Nantoo Banerjee
Too many prosecution cases – routine or those having exceptional political and financial ramifications involving the rich and famous – are being dismissed by the judiciary as prosecutors are failing to establish charges before the court. More and more accused are being let off by the higher judiciary though rarely before their custodial harassment and discomfort for weeks, months or even years as prosecutors make persistent plea for extension of custody to help investigation into crime. What happens to the accused who are let off by judiciary after long suffering at the hands of mischievous, often dishonest, politically guided police or enforcement agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation? Should not the relieved accused be adequately compensated for the mischief, mistake and incompetence of the prosecution after deliberate and politically-prompted harassment by the police and law enforcers?
Justice is not guaranteed merely by prosecution or rejection of conviction. The wrongful harassment, confinement and media trial of those accused discharged by the court “with honour” (ba-izzat khalash) need to be adequately punished. The untenable and irresponsible prosecution deserves exemplary punishment with exemplary fines and jail terms. The “honour” and livelihood of the so-called accused, freed of unsustainable charges by the court, deserve to be restored by the judiciary as much as possible. Freed of charges and from prosecution, many of them deserve special attention of the judiciary. Wrong prosecution often ruins the life and livelihood of an innocent accused.
It may be time to ponder over the matter again following the growing failure of conviction before various courts and public loss of faith in judicial proceedings in growing number of cases — from some of the young second-rung cricketers falsely accused of match fixing to a number of so-called terror and scam accused, including government officials, ministers and even ex-judges of reputation. Organised protestations by social and political hubris against prosecution and even conviction of accused facing gallows seem to be gaining ground these days as external forces and factors forcing control of the situation. The general public is increasingly losing faith in judiciary and the government. Even the Supreme Court seems to be sometimes getting confused as the intelligentsia and media raise voice against its judgement. The latest controversy over death penalty for convicted Yakub Memon in the Mumbai serial bomb blast case killing over 250 people and severely injuring several hundreds could be cited for an example. Freed Mumbai filmstar convicted of drunken driving and killing and injuring footpath dwellers or the rejection of conviction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha by the Karnataka High Court in an alleged disproportionate asset case and the subsequent move to take up the matter with the Supreme Court could be others such. Out of jail following the Karnataka High Court order, Jayalalitha sought and got public mandate to reinstall herself as the Tamil Nadu chief minister.
The abysmally poor crime conviction rate has been a matter of grave concern. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showed almost 40 per cent drop in the crime (under the Indian Penal Code) conviction rate between 1972 and 2012 – from 62.7 per cent in 1972 to 38.5 per cent. In other words, the prosecution failed to establish charges against over 60 per cent of the accused before the court of law. What does this mean? Is it because of gross incompetence and callousness on the part of the police or law enforcers, dishonesty on the part of crime investigators and judges or strong political interference? The poor conviction rate may be responsible for increasing rates of crimes of all types – from financial to murder and rape. The latest NCRB report recorded almost 80 per growth in rape cases across the country in a single year, between 2012 and 2013, with Delhi topping the list recording 1,441 rape cases in 2013 as against 585 in 2012. The recorded number of rape cases in India went up from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013. Some 93 women are raped in the country every day. Is it anything to do with the falling conviction rate for reasons that only the police and judiciary can explain?
Ironically, the Supreme Court had issued an order to formulate a procedure for taking action against erring investigating and prosecuting officials for acquittals that, if effected, could spell trouble for the entire criminal procedure system. The investing and prosecuting officers in a number of states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra and Telengana, Orissa, J&K and Bihar, could be in deep trouble. Conviction cases in some of the sates for murder vary between 19 and 27 per cent and for rape from 7.5 to 21.3 per cent. The rampant corruption in police and lower judiciary is given as one of the key reasons.
Suffice it to say that the poor conviction rate is throwing a major challenge to the proper functioning of Indian democracy while going soft on politically sensitive accused and convicts questions the very purpose and authenticity of Indian law. The talks of police and judicial reforms end up in endless debates. As a result, the innocent produced as accused suffer while hardcore criminals, including the rich and famous, often get off the hook for want of strongly admissible facts and evidence. Key witnesses often turn hostile or die unnatural deaths before their judicial hearing. Unfortunately, it would appear that not many law makers, law enforcers, law practitioners and judges are truly concerned about the falling conviction rate, increasing crime rates and the plight of ‘innocent’ accused. (IPA)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel