Criminal Justice System (CJS) is a law enforcement system involving apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of illegal activities. It includes the judiciary, police and the prosecutors. An efficient CJS aims to safeguard the liberty and rights of citizens.
Challenges before the Indian Criminal Justice System (CJS):
• High pendency rates, both with courts and police
• Faulty or haphazard investigations of crimes
• Expensive legal procedures
• Delayed trials
• Low rate of conviction
• Overburdened Courts
• Absence of Checks and Balances
• Outdated Legislations
• Lack of synergy among the different components of CJS
• Rise in cyber crimes
• No accountability
• Judicial Corruption
• Inconsistent application of laws
• Huge number of undertrial prisoners
• No focus on reformative justice
• Deficient Training
• Absence of professional autonomy
Reforms Needed:
• Formation of a Criminal Justice Reform Committee to evolve criminal justice policy
• Use of cutting edge technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), DBMS, ERP tools to reduce the workload and pending cases. For instance, in 2019, Staqu launched its video analytics platform, JARVIS (Joint AI Research for Video Instances and Streams) to offer several services like violence, pick-pocketing detection, among others.
• Strict punishment for false cases’ registration
• Creating an Indian Judicial Service (IJS) to create a large pool of dedicated judges
• Prevent unnecessary detention and strengthen prison oversight
• Focus more on the ground level and district courts relatively. High-level teams must be constituted to visit the district courts to report what is lacking in terms of infrastructure and facilities.
• Proper Budgetary Allocations
• Haryana’s recent decision to form the district nodal agency (DNA) and the state nodal agency (SNA) is worth emulating as it will act as a milestone in the CJS.
• Restoring faith in the judiciary and ensuring speedy justice
• Prescribe time limits for all cases
• Promote Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms
A dysfunctional CJS not only hinders the rule of law but also impedes internal security and societal harmony. Hence, it is the need of the hour to bring in reforms to tackle the unprecedented challenges being faced by our judicial system.
As Winston Churchill had aptly said, “The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country.”
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