Crime laws on rewrite desk

DP - RIGHTS
RB20
August - 06
THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI, 05 AUG 2006
Crime laws on rewrite desk
Tilting the scales in favour of victims. That's what changes
to CrPC will aim to achieve
NAZIA Alvi and Harish V. Nair
I
t seems the new criminal justice rules are being authored
by Jessica Lall posthumously", accused Vikas Yadav's
lawyer Dinesh Mathur told
the Delhi High Court while arguing for his bail in the Nitish
Katara murder case.
These words amply portray the
admission by one and all that the
judicial system needs to be put
back on track.
When we consider the timing of
the latest amendments to be
brought about in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, the Centre
has just acknowledged that. The
proposed changes have been
cleared by the Union Cabinet and
have to be passed by Parliament to
"With these
amendments, we
feel more empowered. We have the
choice of hiring our
own lawyer whenever we feel it necessary. Earlier in
the case, we were
mere spectators
watching the trial
-Sabrina Lal
Sister of Jessica Lal
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become law. The amendments
largel y rest on the La w Commission's 154th report prepared under
Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy.
"The public outrage over the
acquittals i n Jessica case have
opened the Centre' s eyes and sluggishness and shoddy trial will
come under public scanner," says
Justice V.S. Mallimath, whose recommendations on reforming
criminal justice systems too have
been incorporated i n the amendments.
Victims can hir e a lawyer
The role of the prosecution i n
bot h Jessica and Priyadarshini
Mattoo case was suspect.
The outcome of the cases woul d
have been different if the victims'
ki n had appointed a lawyer who
coul d proceed wit h the case even
if it contradicted the prosecution
line.
What
Indu
Jalali,
Priyadarshini Matto' s friend.
"We are particularl y relieved
wit h the clause that allows the victi m t o appeal i n the High Court.
Had we been empowered to do
that, our case would not have got
stuck for so long. We see this move
as a step towards achieving justice for Priyadarshini," Indu
Jalali, Priyadarshini Mattoo's
friend says.
Though it is the prosecution appointed by the state, which generally takes up the victim's cause, in
many cases victims, were appointing lawyers. But till now their role
was passive, limited to assisting
the prosecution. Senior lawyer
Prashant Bhushan said: "This
aims at checking collusion between defence lawyers and the
prosecution which results in acquittals."
Their intentions apart, the
prosecution department is riddled
with problems that government
outfits usually suffer from.
There are only 87 public prosecutors to counter expert defence
counsels in 14,000 heinous crime
cases pending in four district
courts of Delhi. And they still
don't have basic facilities like
computer or internet for research
work.
Women judges for rape cases
Kanchan (name changed) was
six years old when she was allegedly raped by her uncle. With
nobody to aid her during the incamera proceeding, she blundered
with some details.
The court atmosphere frightened her and she could not recount exactly what had happened.
The accused was acquitted on
these grounds.
This is just an instance. It is in
this context that the Centre feels
woman judges could be of help. No
wonder, one estimate says that in
over 40 per cent of the rape cases
at the lower courts the victim goes
missing by the time trial begins.
For this reason, the conviction
rate in rape cases is also below 20
percent.
Experts, however, say the
amendment needs t o be accompanied wit h increasing the number
of women judges. Delhi's Mahila
court experiment (cit y courts
have five of them) can be emulated countrywide.
Meenakshi Lekhi, who had assisted the Shanti Mukund hospital rape victim, says exclusive
women courts can't be a blanket
solution.
• All judges shoul d be trained i n
dealing wit h rape cases.
Victims' right t o appeal
It required a public outcry
through demonstrations, candle
light vigils and SMS campaigns
and finall y an intervention fro m
the Delhi High Court for the police
t o file appeal i n the Jessica Lall
case.
All this would not have been required if the victims' families
could themselves file the appeal.
Hithert o filing of appeals against
the acquittal of the accused was
the sole prerogative of the state.
Judicial System and Legal Reforms
Cartoonist Man Hussein's father,
who could only file a petition for
retrial after the police refused to
do, will have a good chance to appeal once the amendments are in
place.
This move will
surely be of great
help. So far, we had
been at the mercy
of prosecutors.
When Bharti was
dropped as a witness by the prosecution, I wanted my
lawyer to argue
the case
-Neelam Katara
Mother of Nitish Katara
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Witness protection
As per the proposed amendments, any witness who makes a
statement before a Magistrate under Section 164 of CrPc can retract from it only at the risk of
inviting perjury charges.
The Law Commission in its
154th report had recommended
the recording of witness statements before a Magistrate at the
earliest opportunity before they
retract due to threats and coercion
from the rich and powerful accused.
"The ease with which witnesses
turn hostile is a cause of concern.
The judge must tell him you are
duty bound to tell truth if and if
you make a false statement, you
will be held guilty for perjury.
This will instill some fear," says
legal expert Subhash Kashyap.
But implementing this amend-
ment will be difficult unless the
strength of the Metropolitan magistrates is increased. At present,
there is one MM handling about
12,000 cases.
Video evidence
Manu Sharma could be in trouble. The bill proposes that video
recordings by prosecuting agencies on scenes and events relating
to the crime, including statements
of witnesses and accused, be treated as evidence by courts.
Till now electronic evidence
was treated as circumstantial,
which could be relied upon only as
a corroborating material.
Sharma had made two confessional statements in Hindi following his arrest in Jessica Lall murder case; the first on May 7,1999,
the second on May 12. Both were
video recorded by the police and
the case diaries submitted in
court.
In these, he confessed to have
shot Lall when she refused to
serve him drinks. With amendments in place, these CDs will be
treated as evidence.
Judicial System and Legal Reforms
6 cases that changed it all
• Priyadarshini Mattoo case: Brought out of
the cold storage by CBI. To be heard after six
years on August 31
• Babloo Srivastava case: Despite most witnesses, including his wife turning hostile, the
court convicts him and Mumbai-based businessman Nitin Shah based on circumstancial
evidence.
• Uphaar fire case: Acting on a petition by
relatives of victims, Delhi High Court orders
fresh investigation into tampering, mutilation and destruction of evidence by the trial
court staff
• Anju llyasi death case: Victim's mother
Rukma Singh asks Delhi police to probe her
daughter's death afresh. She says it is a not
a suicide but a murder, points out various
anomalies in police investigation.
• Shivani Bhatnagar murder case: R K
Sharma denied bail by HC after prosecution
fiercely opposes it.
• Nitish Katara murder case: The victim's
sister and key witness Bharti Yadav has been
evading warrant for the last two years and
refusing to come from London to India to
depose in the case. Now there is a frenzied
bid to get her here
<title>Crime laws on rewrite desk</title>
<author>Nazia Alvi & Harish V Nair</author>
<keywords>LR1</keywords>
<publication>The Hindustan Times</publication>
<pubDate>05/08/2006</pubDate>
<classif>B40a</classif>
<entrydt>22/08/2006</entrydt>
<sd>VD</sd>
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Judicial System and Legal Reforms