On Monday, in a letter addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Bar Council of Delhi has asked for inclusion of Bar Members as representatives in the Central Committee for Reforms in Criminal Law.
The Bar Council expressed its thoughtfullness towards various lapses in Criminal Laws right from 'sluggish investigations' to "street trials' and most importanatly eroding public confidence in the Police.
The letter mentioned the existing Police model is incapable to render speedy and fair justice which makes it necessary to introduce substantial Police Reforms.
The letter to this regard read:
"The legal community in India has many well experienced experts in criminal law and by virtue of their dealing with criminal cases extensively, they can help the government for bringing a better system and suggest suitable amendments. The Bar Council of India and other state bar councils, along with experts on the subject can provide better inputs-with their vast experience, but so far they have not been included in the High power committee. We hope that the Government of India will include representative of the Bar Councils to help in introduction of a better system,"
The Bar further cited glaring examples of crime against women such as the Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case and the Hyderabad Rape Case and pointed out that there exists a widespread 'public discontentment' due to 'lackadaisical approach' of the Police Department towards sych sensitive cases.
The Council thus has suggested introduction of 'drastic amendments' in procedural laws to provide for an effective preventive mechanism in order to conduct fair and honest investigation.
The letter stated:
"Any lapse at any stage must face serious consequences, even imposition of imprisonment.The stories of investigations and trials of criminal cases has always been a> subject matter of intense criticism, be it crime relating to women or any other crime. The fact of the matter is that despite repeated efforts, a viable criminal justice system could not be put in place. Your kind attention is drawn to the Justice Malimath commission report which has extensively examined various aspects of criminal law and made recommendations long back but no final decision was taken on the recommendations. It's high time when Government must take a call to revamp or Change the system drastically."
Along with the above, the Council also batted for appropriate amendments to the Information Technology Act and demanded establishment of Cybercrime Cells in each Police Station. It put out:
"The websites and other internet service providers making pornographic material easily available must be checked and stopped, no matter who they are. They should be made liable and be punished with stringent punishments of minimum 3 years, including heavy fine,"
Concern has also been raised in the letter regarding the need for a serious debate for a 'better social environment'.
The Council has called for gettng rid of deteriorating socio-economic conditions and misuse of internet which contributes majorly in crime against women and children.
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