Table of Contents
Context
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published the annual Crime in India Report 2018.
- According to the report, 3,78,277 cases of crime against women were reported in the country, up from 3,59,849 in 2017.
- Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 59,445 cases, followed by Maharashtra (35,497) and West Bengal (30,394).
- The NCRB also released the Accidental Death and Suicides in India 2018 report, which said that 10,349 people working in the farm sector ended their lives in 2018, accounting for 7.7 % of the total number of suicides in the country.
- There were 5,763 farmers/cultivators and 4,586 agricultural labourers among those who ended their lives.
- The incidents registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes related Acts saw a decline from 6729 incidents reported in 2017 to 4816 in 2018.
- A total of 29,017 cases of murder were registered in 2018, showing an increase of 1.3% over 2017 (28,653 cases).
- In 2018, 76,851 cases were registered under the category “Offences against Public Tranquillity”.
- This was a decline from 2017 which saw 78,051 such cases.
- Almost 90% of all such offences were associated with rioting while the rest were under “Unlawful Assembly” (popularly known as Section 144).
- Compare this with riots for other reasons such as communal, students agitation, political and agrarian. According to the NCRB, political riots fell by almost 25% in 2018 over 2017.
Criminal Justice System in India
- Criminal Justice System refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct.
- The criminal justice system is essentially an instrument of social control
- India has a long history of criminal justice. Since ancient periods different systems evolved and gained prominence in different regions under different rulers.
- The codification of criminal laws in India was done during the British rule, which more or less remains the same even in the 21st century.
- The criminal justice system- both substantive and procedural- are replica of the Bristish colonial jurisprudence, which were designed with the purpose of ruling the nation. Therefore, the relevance of these 19th century laws is debatable in the 21st century.
- Ineffectiveness
- Pendency of Cases
- Huge Undertrials
- Criminal law is considered to be the most apparent expression of the relationship between a state and its citizens. Therefore, any revision to the CJSI needs to be done while keeping several principles in mind
- Rights of crime victims.
- Construction of new offences
- Classification of offences
- Guiding principles need to be developed
- Criminal justice is in a state of policy ambiguity. India needs to draft a clear policy that should inform the changes to be envisaged in the IPC or CrPC. All reforms will be in vain unless simultaneous improvements are made in the police, prosecution, judiciary and in prisons.
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