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Defective probe is not enough for acquittal
New Delhi - While it is true that no innocent should suffer punishment, it
is also necessary that no person involved in a crime must ever be acquitted.
But there are acquittals galore in criminal cases, much to the chagrin of
the victims. A recent Rajasthan HC judgment acquitting all the persons who
murdered four of their relatives living next door 10 years ago demonstrated
how judicial perception weighed heavily in favour of judicial discretion.
Later, the Supreme Court's judgment, on an appeal by Prithvi, who was 13
years then and had survived the attack, undid the injustice. Having referred
to an earlier case law often relied on by Trial Courts, the Bench made a
crucial observation: "To our mind, it appears that unless one went about
looking for lacunae, there was no justification to brush aside evidence
corroborated by other evidence on record."
The Times of India - March 1, 2004.
Pseudo-Science in Crime Investigation
The Bombay High Court recently ruled that subjecting six of the accused in
the multi-crore rupee fake stamp paper case to "certain physical tests
involving minimal bodily harm", such as, narcoanalysis, lie detector tests,
and brain mapping did not violate their constitutional rights, specifically
the protection against self-incrimination guaranteed by Article 20(3).
According to some, this ruling opens the door to a systematic violation of
human rights through the use of coercive pseudo-scientific practices
masquerading as forensic methodology. The judicial sanction for these
methods rests on the argument that the protection of Article 20(3) does not
apply at the investigative stage.
The Hindu - March 11, 2004.
Reform reaches the courts
This week, in an intriguing move, Japan's cabinet approved a bill that
allows for serious criminal cases to be tried no longer by judges alone but
by mixed panels on which lay people will predominate. The hope is to break
what amounts to an overcosy relationship between Japan's police and its
judges. The police brings charges to court only when they have a cast-iron
case, almost always based on a confession, and the courts almost invariably
convict. In the legal world, it is not just the criminal justice system that
is under review, there are also several proposals for reform of various
aspects of civil justice, including a wholesale tidying-up of Japan's
convoluted system of administrative law.
Time - March 15, 2004.
Humour in Justice:
Cricketspeak
New Delhi - March 17, 2004 - When there was no end to arguments and
counter-arguments, the Chief Justice of India, V.N. Khare, asked the counsel
to stop, as he was to dictate the order. Senior counsel for Modi
Entertainment Network, Harish Salve, intervened and said: "It is like
slog-over batting in an India-Pakistan match." When Kapil Sibal, senior
counsel for Ten Sports, wanted to say something, the Chief Justice said:
"This is the last ball." Mr. Sibal persisted and said that no signals should
go from the Supreme Court that in an era of globalisation and
liberalization, an international contract like this was not safe to be dealt
within India. He said the ruling would have an impact on foreign investors
coming to India. The Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee, took serious exception
to this and said: "This amounts to terrorizing the court." At this juncture,
Justice Santosh Hegde intervened and said that "It is a no ball."
Thereafter, the Bench passed the interim order.
The Hindu - March 18, 2004.
Food for Thoughts
Concentration is the secret of strengths in politics, in war, in trade and
in short, in all management of human affairs.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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A human being is happiest and most successful when
dedicated to a cause outside his own individual, selfish satisfaction.
-Benjamin Spock |
