NEW DELHI, Feb 18:
With an aim to reduce pendency in the various courts in country and tone up the criminal justice system, the Union Home Ministry has sent a proposal to the Law Ministry to expand the ambit of compoundable offences to reduce the number of the cases in courts.
More than 3.2 crore cases are pending at trial or arbitration levels in the three-tier judicial system right from the trial court to the Supreme Court in India.
The Home Ministry, in its proposal, has also suggested amendments to sections 161 and 162 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for considering signed witness statement or confessions made before gazetted police officers as admissible evidence.
So far, statement under section 161 is not recorded on oath and the person cannot be cross examined whereas statement under section 164 CrPC is recorded on oath and a person can be cross examined.
The proposal also recommends considering recorded audio or clips as an evidence that will help the prosecution to nail the accused.
“A comprehensive proposal for revamping the criminal justice system has been sent to the Law Ministry for vetting and further action,” the official said.
The prosecution apparatus at large needs to be strengthened as the existing system has led to large pendency in the courts and poor conviction rate, he added.
The Home Ministry is also sketching a new methodology to separate law and order functions from investigation duties of the police as part of the plan to improve criminal justice system in the country.
The investigations of cases are mostly hampered because the burden of law and order responsibility lies on the same officers. In this regard, the Home Ministry has also advised the chiefs of the police forces across the country to put in place a mechanism of coordination amongst police officers, prosecutors and judicial officers at the district and state level to reduce pendency, improve conviction rates and to bring about an improvement in overall criminal justice system.
The lengthy trials of non-heinous offences consume much of the time of the judicial apparatus. There are several examples of crimes like matrimonial dispute, dowry, divorce and land ownership that are being successfully settled through mediation.
The Government intends to bring amendments to those non-compoundable sections of non-serious cases which do not affect the society at large.
”The cases which are being settled through mediation are also under the strict vigil of the court, therefore this reduces the chances of appeal in higher courts,” said senior advocate Gyanant Singh.
This way, the courts will have more time for the trials of heinous crimes like murder, rape, terrorism and corruption cases which need speedy judgment, he added. (UNI)
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