INDIA IS TOO SOFT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

8/7/2019 INDIA IS TOO SOFT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

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INDIA IS TOO SOFT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Name of author: Shweta S. Bajirao ( Roll no.: 02)

Name of Guide: Dr.Ramakrishnan K.S

INTRODUCTION

The criminal justice system descends from the British model. The judiciary and the bar

are independent although efforts have been made by some politicians to undermine the

autonomy of the judiciary. From about the time of Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime

minister, the executive has treated judicial authorities in an arbitrary fashion. Judges

who handed down decisions that challenged the regime in office have on occasion been

passed over for promotion, for example. Furthermore, unpopular judges have been

given less-than-desirable assignments. Because the pay and perquisites of the judiciary

have not kept up with salaries and benefits in the private sector, fewer able members of

the legal profession have entered the ranks of the senior judiciary.

History

Indian Criminal Laws are divided into three major acts i.e. Indian Penal Code, 1860,

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Instead of there laws

special Criminal Laws are also passed by Indian Parliament i.e. NDPS, Prevention of

Corruption Act, Food Adultration Act, dowery prevention act, Commission of Sati Act

etc. thousands of minor laws are made in India.

Indian Penal Code formulated by the British during the British Raj in 1860, forms the

backbone of criminal law in India. Jury trials were abolished by the government in 1960

on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and public influence. This decision

was based on an 8-1 acquittal of Kawas Nanavati in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of

Maharashtra, which was overturned by higher courts.

Capital punishment in India is legal but rarely used. The last execution was conducted

in 2004, when Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged for the rape and murder of a 14-year


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imprisonment sentences. Commutation is possible for death and life sentences.

Executions are by hanging and are rare--there were only three in 1993 and two in 1994-

-and are usually reserved for crimes such as political assassination and multiple

murders.

Courts of law try cases under procedures that resemble the Anglo-American pattern.

The machinery for prevention and punishment through the criminal court system rests

on the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973, which came into force on April 1, 1974,

replacing a code dating from 1898. The code includes provisions to expedite the judicial

process, increase efficiency, prevent abuses, and provide legal relief to the poor. The

basic framework of the criminal justice system, however, was left unchanged.

Constitutional guarantees protect the accused, as do various provisions embodied in

the 1973 code. Treatment of those arrested under special security legislation can depart

from these norms, however. In addition, for all practical purposes, the implementation of

these norms varies widely based on the class and social background of the accused. In

most cases, police officers have to secure a warrant from a magistrate before instituting

searches and seizing evidence. Individuals taken into custody have to be advised of the

charges brought against them, have the right to seek counsel, and have to appear

before a magistrate within twenty-four hours of arrest. The magistrate has the option to

release the accused on bail. During trial a defendant is protected against self-

incrimination, and only confessions given before a magistrate are legally valid. Criminal

cases usually take place in open trial, although in limited circumstances closed trials

occur. Procedures exist for appeal to higher courts.

India has an integrated and relatively independent court system. At the apex is the

Supreme Court, which has original, appellate, and advisory jurisdiction. Below it are

eighteen high courts that preside over the states and union territories. The high courts

have supervisory authority over all subordinate courts within their jurisdictions. In

general, these include several district courts headed by district magistrates, who in turn

have several subordinate magistrates under their supervision. The Code of Criminal

Procedure established three sets of magistrates for the subordinate criminal courts. The

first consists of executive magistrates, whose duties include issuing warrants, advising

the police, and determining proper procedures to deal with public violence. The second


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consists of judicial magistrates, who are essentially trial judges. Petty criminal cases are

sometimes settled in panchayat courts.

VIEWS ON INDIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

A number of important questions surrounding justice have been fiercely debated over

the course of western history. What is justice? Lady Justice describe Justice as

equipped with three symbols: a sword symbolizing the courts coercive power; a human

scale weighing competing claims in each hand; and a blind fold indicating impartiality.

Lots of debate in present day is centered on justice, involving our criminal justice

system. Although "Justice" has a vast list of meanings, it can somewhat be defined. To

me, justice can be defined as the principal of fairness and the ideal of moral equity; but

also as distributing guilt and innocence among individuals who deserves reasonable

retribution or restitution. This so-called punishment usually entails some type of prison

sentence alternatively, maybe even the death penalty.

Our criminal justice system is too weak and soft in many aspects. A person does crime

and they escapes easily by paying price of it. Or the second option is too have a good

political support behind. The existing system is too complex and overburdened. The

decision usually gets delayed because the person in question lacks political favour.

High profile people commit crime and just have to pay fine and poor cant do so, so he

has to go in jail.

Always the reason behind the delay is the systems incapability, carelessness, the

procedures and the high profile peoples involvement and interest. The system is too

complex and over burdened. Even the judicial system of India is influenced by high

profile people and their money. Money is one of the influencing factor through which

witnesses are either killed or they are forced to change their mind. This usually happens

in India. The process is so long that people even get tired and losses their hope and

leave their case in middle losing their hope.


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Justice delayed is justice denied

"Justice delayed is justice denied" is a legal maxim meaning that if legal redress is

available for a party that has suffered some injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely

fashion, it is effectively the same as having no redress at all. This principle is the basis

for the right to a speedy trial and similar rights which are meant to expedite the legal

system, because it is unfair for the injured party to have to sustain the injury with little

hope for resolution. The phrase has become a rallying cry for legal reformers who

view courts or governments as acting too slowly in resolving legal issues either because

the existing system is too complex or overburdened, or because the issue or party in

question lacks political favor.

CASE STUDY:

Nineteen years, a fourteen year old girl molested, a top cop involved and the end

verdict- six months of imprisonment and a meager sum of 1000 Rupees. However, the

accused in this case got away on bail by paying a few thousands, hereby making a

mockery of the justice. The Justice in India has yet again chosen the nasty path by

humbly succumbing to the rich and the powerful. Has the verdict not shamed the entire

nation?


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Ruchika Girhotra, a fourteen year old budding tennis player was molested in 1990 by

the then Inspector General of Police, Shambhu Pratap Singh Rathore, in Haryana,

India. A tenth class student at the Sacred Heart School for girls in Chandigarh, Ruchika

along with her friend Aradhana Prakash enrolled as a trainee at the Haryana Lawn

Tennis Association (HLTA) for which Rathore was the founding President. It was

during one of the practice sessions, Rathore molested Ruchika in his garage. Both

Ruchika and Aradhanas parents lodged a formal complaint against Rathore.

Rathore, making use of his power and authority tried to scuttle the investigation by

many not so legal means. He even influenced the school authorities to expel Ruchika.Member of Parliament and Vice President of All India Democratic Womens Association,

Brinda Karat, rightly quoted this as The Systems failure.

Out of sight is out of mind

Whenever the case is in front of media and media is bouncing the case it becomes the

breaking news but when it is out of sight, it is out of mind of people. Take the case of

Jessica lall , it was mainly solved because of media intervention.

This trial follows close on the heels of the breakdown of the judicial system involving the

murder of the fashion model Jessica Lall.


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Jessica Lalls killer, Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, son of Venod Sharma, a

wealthy congress politician from Haryana was acquitted of all the charges on February

21, 2006. However, he was retried and sentenced to life imprisonment owing to

intense media and public pressure. In the ensuing trial, Manu Sharma and a number of

others were acquitted on 21 February 2006.

Following intense media and public pressure, the prosecution appealed and the Delhi

High Court conducted proceedings on a fast track with daily hearings over 25 days. Thelower court judgment was found faulty in law, and Manu Sharma was found guilty of

having murdered Jessica Lall. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 20 December

2006.


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Punishments for RAPIST

Most societies consider rape to be a grave offense, and punish it accordingly.

Punishment for rape in most countries today is imprisonment, but until the late twentieth

century, some states of the U.S., for instance, could apply the death penalty in cases of

aggravated rape indicating the severity with which the crime was viewed. Castration is

sometimes a punishment for rape and, controversially, some U.S. jurisdictions allow

shorter sentences for sex criminals who agree to voluntary chemical castration.

Prison sentences for rape are not uniform. A study made by the U.S. Department of

Justice of prison releases in 1992, involving about 80 percent of the prison population,

found that the average sentence for convicted rapists was 11.8 years, while the actual

time served was 5.4 years. This follows the typical pattern for violent crimes, where

those convicted typically serve no more than half of their sentence. In India, the

punishment period for rapist is 5-6 years or a fine of Rs. 30000.Is this fine or

punishment enough for rapist to realize their mistake?


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GRAPHS RELATED TO CRIME


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CONCLUSION

TheIndian criminal law and its abider are too soft on criminals and are too complex for

public. The punishment given to the criminal for their crime is also less which is one of

the reasons for increase in the crime rate in India. Always the reason behind the delay

is the systems incapability, carelessness, the procedures and the high profile peoples

involvement and interest. The system is too complex and over burdened.

LIMITATION ABOUT THE TOPIC

The limitation about the topic is that it only shows the negative aspects of Indiancriminal law. There are many limitations such as population of our country which is very

huge and makes the system incapable to handle large number of cases.


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RECOMMENDATION

The number of courts should be increased as according to population. There should be

more fast track cases mostly in cases of rapes, murders. The punishments for

politicians and high profile public and normal public should be same. The fine for violent

crime should not be allowed there should only be punishments for that.

ROOTS OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Wealth without work,

Pleasure without conscience,

Knowledge without character,

Commerce without morality,

Science without humanity,

Worship without sacrifice,

Politics without principles

M.K Gandhi


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REFERENCES

1. www.wikipedia.org

2. www.crimestoppersindia.com

3. www.cyberessays.com

4. www.indiatogether.org

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INDIA IS TOO SOFT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

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