
evolve policies on a continuing basis and advise the Government on reforms in
policies and structures. The Board of Criminal Justice can act as the Secretariat of
the Commission which will provide the information and logistical support for criminal
justice planning and evaluation, the twin functions of the Commission.
11. FUNDS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEVELOPMENT
Criminal Justice in all its dimensions shapes the quality of governance and
influences the perception of the people about the Government and the state.
Whichever party in power, every Government is obliged to control crime and
enhance the security perception of its citizens by effective management of criminal
justice. This would imply that criminal justice is made integral to planned
development of society, its economy and the well-being of the people. The Five
-Year Plans have to have at their core the maintenance of public order and rule of
law without which no development is possible.
Therefore, the Governments at the Centre and in the States should have strategic
long-term plans and annual targeted plans in respect of criminal justice
development covering the police, prosecution, judiciary and the correctional
systems. A Judicial Impact Assessment statement should accompany criminal
legislations in order to plan mobilization and disposition of resources.
Finally, pending the development of Strategic and Annual Plans by the Governments
concerned, the Planning Commission should allocate substantial funds for
infrastructural development of the Police and the Judiciary. This would include

specific grants for a Victim Compensation Fund at the national level and a
programme-based modernization grant for criminal courts throughout the country
on the lines of the Fast Track Courts.

Individual submission
Most of the Laws, both substantive as well as procedural were enacted more than
100 years back. Criminality has undergone a tremendous change qualitatively as
well as quantitatively. Today there exist a very serious problem of backlog of cases
and one can say that our code is incompetent to meet the expectations of the
judiciary.
Our judicial system faces certain problems, which show the weaknesses and defects
of the system, and which requires immediate reforms and accountability.
Corruption in judiciary: Like any other institution of the Government, the Indian
judicial system is equally corrupted. The various recent scams like the CWG scam,
2G scam, Adarsh Society scam, including rapes and other atrocities in the society
etc. have emphasised both the conduct of politicians and public dignitaries,
including the common man, and also on the drawbacks in the functioning of Indian
judiciary. There is no system of accountability. There is no provision for registering
an FIR against a judge taking bribes without taking the permission of the Chief
Justice of India.
Backlog of pending cases: Indias legal system has the largest backlog of
pending cases in the world as many as 30 million pending cases. Of them, over four
million are High Court cases, 65,000 Supreme Court cases. This number is
continuously increasing and this itself shows the inadequacy of the legal system. It
has always been discussed to increase the number of judges, creating more courts,
but implementation is always late or inadequate. The victims are the ordinary or
poor people, while the rich can afford expensive lawyers and change the course of

dispensation of the law in their favour. This also creates a big blockade for
international investors and corporations to do business in India. And also due to this
backlog, most of the prisoners in Indias prisons are detainees awaiting trial. It is
also reported that in Mumbai, Indias financial hub, the courts are burdened with
age-old land disputes, which act as a hurdle in the citys industrial development.
Lack of transparency: Another problem facing the Indian judicial system is the
lack of transparency. It is seen that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is totally out of
the ambit of the legal system. Thus, in the functioning of the judiciary, the
substantial issues like the quality of justice and accountability are not known
properly.
Hardships of the undertrials: In Indian jails, most of the prisoners are
undertrials, who are confined to the jails till their case comes to a definite
conclusion. In most of the cases, they end up spending more time in the jail than
the actual term that might have had been awarded to them had the case been
decided on time and, assuming, against them. Plus, the expenses and pain and
agony of defending themselves in courts is worse than serving the actual sentence.
Undertrials are not guilty till convicted. On the other hand, the rich and powerful
people can bring the police to their sides, and the police can harass or silence
inconvenient and poor persons, during the long ordeals in the courts.
Thus every other reform that aptly reduces these broad problems should be a part
of our judiciary, concepts like fast track courts; lok adalats, mediation and
compounding should be taken a bit seriously and shall be encouraged. Solution of
these problems is change thus we should look forward to bring change like

More investment is needed in judiciary which should be govt top

priority.Creation of a large number of nyaya panchayats and nyaya samitis in
rural and urban areas both as mandated by the nyaya panchayat act,2009
but probably on a larger scale. Govt is also a big stakeholder in the judicial
arena. It must withdraw most of the unneeded and petty cases and also look
for out of court settlement.
Archaic laws and sections in the CrPc and IPC should be permanently be
amended and left behind moreover judicial practices that are time consuming
should be given up.
Court proceedings are also delayed due to many cunning lawyers who hijack
the court proceedings for their own benefits and take advantage of the
leniency and inexperience of the judges. The public prosecutors are also
inefficient and have lack of legal knowledge due to which there are regular
delays.
We need to recruit experienced, well trained competent judges and judicial
staff. This can be done by reforming the recruitment system. Judges need to
be stricter and should ensure that the court time is not wasted.
A major reform would be removing the age bar of retirement for high court
and Supreme Court judges as in the USA so that more judges are available at
the district level.This will also ensure more experience in the judiciary.

Passage of appropriate Judicial accountability and Judicial appointments bill.

Conclusion
Therefore the apparatus designed for investigation has to be equipped with laws
and procedures to make it functional in the present context. If the existing
challenges of crime are to be met effectively, not on the mindset of investigators
needs a change but they have to be trained in advanced technology, knowledge of
changing economy, new dynamics of social engineering, efficacy and use of modern
forensics etc. Investigation Agency is understaffed, ill equipped and therefore the
gross inadequacies in basic facilities and infrastructure also need attention on
priority.