Southern States - Karnataka   

Implement Malimath panel report, Centre urged

By Our Special Correspondent

GULBARGA Sept. 13. The Home Minister, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, has urged the Union Government to implement the recommendations of the Justice V.S. Malimath Committee on Reforms in the Criminal Justice System.

Inaugurating the first ever range-level conference on Criminal Justice System involving police, prosecution, judiciary, and Revenue Department officials here, Mr. Kharge said some of the recommendations made by the State Government to the Justice Malimath Committee had been incorporated in the report.

He said people were losing faith in the criminal justice system due to the low rate of conviction, and it was the responsibility of police, prosecutors, and the judiciary to join hands to renew the faith in the system by improving the conviction rate. Although the conviction rate of 28 per cent in the State was better than the national average of 16 per cent, Mr. Kharge said all-out efforts should be made to increase the rate to at least 80 per cent.

Stressing the need for amending some provisions in the Indian Penal Code and the Cr.PC, Mr. Kharge said the Justice Malimath Committee had made valuable recommendations for amending the existing Acts to improve the conviction rate, and the Union Government should not delay in implementing the recommendations.

Mr. Kharge said one of the major reasons for the failure of cases filed by the prosecution was the witnesses turning hostile, and the Justice Malimath Committee had recommended amending Section 152 of the Evidence Act to provide protection to the witness.

He said that there was a need for raising awareness among the general public, particularly those who come forward to be witnesses in criminal cases, to adopt a victim-friendly stance and take into consideration the plight of the victim due to the injury caused by the accused.

At present, society adopted an "accused-friendly stance" and there was a tendency to pardon the accused after some time without taking into consideration the damaged caused to the victim.

Mr. Kharge said the observations of the Supreme Court in the Best Bakery case should serve as a warning for prosecutors and investigating agencies to function impartially. Referring to the observations against the Gujarat Government, Mr. Kharge said the Supreme Court had set guidelines for how the prosecution and the police should function to get justice to the victims and punish the guilty.

He said the apex court had made it clear that democracy did not mean that anybody could do anything and get away with it.

The Director of Prosecution, Mr. Devappa, while endorsing Mr. Kharge's views on the implementation of the Justice Malimath Committee report, called for an overhaul of the system to instil confidence in the minds of the people who seek justice.

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