Chapter-VI

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Speedy trial is essence of criminal justice and if not provided constitutes denial of

justice, a criminal trial which drags for an unreasonable long time is not a fair trial and

effects the interest of society aggrieved person and accused person.

Right to Speedy Trial under Article 21 of Constitution of India

Article 21 of Constitution of India talks about “Right to personal life & liberty”.

This right is the most significant and useful right given in our constitution. Indian

Judiciary many times acted actively for welfare of the society interpreting this article in

broader terms. With the passage of the time and growing need of the society, Judiciary

goes beyond the provisions given in law and makes the broad interpretation of law

through the Judicial Activism. This way Judiciary play crucial role in protecting

fundamental rights of the citizens when Legislative and Executive failed to do their

duties.1

The Constitution of India, 1950 does not specifically guarantee the fundamental

right to speedy trial but it has been included implicitly in Article 21 due to judicial

activism shown in respect of Article 21, which deals with fundamental right to life and

personal liberty.

The right to life and personal liberty has been interpreted widely to include the

right to livelihood, health, education, environment and all those matters, which

1
Induction of National Court management Authority in Indian Judicial. http://www.livelaw.in/induction-
of-national-court-management

175
contributed to life with dignity. Under this doctrine, the Court will not just examine

whether the procedure itself is reasonable, fair and just, but also whether it has been

operated in a fair, just and reasonable manner. This has meant for example the right to

speedy trial and legal aid is part of any reasonable, fair and just procedure. Further, when

there is inordinate delay in the investigation -- it affects the right of the accused, as he is

kept in tenterhooks and suspense about the outcome of the case. If the investigating

authority pursues the investigation as per the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code,

1973, there can be no cause of action. But, if the case is kept alive without any progress

in any investigation, then the provisions of Article 21 are attracted and the right is not

only against actual proceedings in court but also against police investigation.2

In the area of speedy trials, Antulay3 is a case of cardinal importance, holding that

the fair, just and reasonable procedure implicit in Art.21 created a right in the accused to

be tried speedily, the court held that the right was available to accused at all stages, viz.,

investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal, revision and retrial. The right could not be denied on

the ground that no demand was made. The court explained undue delay in following

words:

While determining whether undue delay has occurred (resulting in

violation of Right to speedy trial) one must have regard to all the attendant
circumstances including nature of offence, number of accused and
witnesses, the workload of the court concerned, prevailing local conditions
and so on - what is called the systemic delays.4

2
Ibid.
3
A.R. Antulay v. R.S. Nayak (1992) 1 SCC 225.
4
Ibid at 271.

176
Right to Speedy trial under Criminal Procedure Code

The speedy trial of cases is one of the main objects of the administration of

criminal justice. Ample provisions have been made in the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973 and the Police Act, 1961 for expeditious disposal of matters at various stages.

Rules have been made under Sections 7 and 12 of the Police Act 1961. The committal

proceedings in respect of sessions trials have been virtually abolished in the Code of

Criminal Procedure, 1973. In any case, it has been simplified greatly.5 It has been done

in order to avoid delay involved in preliminary inquiry before the commencement of the

trial of offences. Under the old code of 1898, the offences, for which the maximum

punishment was six months, were to be tried summarily but under the new Code of 1973,

the offences punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years are now triable

summarily.

Apart from this, secs.157, 167, 173, 309 and 468 Cr.P.C. are important for speedy

trial and elimination of delays in investigation and trial proceedings. For example,

sec.173(1) says every investigation under this chapter shall be completed without

unnecessary delay.6

Testing of Hypotheses

This elaborate study made through doctrinal and analytical methods categorically

substantiates and the following hypothesis formulated for the study.

1. The present criminal justice system failed to implement the cordinal principles of

fairness transparently and human rights.

2. It is proved that our criminal justice system is the residue of British colonial legacy.

5
Ahmad Siddique. Criminology; Problems & Perspective, 4th ed. 1997, 45.

177
3. The system of police investigation suffers from the following drawbacks:

a. Investigation lacks cordinal principles.

b. Inadequacy of scientific tools.

c. Scarcity of Investigation staff.

4. The process of scientific investigation suffers from the following drawbacks:

a. Lack of well equipped scientific labs.

b. Absence of professional co-ordination.

c. Substandards of medico-legal services.

d. Delayed submission of expert reports.

e. Deficiencies in post-mortem examinations.

f. Scarcity of Forensic experts

5.The system of public prosecutors suffers from following drawbacks:

a. Over workload and long standing vacancies.

b. Faulty recruitment process

c. Lack of co-ordination between police and public prosecutors.

d. Lack of laboratory facilities

e. Defects in tenure pubic prosecutor system

f. Lack of professional ethics

6. The judiciary right from Supreme Court to subordinate courts suffers from the
following drawbacks.

a. Increase in the number of filing of cases.

b. Cumbersome and difficult court procedures.

c. Problems with government suits

6
Ibid Sec. 173(1).

178
 d. Insufficient financial support from government.

e. Over workload and irrational transfers

f. The vacations for courts

g. Sometimes the conduct of lawyers leads to delay.

7. Apart from the above testing the following are testing Hypotheses in nutshell.

a. The system failed to implement the cordinal principles of fairness transparency

and human rights.

b. Our present criminal justice system is nothing but a residue of British colonial,

legacy.

c. It is proved fact that there are some practical problems at different stages of

criminal justice system.

d. Inadequacy of logistical and forensic back-up support leads to delay in disposal

of cases.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The Researcher in this conclusion chapter wants to conclude his research study by

giving findings of research study. Delay in Administration of Criminal Justice System is

the major problem since, independence. The maxim ‘justice delayed in justice denied’ is

rightly applicable to our criminal justice system. As any research study focussed on

various problems relating to delay in criminal justice system first I would like to focus on

role of police in Administration of criminal justice system.

1. The process of police investigation suffers from the following defects:

a. The system of investigation lacks cordinal principles.

179
 b. Lack of properly trained scientific and logistical support to police personals.

c. Use of police subculture namely rudeness use of third degree methods lack of

innovativeness.

d. Longer time period consumed during investigation is most important causation

for delayed disposal of criminal cases.

e. Inadequate investigating staff, lack of scientific and technical, personal and

equipment, lack of social support to the police agencies.

f. Very little time for actual detective work spend by police.

g. The members of the social, caste or professional group to have the proceedings

dropped exert presence of all sorts of pressures on the police.

h. Use of faulty investigation method.

i. Delay in crime scene visitation.

j. The standard of police investigation in India remains poor even today results in

acquittal of accused.

k. Problem of inadequacy of the investigating staff.

l. Investigation not conducted by the designated police officer.

m. Existence of obsolescent and outdated organisation of system

n. Practice faulty recruitment process and training

2. The process of scientific investigation suffers from the following drawbacks:

a. Lack of well equipped forensic scientific labs.

b. Absence of professional co-operation between investigation officer and forensic

Scientist.

180
c. Forensic science facilities have inadequate educational standards and Programmes

lack of mandatory enforceable standards leads to acquittal of accused.

d. The present level of application of Forensic Science is very low in the country, with

only 5 to 6 present of the registered cases being referred to the FSL and Finger

print bureau, put together.

e. The sub-standards of medico-legal services in the country are far from satisfactory.

f. Delayed submission of expert reports by the experts hampers the investigations

and results in delay trials.

g. The practice of delayed examination of exhibits at the laboratory.

h. Deficiencies in post-mortem examination and preparation of post-mortem

report.

i. Improper identification of weapons of offence by police.

j. Non-adherence of police regulation, police manual by doctors.

k. Frequent conflict between post-mortem examination and forensic science

laboratory report.

l. Mortuaries are lacking basic facilities like cold storages, electronic power

supply etc.

m. The number of forensic experts available in India is very small due to the

stigma attached to an autopsy surgeon.

n. The corrupt practices and lack of professional ethics withhold the truth or

introduce false evidence.

181
3. The role of Public Prosecutors and Reasons for the delays during the
prosecution stage

a. Vacancies in the offices of Public Prosecutor/Assist Public Prosecutor resulting

in delay of court work there is no effective mechanism to oversee the functioning

of public prosecutors.

b. The recruitment process is either deficient or politically manipulated.

c. Lack of co-ordination between the police and Public Prosecutors.

d. The foremost problem is the poor quality of entrants in the prosecution.

e. Lack of promotional avenues results in poor performance of Public Prosecutors.

f. Lack of library facilities to the Public Prosecutors.

g. Number of vacancies and poor quality of prosecutors leads to delay in disposal

of cases.

h. Problem of accountancy in contractual public prosecutors leads to the delay in

disposal of cases.

i. Lack of accountability and executive influence over the working of prosecution

agency leads to delay in disposal of cases.

j. Inadequate preparation and lack of evaluation of evidence by the Public

Prosecutor leads to delay.

k. In some cases, the special Public Prosecutors appointed by the government

deliberately attempts to delay the trial and projects delay in disposal of cases.

l. Another reason for the delay in disposal of cases is that the prosecutors lack

adequate legal expertise and sometimes lack of proper liaison with the police.

182
m. Lack of professional ethics in the police prosecution and defence also leads to

delay and failure of prosecution.

4. Various reasons for the delay of disposal of cases by courts. The following
are the drawbacks of judiciary

a. Inadequate physical infrastructure, inability to streamline procedures in the civil

and criminal procedure courts are the first and foremost reasons for the backlog of

cases.

b. Increase in the number of filing of cases far exceeds their disposal there is

increase in flow of cases in recent years due to multifarious acts enacted by the

Central and State Governments.

c. The sanctioned number of judges are inadequate to deal with the load of cases

at all the levels of courts, it is one of the major reasons for the delay.

d. Procedures prescribed by law are often cumbersome and difficult. Delay could

occur because a particular stage of procedure itself takes excessive time.

e. The absolute failure of government officials in taking bold and suitable action

in spite of giving notice by a person to file case leads to delay in disposal of cases.

f. Under staffing and insufficient number of courts leads to delay in disposal of

cases.

g. India suffers from chronic delay because of paucity of resources allocated to the

law and justice department. For instance, some civil cases taking more than

twenty years to come to court.

h. Over workload and frequent transfers to judges is another reason for the delay.

183
 i. Considering the judiciary system independent unaccountable by the courts,

generally give leisure and comfort to the judges that ultimately lead to delay in

deciding the matters.

j. Another main problem that resulted into pending cases in the adjournments

granted by the court on flimsy grounds.

k. The most debating question relating to the cause for pendency of cases is the

vacations for courts.

l. Delay in pronouncing judgement is another reason for delay in disposal cases,

there is also complaint that the judgements are not promptly signed after they are

typed and read causing great hardship to the parts parties.

m. There is no time limit fixed either by any act or code within which the cases

must be decided. So the judges, lawyers and even the litigants take it for granted

that there is no urgency to finish the case. The case drag on for years together.

n. Role of judges leads to delay in disposal of cases i.e., lack of punctuality, laxity

and lack of control over cases etc.

o. The role of lawyers leads to delay in disposal of cases.

The role of lawyers is very important in justice delivery system, the commitment

of these professionals can change the whole scenario. Unfortunately, they are also

responsible for delay due to varied reasons.

(i) Lawyers are not precise; they indulge in lengthy oral arguments just to impress

their clients.

(ii) Lawyers are known to take adjournments on frivolous grounds. It is also true

that some lawyers do not prepare their cases.

184
(iii) It is seen that lawyers often resort to strikes.

(iv) Complexity and rigidity of procedural laws leads to delay in disposal of cases.

SUGGESTIONS

1. All the delay and lack of accountability and half baked schemes amount to a daily

mockery of the fundamental right to speedy trial. The Supreme Court made it clear

that “speedy trial is of essence to criminal justice and there can be no doubt that the

delay in trial by itself constitutes denial of Justice”.7

2. In yet another case, it added that “there can be no doubt that speedy trial -- and by

speedy trial we mean a reasonably expeditious trial -- is an integral and essential part

of fundamental right to life and liberty enshrined in Art 21”.

3. It is a very important obligation. Even apart from Art. 21 the constitutional mandate

for speedy Justice is inescapable. The preamble of the Constitution enjoins the state

to secure social, economic and political justice to all its citizens. The Directive

Principles of State Policy declare that the State should strive for a social order in

which such justice shall inform all the institutions of national life {(Art. 38(1)). This

is elaborated by specifically adding that “The State shall secure that the operation of

the legal system promotes justice; to ensure that opportunities for securing Justice are

not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. (Art 39A).

While interpreting this provision the Supreme Court has held that “social justice

would include ‘legal justice’ which means that the system of administration of justice

7
www.lawteacher.net/criminal-law/essays/fast-track-courts.php, retrieved on 1 Jul 2014.

185
 must provide a cheap, expeditious and effective instrument for realization of justice

by all section of the people irrespective of their social or economic position or their

financial resources”.

4. Observing that speedy trial is a fundamental right of an accused, the Supreme Court

has directed the Centre and all State Governments to prevent unreasonable delay in

disposal of criminal cases.

5. In order to make the administration of criminal justice effective, vibrant and

meaningful, the Union of India, the State Governments and all authorities must take

necessary steps immediately so that the constitutional right of the accused to speedy

trial does not remain only on paper, said a Bench consisting of Justices S.B. Sinha

and Dalveer Bhandari.

6. “While it is incumbent on the court to see that no guilty person escapes, it is still

more its duty to see that justice is not delayed and accused persons are not

indefinitely harassed.” The Bench said quashing the proceedings initiated by the

State Bank of India in 1980 against Motilal Saraf an officer, under the Jammu and

Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act for receiving Rs.700 as illegal gratification.8

7. The constitutional guarantee of speedy trial is an important safeguard to prevent

undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial; to minimize anxiety and concern

accompanying public accusation and to limit the possibilities that long delays will

impair the ability of an accused to defend himself. It is the bounden duty of the court

and the prosecution to prevent unreasonable delay.

186
8. Writing the judgment. Justice Bhandari said the apex court in a number of cases

reiterated that speedy trial was one of the facets of the fundamental right to life and

liberty enshrined in Article 21 and the law must ensure reasonable, just and fair

procedure. “No procedure which does not ensure a reasonably quick trial can be

regarded as reasonable, fair or just and it would tall foul of Article 21” .

9. The Bench said: “The right to speedy trial begins with the actual restraint imposed

by arrest and consequent incarceration and continues at all stages, namely, the stage

of investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal and revision so that any possible prejudice that

may result from impermissible and avoidable delay from the time of the commission

of the offence till it consummates into a finally can be averted.”9

10. That India’s courts are clogged with long-pending cases is well-known, but the

texture of the problem is something known little about so far. A new database of

court data lays out some of the contours of the issue: over 40 lakh cases are pending

in India’s High Courts, and a tenth in courts for which data are available have been

pending for over ten years. The oldest case languishing in the few courts for which

enough data are available is just a decade younger than India itself. A quarter of the

cases for which information is available are pending at the admission stage itself. An

earlier Law Commission report found that the situation was far more dire in the lower

courts - at the end of 2012; some one crore cases were pending in Subordinate

Judicial Services courts and 20 lakh cases in Higher Judicial Services courts across 12

High Court jurisdictions in the country. A certain fatality has marked India’s efforts

8
Ibid.

187
 to deal with pendency thus far. We are a big country, we are a litigious people, we

have chronic administrative under-capacity and a perennially under-resourced

judiciary’, we are told. So enormous has the problem begun to appear in the public

mind that it has seemed impossible to fix. This is not necessarily true.

11. For one the real extent of judicial pendency in India is nearly impossible to

estimate on account of an utter lack of standardisation in data classification and

management systems; virtually every State is a law unto itself, collecting and

classifying case data as it chooses, making it impossible to compare with the

neighboring State. This is not a purely technical concern; it has severely hamstrung

India’s efforts to understand the nature of not just judicial delay, but the judicial

process itself. There is no good reason for this state of affairs to continue; the

technology to resolve this is now easily and cheaply available. In addition, there are

simple administrative fixes that have been suggested by reform minded judges. As

Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice A.P. Shah had instituted evening

courts to look after traffic and police challans (payments slips), which account for

over a third of all cases pending in the lower courts. Such cases need to be removed

from the regular court system altogether. Plea bargaining is another judicial reform

step that has not yet picked up in India, Finally, the grossly inadequate judge strength

must increase; even if not the doubling of judge strength as promised in the past by

the Ministry of Law and Justice, a significant leap is unavoidable. For justice and the

9
www.lawteacher.net/criminal-law/essays/fast-track-courts.php, retrieved on 1 Jul 2014.

188
 rule of law to seem meaningful to the people, the government must back its

assurances with resources.10

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

All serious crimes, say sessions triable cases, and certain other classes of cases are

placed in the domain for the Crime Police and the remaining crimes including crimes

under most of the Special and Local laws are handled by the Law and Order Police.

(i) The staff in all stations in urban areas should be divided as Crime Police and

Law and Order Police. The strength will depend upon the crime and other

problems in the Police Station area.

(ii) In addition to the officer in-charge of the police station, the officer in-charge of

the Crime Police should also have the powers of the officer in-charge of the police

station.

(iii) The investigating officers in the Crime Police should be at the least of the rank

of Assistant Sub-Inspector and must be graduates, preferably with a law degree,

with 5 years experience of police work.

(iv) The category of cases to be investigated by each of the two wings shall be

notified by the State Director General of Police.

(v) The Law & Order police will report to the Circle officers/Sub-Divisional Police

Officer.Detective constables should be selected, trained and authorised to

investigate minor offences. This will be a good training ground for them when

they ultimately move to the crime police.

10
www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/pending.cases.pilleups.a, The Hindu, retrieved on 5-5-2015.

189
(vi) A post of additional Superintendent Police (Crimes) shall be created in each

district. He shall have crime teams functioning directly under him. He will carry

out investigations into grave crimes and those having inter district or inter state

ramifications. He shall also supervise the functioning of the Crime Police in the

district.

(vii) There shall be another Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) in the

district who will be responsible for (a) collection and dissemination of criminal

intelligence; (b) maintenance and analysis of crime data: (c) investigation of

important cases; (d) help the Crime Police by providing logistic support in the

form of Forensic and other specialists and equipment. The District Superintendent

of Police could also entrust investigations to him.

(viii) Each state shall have an Inspector General of Police in the State Crime Branch

exclusively to supervise the functioning of the Crime Police. He should have

specialised squads working under his command to take up cases having inter

District. & and inter-state ramifications. These could be (a) cyber crime squad;

(b) anti terrorist squad; (c) organised crime squad; (d) homicide squad; (e)

economic offences squad; (f) kidnapping squad (g) automobile theft squad; (h)

burglary squad etc. He will also be responsible for (a) collection and

dissemination of criminal intelligence (b) maintenance and analysis of crime data

(c) co-ordination with other agencies concerned with investigation of cases.11

11
Justice V.S. Malimath, Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Report, Volume I, India, March 2003, pp.94-95.

190
 The National Security Commission at the national level and the State Security

Commissions at the State level should be constituted, as recommended by the National

Police Commission. Constitution of the aforesaid Commissions would give an element of

insularity to the police forces in the country and invoke faith and trust of the people in its

functioning.

Police Establishment Boards consisting of Director General of Police and 3 to 4

other senior police officers should be set up at the Police Headquarters in each State.

Posting, transfer and promotions etc., of. District level officers should be made on the

recommendation of such Boards, with the proviso that the Government may differ with

the recommendations of such Boards for reasons to be recorded in writing.

No case should ordinarily be transferred from one Police Station to another or

from District. Police to the Range office or the State Crime Branch by the competent

authority unless there are very compelling and cogent reasons for doing so and such

reasons should be recorded in writing by the concerned authority.12

Supervisory Officers can plays a vital role are enumerated below:

i. Crimes are freely registered.

ii. Crimes are registered under the appropriate sections without minimizing the

occurrence for the sake of statistics;

iii. There is no minimization or lessening of the value of property in order to

reduce supposed police responsibility;

iv. Complaint, if made orally, is recorded at once carefully and accurately in plain

and simple language by the senior most officer present in the police station or by

191
 someone to his dictation without omitting any of the important and relevant

details.

v. There is no interpolation while writing complaints and if any fact is omitted, it

is written afresh at the bottom, and if anything is scored out, it is done neatly with

initials and date and in such a manner that it could be read;

vi. If investigation is refused u/s 157(1)(b), it is done on proper grounds;

vii. The investigation in all cases is prompt, thorough and sustained;

viii. Final reports are submitted without delay and charge-sheets are accompanied by

complete evidence that is to be led at the trial;

ix. Cases are not routinely closed as false unless there are reasons to do so and in

case it is decided to close the case, steps are taken to prosecute the accused u/s

182 or 211 Indian Penal Code;

x. After the case has gone to the Court, its progress is watched and it is ensured

that the witnesses, including the investigating police officers, attend the Court on

the due dates and depose properly and that the Public Prosecutors perform their

duties competently;

xi. They should coordinate with the neighboring police stations or neighboring

Districts and even States in investigation of Inter District or Inter-State crimes;

xii. Investigation is kept on the right track and no extraneous influences and

political and otherwise are allowed to influence it;

xiii. Investigations are conducted in an honest and transparent manner;

12
Ibid. p.97.

192
xiv. Scientific aids to investigation are optimally utilized in investigations and that

Forensic Science Laboratory experts are taken to the spot in specified crimes for

preservation and collection of evidence.

xv. Articles/exhibits seized in investigation are sent to the Forensic Science

Laboratory for expert opinion and that such opinion is promptly obtained and

cited as evidence along with the charge sheet.

xvi. The Medico Legal Reports are obtained from the experts quickly so as to reach

a fair and just conclusion in a case;

xvii. Case diaries are properly maintained as per law and entries in the General

Diary;

xviii. The power of arrest is not abused or misused;

xix. The human rights of the accused are protected;

xx. The witnesses coming to the police station are not made to wait for long hours

and they are disposed of as promptly as possible;

xxi. Third degree methods are avoided in the investigation;

xxii. The in-built system of timely submission of case diaries etc., to supervisory

officers is reinforced and investigations completed expeditiously.13

Adequate number of Training Institutions should be set up by the State

Governments as also by the Central Government for initial training of various ranks of

the police personnel as also for in-service training. These instructions should focus on:

13
Ibid., pp.99-100.

193
 (i) Protection of scene of crime;

(ii) Collection of physical evidence there from with the help of experts,

including forensic experts;

(iii) Inculcating the art of interrogation of suspects and witness;

(iv) Developing the art of collection, collation and dissemination of criminal

Intelligence.

(v) Developing and handling informers etc.14

Suggestions to investigating officers for prompt investigation

i) The scene of crime must be visited by the investigating officer with utmost

dispatch;

ii) The Investing Officer must photograph/videograph the scene of crime from all

possible angles or get it done by an expert;

iii) He should preserve the scene of crime so that no evidence is lost due to

disturbance by the inmates of house or curious onlookers, including Very

Important Persons (VIPs);

iv) The Investigating Officer should either prepare the sketch or plan of the scene

of crime himself or get it done by a Patwari or an expert, if deemed fit;

v) The investigating officer should take along-with him a Forensic Scientist and

Finger Print Expert or any expert of the relevant discipline to collect physical

evidence from the scene of crime. If it is, somehow, not possible due to

exigencies of the situation, the Investigating Officer should preserve the scene of

14
Ibid., p.101.

194
 crime and immediately requisition the services of forensic experts for the above

purpose15

Suggestions to improve the quality of Scientific Investigation

1. As the Government is making efforts to modernise the Forensic Science

Laboratories of the Department for speedy examination of samples, their attempts

seem to be a futile exercise.

2. According to the data from the Home Department, till March 2015, forensic

examination of samples in over 3,500 cases is pending with the laboratories of the

Police Department.

3. The data show that 3,874 samples from the last five years, sent by the state police,

Crime Branch, Excise Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation, are

pending with the forensic laboratories.

4. These include several sensational murder and rape cases registered during the last

five years.

5. The major reason for the delay is the shortage of staff at the forensic laboratories.

There are around 64 examiners in the police laboratories across the state. The Justice

K.T. Thomas Commission had recommended that the number of forensic experts

should be 1 per cent of the total number of policemen in the state.16

15
Ibid., p.111.
16
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article 1518800.ece, retrieved on 25-6-2014.

195
6. The officials also point out that the people who have completed M.Sc. Forensic

Science are not being recruited for the post of examiner in FSLs.

7. Currently, only students who have completed M.Sc. in Chemistry, Biology and

Physics are being recruited for the post. After recruitment, they are being given a

one-year training in Forensic Science.

8. A top police officer said that the department could not recruit more forensic experts

owing to the fund crunch.

9. Several recruits leave the service within two or three years. Only the Forensic

Science Laboratory at the police headquarters is functioning normally.17

Suggestions to improve forensic science

(1) Police Manuals and Standing Orders of different States/Union Territories need to

be amended to make the use of Forensic Science mandatory, as far as practicable, in

investigation of all grave and important crimes such as those involving violence

against the persons, sexual offences, dacoity, robbery, burglary, terrorists crimes,

arson, narcotics, poisons, crimes involving fire-arms, fraud and forgery and computer

crimes.

(2) Police Manuals and Standing Orders should mandate the supervisory officers to

carefully monitor and scrutinize, if or not the Investigating Officers have exploited

the possibility of the use of forensic science in the investigation of each crime right

from the threshold of investigation.

17
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article 1518800.ece, retrieved on 25-6-2014.

196
(3) The State Governments should immediately create appropriate forensic science

facilities in each District. This should include one or more Mobile Forensic Science

Units, depending on the size of the District, the incidence of crime, terrain and

communication conditions in each District. Each unit should have a Forensic Expert,

a Finger Print Expert, a Photographer and a Videographer. The job of these mobile

units would be not only to identify, collect and preserve the evidence but also to

tender necessary opinion, on the spot, to the Investigating Officer, if scientifically

feasible.

(4) Each police station should be provided with a set of Scientific Investigation Kits for

identification and lifting of scientific clues from the crime scene.

(5) Arrangement should also be made to create proper facilities for packaging, storage

and preservation of scientific clue material collected from the crime scene or

suspects, to ensure their protection against contamination, degradation or damage at

the police station or in the District Headquarters. Standard material for packaging and

preserving scientific evidence should be supplied for this purpose from time to time

by the State Forensic Science Laboratories.

(6) The State Government should set up appropriate number of Regional Forensic

Science Laboratories at the headquarters of each Police Range.

(7) The Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories are facing acute shortage of

men power. According to a study conducted by National Institute of Criminology and

Forensic Science, the vacancies in the Forensic Science Laboratories range from 17 to

71% of the sanctioned posts of scientists. The Governments concerned should take

appropriate steps to fill up these vacancies. Further, the sanctioned strength itself is

197
 pegged at far below the yardsticks formulated by Bureau of Police Research

Development (BPR&D). The States must, therefore, revise the sanctioned strength of

their respective FSLs in the light of the Bureau of Police Research Development

guidelines.

(8) There are virtually no facilities for training of Forensic Scientists in the country and

they mostly learn on the job. It must be noted that a trained scientist is far more

productive than several untrained or semitrained hands. We, therefore, recommend

that NICFS should take upon its shoulders the responsibility of imparting professional

training to the scientific personnel. Also recommend that NICFS must expand and

strengthen its core facilities in emerging areas such as forensic DNA, Forensic

Explosives and Computer Forensics etc.

(9) The Finger Print Bureau in the country are generally undermanned and are storing

and analyzing data manually. The analysis and retrieval, therefore, takes a long time

and the storage capacity is also limited. We, therefore, recommend that modem

electronic gazettes must be used in collection, storage, analysis and retrieval of finger

print related data.

(10) Most of the FSLs suffer from financial crunch. The budgetary position of the FSLs

should be reviewed and sufficient funds should be made available to them.

(11) A mandatory time limit should be prescribed for submission of reports to the

police/Courts by the FSLs.

(12) A national body on the pattern of Indian Council of Medical Research should be

constituted in the country to prescribe testing norms for the FSLs and ethical

standards for the forensic scientists.

198
(13) Forensic Science, unfortunately, has not assumed the status of an academic

discipline in India. We recommend that the University Grants Commission

should consider creating the departments of Forensic Science in at least all the

major universities. Later, Forensic Sciences could be introduced as subjects at the

school level. Funds should also be ear-marked and allotted for research in these

departments.

(14) A polygraph machine for lie detector test should be provided in each district. The

regular use will obviate the need for extra legal methods of interrogation.18

The professional standards, which need to be displayed by forensic scientists, are

summed up below:

(a) Forensic scientist should be technically competent and employ reliable methods of

analysis.

(b) Forensic scientist should be honest with respect to his qualification/experience and

confine his report to area of his expertise.

(c) He should be intellectually honest with respect to his scientific data, on which his

opinion is based.

(d) Expert should be objective and non-partisan in delivery of their opinion to non-

scientific fact finders.19

The Medico Legal Services play an equally important role in the investigation of

crime and prosecution thereof. The state of Medico Legal Services in the country is far

18
Justice V.S. Malimath, Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Report, Volume I, India, March 2003, pp.103-104.
19
Bami, H.L. “Future Outlook in Forensic Science”, The Indian Police Journal, ISSN 0537-2429, special
issue-II, Jul-Dec. 1994, p.37.

199
from satisfactory. One of the main contributory factors for this is that the entire

apparatus of the Medico Legal Services is administratively controlled by the Department

of Health under the State Governments who are not concerned with the police or with the

Criminal Justice System. Even, the Forensic Medicine Departments attached to the

judicial colleges are in a poor and neglected state. The Doctors doing Medico Legal

work i.e. conducting post-mortems of dead bodies and preparing Injury Reports etc. are

also a dispirited lot and in a poor state of morale. They feel forsaken by their parent

departments and not owned up by the Police departments for which they seemingly work.

(i) On the pattern of Tamilnadu, a Medico Legal Advisory Committee should be

set up in each State under the Senior Most Medico Legal Functionary/Professor

of Forensic Medicine/Police Surgeon, with at-least two Board members,

including one from the State FSL. One of the main tasks of this Committee

would be to resolve the differences of opinion between the Medico Legal

Professionals and the Forensic Experts.

(ii) The condition of mortuaries is dismal all over the country. Appropriate

mortuary rooms with adequate infrastructure and equipment should be made

available to each Medical College.

(iii) At places where there are no Medical Colleges, Medico Legal work is being

done by the Doctors who are not adequately trained in such work. Resultantly,

they often turn out sub-standard reports which create confusion for the IOs as

well as for the Courts. The State Governments must prepare a panel of qualified

Doctors, adequately trained in Medico Legal work, and post them in the

Districts and other Mufassil Hospitals for attending to such work.

200
(iv) The State Government must prescribe time-frame for submission of Medico

Legal reports.

a) Injury Report 6 hours;

b) Postmortem Report: 24 hours

(v) There has been a tendency on the part of some Medico Legal experts to reserve their

opinion as to the cause of death etc., pending receipt of the reports of FSLs on

toxicological examination even in cases where it is possible for them to give a definite

opinion about the cause of death. This tendency should be eschewed.20

Medico-legal cases of death are often not autopsied, especially in rural areas.

This can be for various reasons such as apathy on the part of investigating officers in not

booking cases, ignorance on the part of the rural community (especially in poisoning

cases), or even to show lower crime statistics (as in traffic accidents). To avoid the

cumbersome legal procedures, involved, villages often think it better to cremate the body

without an autopsy (as in suicide cases).21

On the other hand, in bigger hospitals equipped with the latest investigative

modalities, even when the precise cause of death, the identity of the person and the mode,

manner and moment of death are known, a medico-legal autopsy is carried out routinely

on mere technical grounds (that it is a medico-legal case). This causes unnecessary

20
Ibid., p.105.
21
Jagadeesh, N. “The Status of Forensic Medicine in India”, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. V,
No.4, Oct-Dec, 2008, pp.154-155.

201
hardship to the relatives of the deceased and also increases the workload of the already

overburdened forensic doctor.

Instead, it would be ideal to have a compulsory medico-legal autopsy in all those

cases where the cause of death is not known, irrespective of whether it occurs in an urban

or a rural area. And on the other hand, the law should be amended to avoid medico-legal

autopsies being carried out routinely on technical grounds when the precise cause of

death is known beyond doubt by ante-mortem medical investigations.

To achieve the objectives for which a medico-legal autopsy is carried out,

mortuaries must be properly equipped. Unfortunately, in India. most mortuaries lack

even basic facilities, leave aside the surgical suite-like atmosphere of their western

counterparts. Many mortuaries do not have cold storage facilities for preserving dead

bodies, and the few lucky ones that have them do not have uninterrupted electric power

supply to run them. As a result, dead bodies stored here decompose and crucial medical

evidence is lost and with that the expectations of society for justice from the doctor. So-

called mortuaries in many rural hospitals lack even basic cleanliness. There is no

privacy-as broken window; panes and doors allow people to peep in throughout the

autopsy process and thus no confidentiality. There is a dearth of proper instruments (for

example to cut the skull), and the lack of sterile containers to collect viscera for further

investigations increases the chances of cross contamination.

As a result of this poor infrastructure, the chances of reaching a valid conclusion

on the cause of death are poor. Unless government policies address these issues on an

202
urgent basis, the proper investigation of crimes based on the conduct of a conclusive and

exhaustive medico-legal autopsy, as is done in the West, may be restricted to real life.

The number of forensic experts available in India, compared to the number

required, is very small. This could be due to the stigma attached to an autopsy surgeon

(“dead body” doctor), or it could be due to the poor working conditions, or the pressures

of doing work that is disliked by many in society. In India, except in those hospitals

attached to medical colleges, medico-legal autopsies are usually carried out not by

forensic medicine doctors but by MBBS doctors who have insufficient experience of such

work. As a result, there is a chance that the medical evidence is not properly presented in

court. On the other hand, graduates do not consider that a forensic scientist’s job is

lucrative enough, though it is very challenging. Due to shortages of staff in most central

and state-run forensic laboratories, reports are delayed (and justice delayed is justice

denied) and there are greater chances of overworked staff making mistakes).

By having forensic experts on, both the prosecution and defence side in a case, we

can eliminate bias. By having private forensic science laboratories we can have

independent testing of samples by non-government laboratories. But, unfortunately, with

a shortage of staff – both forensic doctors and forensic scientists – the idea of a forensic

expert for the defense remains a distant dream in India.

Medical evidence alone stands above all other evidence in a court of law. There

are many instances where, even if all witnesses turn hostile, courts have convicted the

accused if the medical evidence is conclusive. However, efforts to attain justice have

sometimes been frustrated by the corrupt practices of a handful of black sheep in the

203
medical profession who withhold the truth or introduce false evidence. At the other end

of the spectrum, honest doctors may not be allowed to function freely because they are

subjected to pressure. The result is that the medical evidence submitted to the court is

either improper or incomplete or inconclusive.

Newer techniques like narco-analysis, brain mapping and polygraphy are being

utilised by some forensic science laboratories in the investigation of various crimes.22

Measures to Increase Practical Feasibility of Doctor’s Visit to Scene of Crime:

1. The rationale & protocol of a doctor’s visit to scene of crime need to be

incorporated in a uniform medico-legal manual, which is the need of the hour.

2. The general awareness regarding utility/contribution of a doctor at scene of crime

needs to be augmented amongst police investigators, judiciary and Forensic

Scientists. Induction & on the job training programs of these functionaries needs to

incorporate medico-legal aspects involved in different crimes for their sensitization

3. The curriculum of undergraduate medical courses needs to lay more emphasis on

doctor’s contribution to scene of crime visits in particular and devising better

alternative teaching and training methodologies to empower medical graduates to

handle medico-legal problems in the field in general.

4. A separate cadre for medico-legal services is needed at state/central level to meet

the requirements of criminal investigation or law enforcement system in the country.

22
Jagadeesh, N. “The Status of Forensic Medicine in India”, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. V,
No.4, Oct-Dec, 2008, pp.154-155.

204
5. A clear and strong message is needed to be handed over to doctors entrusted with

medico-legal responsibilities that this is an obligatory duty towards state and society

and any laxity, indifference or negligence simply cannot be tolerated.

6. Better and more frequent interaction is needed between law enforcement agencies

and medical professionals.

7. Doctor’s visit to scene of crime should not be designed to become a perfunctory,

routine or casual exercise. Rather it should be carried out only in cases where there

is a likelihood of a worthy outcome or a doctor demands it. For example: this

exercise can be done away with in cases of recovery of a dead body from water or

death from poisoning (unless the case is suspicious as in case of CO poisoning).23

The challenge before the Public Prosecutor is to maintain impartiality and neutrality

while prosecuting any and all persons facing criminal prosecution. The assumption here

is that the State is committed to safeguarding and promoting the interests and rights of all

constituents of society. This premise ignores the segregated and hierarchical nature of

Indian society. The bland notion of the State as a completely neutral instrument of

consensual popular wills, upholding ‘national interest’ raises several issues. One is the

tendency of state institutions and personnel to coagulate and emerge as an interest in

them. The phenomenon of corruption is symptomatic of this tendency, especially if

define corruption broadly as manifest not merely in financial defalcation, but also in the

perversion from fidelity of state institutions. The question of equal access to justice by

aggrieved citizens, regardless of their social and, finance regardless of their social and

23
Garg, S.P. “Role of a Medical Doctor at Scene of Crime”, Journal of Indian Academic Forensic
Medicine, Jan-March 2013, vol. 35, No.1, ISSN 0971-0973, pp.70.

205
financial status is another. Furthermore, when entrenched interests within the State feel

threatened, perverse motives can influence the decisions and procedures of the Criminal

Justice System. ‘National’ and ‘social’ ideals may be cited in order to quell protest and

criticism, and the instruments meant to protect citizens may become the instruments of

oppression. This is why the ideal of separation of powers and the autonomy of the

judicial system is crucial to the very legitimacy of the State.24

This important institution of the Criminal Justice System has been weak and

somewhat neglected. Its recruitment training and professionalism need special attention

so as to make it synergetic with other institutions and effective in delivering good results.

The following suggestions are made in this regard:

(i) In every State, the post of the Director of Public Prosecution should be created,

if not already created, and should be filled up from among suitable police officers

of the rank of DGP in consultation with the Advocate General of the State.

(ii) The Assistant Public Prosecutors and Prosecutors (other than the State Public

Prosecutor in the High Court) shall be subject to the administrative and

disciplinary control of the Director of Prosecutions.

(iii) The duties of the Director, inter alia, are to facilitate effective coordination

between the investigating and prosecuting officers and to review their work and

meeting with the Public Prosecutors, Additional Public Prosecutors (APPs) and

Assistant Public Prosecutors from time to time for that purpose.

(iv) The Director must function under the guidance of the Advocate General.

24
http://publicprosecution.blogspot.in. Public Prosecutor: Role/Problem and Suggestion, 2014.

206
(v) All appointments to Assistant Public Prosecutors shall be through competitive

examination held by the Public Service Commission having jurisdiction.

(vi) 50% of the vacancies in the posts of Public Prosecutors or Additional Public

Prosecutors at District level in each State shall be filled up by selection and

promotion on seniority-cum-merit from the Assistant Public Prosecutors.

(vii) Remaining 50% of the posts of Public Prosecutors or Additional Public

Prosecutor shall be filled by selection from a panel prepared in consultation with

District Magistrates and District Judges.

(viii) No person appointed as APP or promoted as Public Prosecutor shall be posted

in the Home district to which he belongs or where he was practicing.

(ix) Public Prosecutors appointed directly from the Bar shall hold office for a period

of three years. However, the State may appoint the Special Public Prosecutor from

the Bar for any class of cases for a specified period.

(x) While appointing of Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors,

sufficient representation shall be given to women.

(xi) Assistant Public Prosecutors should be given intensive training, both theoretical

and practical. Persons in service should be given periodical in-service training.

(xii) To provide promotional avenues and to use their expertise. Posts be created in

institutions for Training for Prosecutors and Police Officers.

(xiii) To ensure accountability, the Director must call for reports in all cases that end

in acquittal, from the Prosecutor who conducted the case and the Superintendent

of Police of the District.

207
(xiv) All Prosecutors should work in close co-operation with the police department,

and assist in the speedy and efficient prosecution of criminal cases.

(xv) The Commissioner of Police / Dist. Supdt of Police may be empowered to hold

monthly review meetings of P.Ps / Additional PPs and APPs for ensuring proper

co-ordination and satisfactory functioning.

Suggestions for reduce delay on part of judiciary

(i) The paramount purpose of Criminal Justice is protection of the innocent and

punishment of the offenders. A victim for securing this end has to come to the

Criminal Court for punishing the offenders. But pro-longed pendency of cases

has created an insurmountable barrier in the dispensation of Criminal Justice.

This has cast a serious repercussion on the public-at-large. They had lost their

faith on the present system of the Criminal Justice administration. Huge numbers

of Criminal Cases pending for years together are creating unbearable mental and

economic pressure on the litigants of Criminal Justice system.25

In ordinate delay in the disposal of cases, thus not only curtails the rights of the

accused persons but also the rights of the victims in the Criminal Justice system. So, time

has now come to ponder over the matter seriously. For making the present system of

Criminal Justice more glamorous, more effective for rendering speedy Criminal Justice,

the following suggestions are made.

25
Banerjee, D. “A Profile of Criminal Courts”, p.2 submitted to the National University of Judicial
Sciences, Arayna Bhaban, Calcutta on 2-9-2000, in a meeting on Criminal Justice Project.

208
 i. All decisions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and High Courts on Article 21 of the

Constitution of India are to be observed with respect both in letter and in spirit for

rendering speedy Criminal Justice to the litigants of the Criminal Justice system.

ii. Large number of Criminal Courts are to be set up in those areas where large

number of cases are instituted and pending for disposal.

iii. All dilatory tactics for prolonging the trial of criminal cases by presenting various

types of petitions and adjournment petitions are to be dealt with strict interference.

iv. The system of consecutive trial is to be compulsorily adopted in all types of

criminal cases by following the spirit of Sec. 309, Cr.P.C.26

v. The system of plea-bargaining is to be compulsorily introduced in India, where the

accused persons will be at liberty to talk that with learned Magistrates in the open

Court to arrive at a reasonable penalty considering all the circumstances of the

offender. Plea-bargaining will be an effective attempt for rendering speedy criminal

justice.

vi. Where large number of cases are pending against the absconded of tenders. It is

to be seen and checked that those cases must not be pending for several years only

for execution of warrant against them.

vii. Special training to the learned Magistrates and the learned prosecutors is to be

imparted for effecting speedy Criminal Justice.

26
Power to postpone or adjourn proceedings, CrPC 1973.

209
viii. Where it is clear that the case of the prosecution is defective on the point of inves-

tigation or on the point of law or the witnesses are not available or dead or the

where about of the witnesses are not known to the prosecution, that case should not

be dragged unnecessarily by the prosecution and the case is to be closed.

ix. All the witnesses of the criminal cases must be vigilant in attending Courts, if a

witness goes to another place, he should immediately inform to the Investigation

Officer of the case his changed address.

x. All the Police Officers upon whom the order for execution of warrant against

accused and witnesses have been made, must be vigilant in executing the warrant

expeditiously.

xi. All the Investigating Officers of the concerned cases must be vigilant in

producing the witnesses in time in the courts. .

xii. The examination-in-chief and cross-ex-examinations should be complete in a day

and only in exceptional cases. It may be deferred. It is to be observed that the chief

and cross-examination do not unnecessarily harass a witness harassed for days

together. Irrelevant, unjustified, vexatious cross-examinations are not to be put to

the witnesses unnecessarily.

xiii. The Legal-aid clinic should have a definite role for growing awareness and law

consciousness regarding speedy criminal justice among the public Legal-aid clinic

may also try to augment the growing public awareness in respect of the different

210
 stages of criminal trial in details and also teach them, how delay is caused in the

expeditious disposal of Criminal Cases.

xiv. There should be a soothing relation between the bench and the bar for

implementing speedy Criminal Justice. Lawyers are the most important and

Indispensable parts of the Criminal Justice system. They can make the present

system of criminal justice more effective by co-operating with the Bench for speedy

disposal of criminal cases, speedy criminal justice thus depends on their co-

operation with the Bench.

xv. For lessening the workload of the Hon’ble High Courts, some powers of the

Hon’ble High Court u/s. 482 of Cr.P.C. 1973 may be extended to the Principal

District and Sessions Judges.27

More suggestions to improve the functioning of judiciary

(1) Intensive training should be imparted in theoretical, practical and in court

management to all the Judges.

(2) In the Supreme Court and High Courts, the respective Chief Justices should

constitute a separate criminal division consisting of such number of criminal benches

as may be required consisting of Judges who have specialized in criminal law.

(3) Vacancies in the criminal divisions should be filled up by appointing those who

have specialized knowledge in criminal law.

27
Saving of inherent powers of High Court, CrPC 1973.

211
(4) In the subordinate courts where there are more Judges of the same cadre at the

same place, as far as possible assigning of civil and criminal eases to the same Judge

every day should be avoided.

(5) A high power committee should be constituted to lay down the qualifications,

qualities and attributes regarding character and integrity that the candidate for the

High Court Judgeship should possess and’ specify the evidence or material necessary

to satisfy these requirements. Reasons should be recorded with reference to these

criteria by the selecting authority.

(6) The Chief Justice of the High Court may be empowered on the lines of U.S.

Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disabilities Act 1980 to do the

following:

i. Advise the Judge suitably

ii. Disable the Judge from hearing a particular class of cases.

iii. Withdrawing judicial work for a specified period.

iv. Advise the Judge to seek voluntary retirement.

v. Initiate action for impeachment.

(7) The Chief Justice of the High Court may issue circulars:

i. That immediately below the cause title of the judgement order the following

particulars shall be entered:

ii. Date of Conclusion of arguments.

iii. Date of reserving the judgement.

iv. Date of pronouncement of the judgement.

212
 v. At the bottom of the judgement the following particulars shall be entered:

a. Date when the dictation was completed.

b. Date hen typing was completed and placed before the Judge

c. The date when the Judge signed.

vi. The Court Officer shall enter in a separate register:

a. The time when the Judge assembled.

b. The time when the judge rose.

c. Copy of this record shall be sent to the Chief Justice on the same day and

put up on the notice board.28

Suggestions relating to witnesses

1. Witness who comes to assist the court should be treated with dignity and shown due

courtesy. An official should be assigned to provide assistance to him.

2. Separate place should be provided with proper facilities such as seating, resting,

toilet, drinking water etc. for the convenience of the witnesses in the court premises).

3. Rates of traveling and other allowance to the witness should be reviewed so as to

compensate him for the expenses that he incurs. Proper arrangements should be

made for payment of the allowances due to the witness on the same day when the

case is adjourned without examining the witness he should be paid T.A and D.A. the

same day.

4. A law should be enacted for giving protection to the witnesses and their family

members on the lines of the laws in USA and other countries).

28
Justice V.S. Malimath, Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Report, Volume I, India, March 2003, pp.281-282.

213
5. Courts should list the cases in such a manner as to avoid the witnesses being required

to come again and again for giving evidence. The trial should proceed on day to day

basis and granting of adjournments should be avoided. The Judge should be held

accountable for any lapse in this behalf. High Court should ensure due compliance

through training and supervision.

6. Evidence of Experts falling under Sections 291,29 29230 and 29331 of CrPC, the Court

may as far as possible received under Affidavit

7. DNA experts should be included in Subsection 4 of Section 293 of the Code.

8. The witness should be provided a seat for him to sit down and give evidence in the

court.

9. The Judge should be vigilant and regular cross-examination to prevent the witness

being subjected to harassment, annoyance or indignity. This should be ensured

through training and proper supervision by the High Courts.

10. Section 34432 of the Criminal Procedure Code may be suitably amended to require the

court to try the case summarily once it forms the opinion that the witness has

knowingly or willfully given false evidence or fabricated false evidence with the

intention that such evidence should be used in such proceeding. The expression

occurring in 344(1) to the effect “if satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in the

interest of justice that the witnesses should be tried summarily for giving or

fabricating as the case may be, false evidence” shall be deleted.

29
Deposition of Medical Witnesses, CrPC 1973
30
Evidence of Officers of Mint, CrPC 1973
31
Reports of Certain Government scientific experts, CrPC, 1973.
32
Summary procedure for trial for giving false evidence, CrPC 1973.

214
11. It is further recommended that the High Court may impress upon the subordinate

courts of their duty to resort to these provisions to curb the menace of perjury,

through training and calling for periodic reports.33

Conclusion

Administration of Justice is already heading towards a paralysed Coma stage and

if urgent steps are not taken on the above lines it will collapse totally and for ever on its

own weight of delay. The struggling suffocation syndrome of our Judicial Instruments

can usefully be cured by some suggestions indicated herein and by proper approach. In

this direction by meaningful and right thinking early endeavours. Qualified and trained

prosecutors shall have to be appointed and they should have the equal responsibility for

implementing speedy Criminal Justice without ignoring the victimological perspectives.

In India, however, no sincere effort has ever been made to improve the quality of the

management of prosecution. In order to increase the certainty of conviction and

punishment for the most serious offences and the worst offenders. There should be a

large setup like the Directorate of Prosecution under which all the prosecutors will work.

For uplifting the present system of Criminal Justice, Hon’ble Justice Wadhwa in Swaran

Singh v. State of Punjab observed that each trial should be properly monitored. Time has

come that all the Courts, District Courts, Subordinate Courts are linked to the High Court

with a Computer and a proper check is made on the adjournments and recording of

evidence. Learned Magistrates have to depend on the bench clerks; due to the excessive

work-load in the Court. So, the bench-clerks are also to be trained in effecting the speedy

disposal of criminal cases. The monumental heaps of old cases pending for execution of

33
Ibid., pp.284-285.

215
warrant against the accused persons in the Magistrate-Courts should be filed for the

present after several attempts and reminders as expeditiously as possible. A large portion

of the Court diary is congested with the old cases. These old cases are to be disposed of

quickly in comparison with new cases, All dilatory tactics causing delay of fair trial of

either side should be checked with severe strictures by imposition of lump-sum cost

under section 309.34 Explanation 2 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 so that they

become discouraged in such dilatory petitions, proceedings etc., in future. Finally,

popular consciousness is the only remedy; strong public opinion and strong public protest

can change such state of affairs. So, the public should be vigilant and come forward to

remove these difficulties.35

The present Chief Justice of India, Tirath Singh Thakur launched a scathing

attack on government in action, blaming the Centre for stalling appointment of Judges to

the High Courts and doing nothing in crease the number of courts and judges they

denying the poor and under trail prisoners their due to justice.

On the eve of annual Chief Ministers and Chief Justices conference held on 24-04-

2016 i.e., on Sunday, the Chief Justice asked what was the point of ‘Make in India’ and

inviting foreign direct investments when investors would worry about timely delivery of

justice in case of litigation. Therefore, not only in the name of litigant, the poor litigant

languishing in jail but also in the name of the country and progress.36

*****

34
Power to postpone or adjourn proceedings, CrPC 1973.
35
Some suggestions for Expeditious Disposal of Criminal Cases, Journal, pp.69-71.
36
The Hindu, daily newspaper dt.25-4-2016, p.1.

216