The Indian criminal justice system immediately needs to be made more victim-centric. Ending the backlog of cases in the judiciary, abandoning overcriminalization, ensuring police accountability and giving up colonial tactics are the way forward.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently stated that India’s criminal justice system is set to undergo a “major overhaul.” Later, he
Criminal Law Research & Review
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Fair Disclosure of Evidence to the Accused: Is CrPC Itself a Serious Impediment?
Introduction
Wrongful prosecutions are not uncommon or unheard of in the Indian criminal legal system, numerous cases concerning this issue are often not even brought to light. In a number of instances, it so happens that the prosecution itself is the cause for such wrongful convictions. The prosecution with an inherently prejudiced mindset towards the…
Bridging the Gap – POCSO over IPC?
India’s Attempt at Child Protection – The POCSO Act
The National Crime Reporting Bureau reported that crimes against children saw an increase of 529 percent or five times in the decade of 2005-15. Child rape and ‘penetrative sexual assault’ alone quadrupled – these incidents saw a staggering increase of 408 percent. A need was felt…
Finding the Truth or Belling the Cats: Tracing the Misuse of Sec 311 of the CrPC
“Every criminal trial is a voyage of discovery in which truth is the quest.“
Introduction
The right to a free and fair trial is a human right, and therefore, is a sin qua non of Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The very objective of the Criminal Procedure is to…
Victim Compensation: From Figurative Justice to a Robust Support Mechanism
The Victim Compensation Scheme envisaged under Section 357A attempts to bolster victims’ rights and support their journey towards justice. But more often than not, the victim compensation scheme is beset with legal and practical issues. These range from incongruencies in the compensation amounts and framework of victim compensation in different states to inefficient nodal agencies…
Case Summary – Right against Sexual Harassment Invested in All u/ Art 21
Union of India and Ors v. Mudrika Singh: Civil Appeal No. 6859 of 2021
Bench: Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna.Counsel: Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan for the appellants and Advocate Rabin Majumder for the respondent.
It is also important to be mindful of the dynamics that are mired in sexual harassment at the workplace.…
Overdependence on Criminal Laws – Reflective of Society’s Inability to Handle Conflict by Other Means?
Introduction
The essay deals with the theme of criminal laws and our overdependence on them to the extent where it reflects poorly on our ability to handle human conflict by any other means. With a multitude of systems at hand affecting individual freedom and social stability, we first question if there even is an overdependence.…
Do Magistrates have Power to Extend Time for Detention & Investigation of UAPA Offences u/ Sec 167, CrPC?
Recently, the Supreme Court has affirmed that a Magistrate cannot grant extensions to investigation agencies for the purpose of carrying out investigations under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) when the accused is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). This decision was made by relying on the case…
Marital Rape in India: Perpetuating the Patriarchy Through Law
Introduction
Rape, as defined under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, is the offence of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a woman, against her will. However, Exception 2 to the law immunizes the offence in the event that the woman in question is the wife of the perpetrator. Herein, the Indian Law legalizes the offence…
Explainer | Notary Advocates & Oath Commissioners
Notary
Notary, or also known as a seal of authentication acts as an affirmation as to the provided information being true in the eyes of law. Sec 139, Code of Civil Procedure expressly specifies that any affidavit verified by a Notary is acceptable as evidence. Affidavits confirmed by the Notary are also admissible under Sec…