Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Page | 1
constitution envisaged the judiciary to be proactive in achieving justice social, economic and
political (Preamble and Art. 38). After independence it was expected that our District Judiciary
would rise to be expectations reflected in the constitution. But the British Indian mould of our
judiciary well versed in the implementation of preconstitutional laws like the IPC, Cr.PC, CPC,
Evidence Act etc. and cast in the form of a law and order machinery as the bastion of the strong
administration was reticent in getting into the role of a proactive agent of social change. This
reticence still persists despite the frequent exhortations by the apex court and others. Old habits
die hard. But we have to activate ourselves if we are to achieve the aims set by our founding
fathers.
In fact the preconstitutional laws like IPC, Cr.PC, Evidence Act, CPC etc. despite their
being preconstitutional enable the courts to be proactive and to achieve the new role assigned to
them by the constitution. Interestingly if willing, the courts could also give the impression of
resorting to balancing of the private and public interests while deciding cases under these
statutes. This is because of the primordial role assigned to them by the statutes. This situation
helps the courts with imagination to interpret the statute law in accordance with the
constitutional vision. An examination of these statutes indicate that they are court centric
enabling them to play the lead role. This becomes clear if one examines the application of
provisions of IPC, Evidence Act or Cr.PC.
Let us examine, by way of example, the application of IPC provisions in certain fact
situations. In the case of application of mistake of fact as a defence, the concept of reasonable
man comes quite often tainted by the segment of society the judge belongs. This is so when one
applies sudden and grave provocation, insanity defence, right of private defence etc. etc. This
can be brought home by way of an analysis of the decision in Ram Bahadur Thapa v. State of
Orissa3, wherein a Gurkha happened to kill and injure several persons by way of his knife
mistaking them to be evil spirits during night. The Orissa High Court granted him the defence
of mistake of fact saying that he actually by mistake thought his victims to be evil spirits. Still,
the question whether the man exercised ordinary prudence of a reasonable man could be raised
against this decision. Similarly, an analysis of Madhavan v. State of Kerala4 also indicates that
the reasonable man who is suddenly provoked could be different depending upon the segments
3 AIR 1960 Ori 161
Page | 3
of society to which the judge belongs. The decisions in Cherubin Gregory v. State of Bihar5 and
Ashraf v. State of Kerala6 could be analyzed to show how the court could respond differently in
appreciating the similar fact-situations viz-a-viz the same statutory provision in the IPC.
It is fruitful to examine the various provisions in the Indian Evidence Act to show that
the Indian System empowers the judge to do justice in criminal cases. Leaving apart the
malleability or manoevrability of provisions like S-8, 9 etc, the provision in S-165 declares in
unequivocal terms the supremacy of the Indian trial judge in conducting the trials. It enacts:
The judge may, in order to discover or to obtain proper proof of relevant facts, ask any
question he pleases, in any form, at any time, of any witness, or of the parties, about any fact
relevant or irrelevant; and may order the production of any document or thing; and neither the
parties nor their agents shall be entitled to make any objection to any such question or order,
nor, without the leave of the court, to cross examine any witness upon any answer given in reply
to any such question.7
Provided that the judgment must be based upon facts declared by this Act to be relevant,
and duly proved:
Provided also that this section shall not authorize any judge to compel any witness to
answer any question, or to produce any document which such witness would be entitled to
refuse to answer or produce under sections 121 to 131, both inclusive, if the question were
asked or the document were called for by the adverse party; nor should the judge ask any
question which it would be improper for any other person to ask under section 148 or 149 nor
shall he dispense with primary evidence of any document, except in the cases hereinbefore
excepted.
4 AIR 1966 Ker 258. It was a case where the husband was found to have been suddenly provoked by the
throw of the mangal sutra at him by his wife. There could be difference of opinion as to prudent man in
the same circumstances if the judge is of a different hue and holds different view
5 (1964) 1 Cri. L.J. 138
6 1993 1 KLT 501
7 Ram Chander v. State of Haryana, 1981 SCC (Cri.) 683, Vincent v. State of Kerala.
Page | 4
Apart from other relevant provisions, section 310 Cr.PC becomes quite relevant while
considering the position of the trial judge in dealing with evidence. Section 310 Cr.PC enacts:
310. Local Inspection (1) Any judge or Magistrate may, at any stage of any inquiry,
trial or other proceeding, after new notice to the parties, visit and inspect any place in
which an offence is alleged to have been committed, or any other place which it is in
his opinion necessary to view for the purpose of properly appreciating the evidence
given at such inquiry or trial, and shall without unnecessary delay record a
memorandum of any relevant facts observed at such inspection.
(2) Such memorandum shall form part of the record of the case and if the prosecutor,
complainant or accused or any other party to the cases, so desires, a copy of the
memorandum shall be furnished to him free of cost. 8
How enabling it is to deliver justice in a case becomes evident if one ventures to
exercise this power. Criminal Procedure Code, right from arrest of the accused till the
finalization of the case seems to repose maximum faith on the judicial officer.
Theoretically speaking, a person is restrained from movement by way of arrest when he
is accused of a cognizable case by the police the representative of the society. The accusation is
brought before the magistrate the independent and impartial authority interposed between the
individual and the society. It is therefore the magistrate to resolve the conflict. The magistrate is
also authorized to peruse the records of his arrest, deal with the request for remand, bail etc. S44 authorizes the magistrate to effect arrest. It declares thus:
44. Arrest by magistrate: When any offence is committed in the presence of a
magistrate, whether Executive or Judicial, within his local jurisdiction, he may
himself arrest or order any person to arrest the offender, and may thereupon,
subject to the provisions herein contained as to bail, commit the offender to
custody.9
Sec.5710 makes it obligatory for the arrested person to be brought before the magistrate
within 24 hours of the arrest. In fact this provision reflects Art. 22 of the constitution which in
material part lays down thus:
Art. 22. (1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being
informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be
denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his
choice.
(2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced
before the nearest magistrate, within a period of 24 hours of such arrest
excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the
court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody
beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
Examination of various provisions dealing with initiation of investigation and trial, at
every stage shows the tremendous faith the system reposes on our judiciary. While S-157
requires a copy of the FIR to be forwarded to the magistrate S-156 (3) empowers the magistrate
to order investigation independently of police. S-159 authorizes the magistrate to hold
investigation or preliminary inquiry. The power for remand and granting of default bail rests
again with the magistrate. While the policy of the code seems to keep the investigation close to
the chest of the police, S-172 shows its faith in the impartiality of the judge. For S-172 (2)
enacts thus:
(2) Any criminal court may send for the police diaries of a case under inquiry or trial in
such court, and may use such diaries, not as evidence in the case, but to aid it in such
inquiry or trial
The report of the investigation is also to be submitted to the court under S-173. 11 The
provisions enabling the court to inquire into the cause of death (S-174) avoiding presence of the
10 Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar (1981) SCC (Cri.) 228
11 The accused has a right to fair investigation; Manu Sharmas decision, (2010) 6 SCC 1; See also observations
in Zakira Sheikh (2004) 4 SCC 158 with regard to the duties of the court.
Page | 6
accused from appearing before the court (S-205) supply of copies of documents to the parties
(S-207) framing of the charges etc. are to be attended by the court.
If there is no case found against a person it is for the magistrate to record it and
discharge him. Similarly, on charges being found not sustainable it is for the court to record
acquittal. In the case of trial before a court of sessions also the position of the judge is above all.
It is for him to consider discharge (S-227), framing of charge (S-228) or conviction on plea (S229).
In chapter XIX on trial of warrant cases by magistrates it is again the court which plays
the active role. It is for it to see whether supply of copies of documents has been complied with
and to discharge the person if no prima facie case is found (S-239). If not discharged, again it is
the court which frames the charge (S-240) and proceeds further.
The new chapter XXI-A on plea bargaining also emphasizes the role of the court in the
working of the scheme (S-265 A265 H).
The court is empowered to summon new witness (S-311), get the signature or
handwriting samples (S-311 A), obtain a statement of the accused direct from him (S-313) and
to examine the accused as a witness if he so desires (S-315). The court can also dispense with
the presence of accused in certain cases (S-317).
One of the important provisions in chapter XXIV is S-319 enabling the court to proceed
against other persons appearing to be guilty of offence. Though its dimensions are yet to be
explored it may be stated that this is a very strong provision empowering the court to initiate
criminal proceedings against a person if the court is satisfied about such a step having regard to
the evidence in the case.
In effecting compounding of offences (S-320) and withdrawal of case also the courts
role is pivotal. The Cr.PC makes provisions enabling the magistrate not to commit any mistake
as to his jurisdiction for trial or punishment of an offence (See S-323, 324, 326 etc.).
The code also provides for the trial and punishment of offense affecting administration
of justice. Under this chapter XXVI also it is the court which has the power to deal with these
offences. Section 344 provides for a summary procedure for trial for giving false evidence.
Page | 7
Section 348 empowers the court to discharge the offender on tendering of apology whereas S349 enables the court to impose punishment for refusing to answer courts questions.
Some of the important provisions the court should focus are the sections, dealing with
payment of compensation (S-357) victim compensation12 (S-357-A), payment of compensation
for groundless arrest13 (S-358) and the statutory obligation to consider release of persons on
probation (S-360 and 361).
In short, the District Judiciary has ample powers in all the matters connected with
criminal justice administration14. Some of the powers given to the court go to the extent of
reposing much faith on the courts for the protection of the accused. Simultaneously, it is
believed that the court will also look into the interests of the society though the police and
public prosecutors would be primarily taking care of the societal interests. The provisions in the
Cr.PC and Evidence Act are indeed judge centric and therefore the, judges role as protector of
the individuals interests and societys interests assumes importance and deserves emphasis.
conduct the cases through their own lawyers in respect of private complaints. Private complaint
under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is one such example. The CrPC
elaborates the procedure to be followed in every investigation, inquiry and trial, for every
offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law. It divides the procedure to be
followed for administration of criminal justice into three stages: namely investigation, inquiry
and trial.
In brief, the objective of investigation is to collect evidence for the purpose of any inquiry or
trial.16 Investigation is a preliminary stage enquiry conducted by the Police and usually starts
after the recording of a First Information Report (FIR) in the Police Station (Section 154-155 of
the Code). If the officer-in-charge of a police station suspects the commission of an offence
from statement of FIR or when the magistrate directs or otherwise, the officer or any
subordinate officer is duty-bound to proceed to the spot to investigate the facts and
circumstances of the case and if necessary, take measures for the discovery and arrest of the
offender.
Investigation primarily consists of ascertaining facts and circumstances of the case. It includes:
i) The collection of evidence;
ii) Inspection of the place of occurrence of the commission of the crime;
iii) Ascertainment of facts and circumstances;
iv) Discovery of any article or object used for the commission of the crime;
v) Arrest of the suspected offender;
vi) Interrogation and examination of various persons including the accused and
taking of their statements in writing;.
vii) Search of places or seizure of things considered necessary for the investigation
and considered to be material at the time of the trial, etc.
16 Zahira Habibulla H Sheikh & Anr v. State Of Gujarat & Ors, (2004) 4 SCC 158.
Page | 9
Investigation ends in a police report to the Magistrate. Once the investigation is completed, the
matter will be brought before the Magistrate or the concerned court. Inquiry is the second stage
of the process wherein a Magistrate seeks to find out whether the accused should be committed
to the Sessions or discharged. According to Section 2 (g) of the CrPC, "inquiry" means every
inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under this Code by a Magistrate or Court. In other words,
inquiry refers to proceedings before a Magistrate prior to the framing of the charge which does
not result in conviction of the accused. Trial is judicial determination of a person's guilt or
innocence. Trial is a proceeding which involves examination and determination of the cause by
a judicial tribunal, and which ends in conviction or acquittal of the accused. In India, the system
of criminal trial envisaged by the CrPC is the adversary system based on the accusatorial
method. In this system the prosecutor representing the State (or the peoples) accuses the
defendant (the accused person) of the commission of some crime; the law requires him to prove
his case beyond reasonable doubt. The accused person is presumed to be innocent unless his
guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt (presumption of innocence). Presumption of innocence
is one of the cardinal principles of the Indian criminal justice system.
HIERARCHY
INDIA
OF
CRIMINAL COURTS
IN
Article 21 of the Constitution relating to right to life and liberty of the victims. This is indeed a
welcome step in the area of criminal justice system.
Yet another significant development in the functioning of the Supreme Court in dispensation of
criminal case is its activism in warning the erring governments against abuse of power and
authority. Highlighting the activist role of the Supreme Court, Justice Ganguly of the Court,
who was probing into the 2-G spectrum scam case, observed, Courts are now widening their
jurisdiction and becoming the institutions of governance and are not merely as arbitrators of
disputes.
Courts of Session:
As per Section 9 of CrPC, the court is established by the State Government for every sessions
division. The court is presided over by a Judge, appointed by the High Court of that particular
state. The High Court may also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions
Judges in this court. It has the power to impose any sentence including capital punishment.
In certain cases, Assistant Sessions Judges are also appointed to work in the Sessions Court. The
Sessions Judge or the Additional Sessions Judge is empowered to pass any sentence authorised
by law but any sentence of death awarded by him must be confirmed by the High Court to
which he is subordinate.
The Assistant Sessions Judges, however, are not competent to award a sentence of death,
imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding ten years. The Sessions Court
exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction. The appointments of the Sessions Judges,
Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions Judges are made by the High Court of the
concerning State with a view to maintaining the independence of the judiciary.
Page | 11
Page | 12
second class as Special Judicial Magistrates functioning under the Chief Judicial Magistrate for
the administration of criminal justice in the Division.
Besides the criminal courts mentioned above, the President of India and the Governors of the
State have also been conferred certain judicial powers of sentencing the convicted persons.
They have power to grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remission of punishment or to suspend,
remit or commute the sentence in certain cases.
In addition to the Judicial Magistrates, Executive Magistrates are also appointed by the State
Government in each district. One of the Executive Magistrates is appointed as the District
Magistrate and all the Executive Magistrates except Additional District Magistrate are
subordinate to him.
These Magistrates belong to the executive branch of the Government and therefore, their
appointment is not controlled by the High Court. The functions assigned to executive
Magistrates include trial of offences involving preventive action, disputes concerning
immovable property and offences relating to public nuisance and breach of peace.
Metropolitan Magistrates:
The Courts of Metropolitan Magistrates were created by Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure
Code. The Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and those of The Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrates were created by Section 17 of the Code. Section 18 of the Code also
provided for Special Metropolitan Magistrates. The towns having population exceeding one
million could be declared as Metropolitan Areas. A Metropolitan magistrate is under the general
control of the Sessions Judge and is subordinate to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
It must be stated that in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the provisions of the old Code
relating to the Presidency Magistrates in the Presidency Towns of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras
have been retained but in a different form. The Code provides for the establishment of Courts of
Metropolitan Magistrates in Metropolitan areas instead of Presidency Magistrates.
Metropolitan Area, for the purpose of the Code of Criminal Procedure means any area in the
State comprising a city or town whose population exceeds one million and is so declared by
notification of the State Government, It therefore, follows that a city or town having its
Page | 13
population over one million does not automatically become a Metropolitan Area unless it is so
declared and notified by the State Government.
The High Court shall appoint a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in each Metropolitan area. It may
also appoint an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The powers and functions of the
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate are analogous to
those of Chief Judicial Magistrate and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrates of the Districts.
Similarly, one or more Special Metropolitan Magistrate may be appointed in the Metropolitan
area who have the same powers as Special Judicial Magistrates of the second class in the
district.
Executive Magistrates:
In every district and in every metropolitan area, the State Government may appoint as many
persons as it thinks fit to be Executive Magistrates and shall appoint one of them to be the
District Magistrate.
The State Government may appoint any Executive Magistrate to be an Additional District
Magistrate and such Magistrate shall have such of the powers of a District Magistrate under this
Code or under any other law for the time being in force as may be directed by the State
Government.
Page | 14
of the matter the cause of justice is first answered. The personalities, knowledge,
judicial restraint, capacity to maintain dignity are the additional aspects which go into
making the Courts functioning successful.
Mentioning the high expectations of society from the judges, he further advices:
A judge ought to be wise enough to know that he is fallible and therefore, ever ready to
learn and be courageous enough to acknowledge his errors.
Right to speedy trial is implicit in the right to life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21.20
However, there is a huge pendency of criminal cases and inordinate delay in the disposal of the
same on the one hand and very low rate of conviction in cases involving serious crime.
As per the latest amendment, Section 309 of the Cr.PC has been inserted with an
explanation to its sub-clause. With an aim to speed-up trials, the amendment states that no
adjournment should be granted at the partys request, nor can the partys lawyer being engaged
in another court be ground for adjournment. Section 309 contains a mandatory provision that in
every inquiry or trial the proceedings shall be held as expeditiously as possible and in particular
when the examination of witnesses has once begun the same shall be continued from day to day
until all witnesses in attendance have been examined unless the court finds the adjournment of
the case beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded. When the enquiry
or trial relates to an offence under Section 376 to 376D IPC, the same shall be completed within
a period of two months from the date of commencement of the examination of witnesses.
The introduction of Plea Bargaining included under sections 265A to 265L of the Code
of Criminal Procedure has also been noticed very effectively. Judicial Officers must be aware of
offences affecting the socio-economic condition of the country for the purpose of Section
265A. A judge should be well versed with the latest amendments and further developments
which take place in law and put them into practice to give effect to the intent of the legislature
which is to speed up the process of delivering justice.
Section 165 of the Indian Evidence Act grants sweeping powers to the Judge to put
questions. The rationale for giving such sweeping powers is to discover the truth and indicative
20 The Constitution of India, 1950.
Page | 16
evidence. Counsel seeks only clients success; but the Judge must watch justice triumphs. If
criminal court is to be an effective instrument in dispensing justice, Presiding Officer must
cease to be a spectator and mere a recording machine. He must become an active participant in
the trial evincing intelligence and active interest by putting questions to witness in order to
ascertain the truth.
The Code of Criminal Procedure delineates the powers and functions of judicial
magistrates at every stage both pre-trial, during trial and post-trial. I am confident that you are
aware of these provisions and the same require no repetition. However, I wish to remind you
that these powers and functions bestowed upon you are to be exercised as public trust in full
compliance with the Constitutional mandates of fair and speedy trial for both the accused and
the complainant.
Criminal system to be truly just must be free of bias. There should be judicial fairness
otherwise the public faith in rule of law would be broken.
One of the cardinal principles of criminal law is that everyone is presumed to be
innocent unless his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt in a trial before an impartial and
competent court. Justice requires that no one be punished without a fair trial and judicial
officers play their part in ensuring the same.
FAIR
DUTIES OF MAGISTRATE
It is well settled today that the accused has fundamental right to know the grounds of his
arrest, right to legal aid in case he is indigent, right to consult his lawyer and such other rights
guaranteed by Constitution and equivalent safeguards incorporated in CrPC. Lets pause here
and dwell more on the corresponding duties of a magistrate in ensuring fair trial to the accused.
Article 22(2) provides that every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be
produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of such arrest and no one
shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate. The
magistrate can pass order of remand to authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as
such magistrate thinks fit, for a term not exceeding 15 days in the whole. Justice Bhagwati
Page | 17
Further, in Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar25, it was held that it is
the duty of the magistrate to inform the accused that he has a right to be released on bail on
expiry of statutory period of 90 or 60 days as the case may be. Suffice is to say that magistrates
are the best persons to oversee that the accused is not denied his rights.
We must not forget that ensuring criminal justice requires cooperation of the two arms of
the state directly involved i.e. the judiciary and the police machinery. While direct interference
is not desirable in investigation process, the magistrate is kept in the picture at all the stages of
the police investigation. On a conjoint reading of section 57 and 167 of the Code, it is clear that
the legislative intention was to ensure speedy investigation after a person has been taken in
custody. It is expected that investigation is completed within 24 hours and if not possible within
15 days.
The role of magistrate is to oversee the course of investigation and prevent abuse of law
by investigating agency. However, you must understand that your role is complementary to that
of police. In doing so, you must preside without fear or favour.
LAW
ON
ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE
The proliferation of computers, the social influence of information technology and the
ability to store information in digital form have all required Indian law to be amended to include
provisions on the appreciation of digital evidence. In the year 2000 Parliament enacted the
Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, which amended the existing Indian statutes to allow for
the admissibility of digital evidence. The IT Act is based on the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law which adopted the Model Law on Electronic Commerce together with
providing amendments to the Indian Evidence Act 1872, the Indian Penal Code 1860 and the
Bankers Book Evidence Act 1891, recognizing transactions that are carried out through
electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication. Digital knowledge
has become prerequisite for effective judgeship.
such that a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may have to be passed, he
can do so after hearing the parties and recalling any witness who may have been examined.
Under this provision, so far as practicable, the Magistrate is expected to conduct the trial
on a day-to day basis until its conclusion and conclude the trial within six months from the date
of filing of the complaint. Further, section 147 makes the offence punishable under section 138
of the Act compoundable i.e. it can be settled between the parties. The court can note the same
and record the settlement reached. In Damodar S Prabhu v. Sayed Babalal28, the Court laid
down certain broad guidelines to ensure that application for compounding is made at an early
stage of trial. The guideline empowers the magistrate to:
a. Give directions making it clear to the accused that he could make an application for
compounding of the offences at the first or second hearing of the case and that if such
an application is made, compounding may be allowed by the court without imposing
any costs on the accused.
b. If the accused does not make an application for compounding as aforesaid, then if an
application for compounding is made before the Magistrate at a subsequent stage,
compounding can be allowed subject to the condition that the accused will be required
to pay 10% of the cheque amount to be deposited as a condition for compounding with
the Legal Services Authority, or such authority as the Court deems fit.
The court further observed that:
Complaints are being increasingly filed in multiple jurisdictions in a vexatious manner
which causes tremendous harassment and prejudice to the drawers of the cheque. We
direct that it should be mandatory for the complainant to disclose that no other
complaint has been filed in any other court in respect of the same transaction. Such a
disclosure should be made on a sworn affidavit which should accompany the complaint
filed under Section 200 of the CrPC.