2 August 2024 : Daily Answer Writing

Q1) Although an overhaul of criminal laws in the country is a long-cherished reform, creating people centric legal structures requires a complete Indianization of the criminal justice system. Discuss citing the recommendations of the law commission.

(250 Words/15 Marks)

 ANS

People-centric legal structures are a natural expectation in a democratic country; however, the presence of colonial era laws in the form of IPC and CrPC and issues in the criminal justice system call for changes to meet the needs of changing times.

There is a need to overhaul criminal laws in the country due to following reasons:

1. Colonial era laws: Many of the laws and provisions to govern the nation continue to exist in the forms and shapes in which they were enacted by a colonial government. E.g., section 124A of IPC on sedition.

2. Increasing pendency of cases in India result in inordinate delay in justice. There are over 4.5 crore cases pending in all courts.

3. As found by the Malimath Committee, current laws are biased towards the accused without much focus on justice for the victim.

4. Two-thirds of the prisoners are undertrials who are unable to get bail.

E.g., the case of Vishnu Tiwary who was denied bail for sixteen years due to issues in documentation.

5. Misuse of provisions like Section 124A (Sedition) of the IPC, criminal defamation, blasphemy etc leads to harassment of individuals.

6. Poor investigation framework results in poor conviction. It is also due to over-burdened police which remains based on the colonial policing system.

Some experts including former Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana called for a complete Indianization of Criminal Justice system due to following reasons:

1. Judiciary:

a. There is an increasing pendency rate and a huge backlog of cases. As per Law Commission, it will take 464 years to clear the arrears with the current system.

b. There is a large vacancy in the Criminal justice system with 42% vacant posts in High courts. Indianization of the system can address it by improving recruitment from grassroots level.

c. Complex process: The cumbersome process makes it difficult for a common man to seek justice, who finds it unrelatable. E.g., use of English in courts.

d. Far from people: The apex court in Delhi and the lower number of benches of High Courts and Tribunals make justice in-accessible. Indianization entails decentralization through regional benches and ADR, as also recommended by the Law commission

2. Police:

a. Force vs service: Colonial police used for suppressing revolutionaries is still used as police force, when the people aspire for services from the police.

b. Proper training for police constables on using new technologies for application in Indian situations will make them tech-savvy. E.g., in managing crowds during festivals/melas.

c. Security of tenure needs to give way to Indian needs of performance and crime reduction.

d. Poor Police infrastructure: Reduce gaps in infrastructure through procurement of modern paraphernalia including vehicles, body cams etc.

3. Prisons

a. Jails are overflowing with 114% capacity. Law commission recommends innovations like pretrial negotiations that can reduce the burden to a large extent.

b. Indifferent and inhuman treatment of prisoners by prison staff results from colonial tradition and feudal practices. Reformative justice as per Gandhian principles needs to be ingrained

Overhaul the criminal justice system requires legislative changes to replace colonial laws, but also Indian approach to policing and justice. Technology can be an aid in this process and recent measures like e- Courts project, National Judicial Data Grid, and Inter-operable Criminal Justice System for predictive policing are steps in the right direction.