Critical Justice System

Critical Justice System

News: The Supreme Court gave two months to high courts and states to implement a set of guidelines meant to streamline inadequacies and deficiencies in criminal trials.
• These guidelines are referred to as Draft Rules of Criminal Practice, 2020.
• The Draft Rules recommends reforms in investigation and trial, including proposals to employ separate teams of lawyers to help the police during the probe and for the trial; details to be covered while drafting spot panchnamas and even corrections in body sketches.

Criminal Justice System in India:
• It refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct.

The main objectives are:
• To prevent the occurrence of crime.
• To punish the transgressors and the criminals.
• To rehabilitate the transgressors and the criminals.
• To compensate the victims as far as possible.
• To maintain law and order in society.
• To deter offenders from committing any criminal act in the future

The necessity of reforms:
• The purpose of the criminal justice system was to protect the rights of the innocents and punish the guilty, but nowadays the system has become a tool of harassment of common people.
• The criminal justice system in India is replica of British colonial jurisprudence. The relevance of 19th century laws is questionable in the 21st century.
• India has one of the world’s largest numbers of under-trial prisoners. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)-Prison Statistics India, 67.2% of our total prison population comprises of under trial prisoners.
• According to Economic Survey 2018-19, there were about 3.5 crore cases pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts, which leads to actualization of the maxim justice delayed is justice denied.
• Police play a vital role in administration of justice. Corruption, huge workload and accountability of police is a major hurdle in speedy and transparent delivery of justice.

What can be the way forward?
• Institutionalizing All-India Judicial Service can be a step in the right direction.
• Need to launch victim and witness protection schemes.
• Mechanisms such as Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), LokAdalats, Gram Nyayalayas can be effectively utilized.