Mains Marathon

• Introduction: Briefly introduce the Criminal Justice System and Its components.
• Body: Mention the various challenges that hamper its efficiency and fairness and measures to reform (Malimath committee recommendations can also be mentioned).
• Conclusion: Summarize the key points and conclude.

Answer:

The criminal justice system (CJS) is the set of agencies and processes that are responsible for enforcing the criminal law, ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and delivering justice to the victims and the accused. The CJS comprises four main components: the police, the prosecution, the judiciary, and the correctional services.

The CJS in India faces several challenges that hamper its efficiency and fairness and call for urgent reforms. Some of these challenges are:

• Lack of transparency: The CJS operates in a secretive and opaque manner, with little accountability and oversight. There is no mechanism to monitor the performance and conduct of the police, prosecutors, judges, and prison officials. There is also lack of reliable data on crime, conviction, acquittal, pendency, and prison conditions.
• Pendency of cases: The CJS is overburdened with a huge backlog of cases, which leads to long delays in trials and appeals. According to the National Judicial Data Grid, there were more than 3.3 crore pending criminal cases in various courts. The average time taken for a criminal case to be disposed of is about six years.
• Cumbersome procedures: The CJS follows outdated and complex procedures that are often misused or abused by the parties involved. For instance, the police often resort to arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, custodial torture, and false charges to coerce confessions or extract bribes. The prosecutors often fail to present adequate evidence or examine witnesses properly. The correctional services often neglect the welfare and rehabilitation of the prisoners.
• Lack of coordination and system approach: The CJS functions with poor coordination and communication among its various agencies. There is no common vision or strategy to address the issues of crime prevention, detection, prosecution, adjudication, and correction. There is also no mechanism to ensure cooperation and consultation among the central and state governments, civil society organizations, media, and academia on matters related to the CJS.
• Corruption: The CJS is plagued by rampant corruption at all levels, which undermines its integrity and credibility. Corruption manifests itself in various forms, such as bribery, nepotism, favoritism, extortion, manipulation of evidence, interference in investigations or trials, misuse of power or authority, etc. It not only affects the quality and outcome of justice delivery but also breeds more crime and violence in society.
• Lack of awareness amongst individuals: The CJS suffers from a lack of awareness and understanding among the public about their rights and duties as citizens, victims, witnesses, or accused. This results in low reporting of crimes, poor participation in trials, reluctance to cooperate with the authorities, or resorting to vigilantism or mob justice.

The Malimath Committee on Criminal Justice Reform was a panel appointed by the Government of India in 2000 to suggest reforms in the criminal justice system. Some of the major recommendations of the Committee are:

• Borrowing from the inquisitorial system: The criminal justice system should adopt some features of the inquisitorial system followed in countries like Germany and France, where a judicial magistrate supervises the investigation and the court has the power to question the accused and the witnesses.
• Modifying the right to silence: The right to silence of the accused, guaranteed by Article 20(3) of the Constitution, should be modified to allow the court to draw an adverse inference against the accused if he/she refuses to answer or file a statement disclosing his/her stand.
• Strengthening the rights of the accused: A schedule should be added to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) listing the rights of the accused and how to enforce them.
• Ensuring justice to victims: The committee made several recommendations to ensure justice to victims of crime, such as providing them adequate compensation, appointing an advocate of their choice at state expense, and giving them protection and support services.
• Reforming investigation and prosecution: The investigation and prosecution should be separated and made independent from each other and from political influence.
• Increasing judicial efficiency: The committee suggested various measures to increase judicial efficiency and reduce pendency of cases, such as increasing the number and capacity of courts, judges, prosecutors, and police personnel; simplifying procedures; introducing alternative dispute resolution methods such as plea bargaining, mediation, etc.; using information technology such as e-courts, video-conferencing, etc.; implementing fast track courts or special courts for specific offences or categories of cases; etc.
• Reclassifying offences: The offences should be reclassified into three categories: social welfare offences, correctional offences, and criminal offences. Social welfare offences should be dealt with by civil courts or tribunals; correctional offences should be dealt with by special courts or boards; and criminal offences should be dealt with by criminal courts.
• Dealing with specific offences: The committee made specific recommendations for dealing with offences against women, organised crime, federal crimes, terrorism, and economic crimes. Some of these recommendations include enhancing punishment for rape and sexual harassment; creating a national agency for combating organised crime; creating special courts for economic offences; etc.

The CJS faces challenges hindering its timely, fair, and effective functioning. Comprehensive reforms are needed to address gaps and weaknesses in laws, institutions, and processes. These reforms should protect stakeholders' rights, ensure national security, and be evidence-based, consultative, and consensus-driven. Commitment, coordination, and monitoring are essential for successful implementation. Only through such reforms can the Indian CJS fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring justice for all.