Criminal Justice System in India

The aim of the Criminal Justice System is to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. Although the broad contours of the Criminal justice system are seldom codified, these can be inferred from different statutes, including the Constitution and judicial pronouncements. In a democratic civilized society, the Criminal Justice System is expected to provide the maximum sense of security to the people at large by dealing with crimes and criminals effectively, quickly and legally. More specifically, the aim is to reduce the level of criminality in society by ensuring maximum detection of reported crimes, conviction of the accused persons without delay, awarding appropriate punishments to the convicted to meet the ends of justice and to prevent recidivism.In this article, we shall be discussing the history and evolution of the system, the institutions, along with various perspectives of the constitutional aspect of rights of citizens, efforts for reforms, and delivery of justice.

Criminal law, including all matters included in the Indian Penal Code, Criminal procedure, including all matters included in the Code of Criminal Procedure feature under the concurrent list of the 7th Schedule as entries-1, and 2 respectively.Certain exceptions are also provided under these two provisions(Entry-1, and 2) of the 7th Schedule. For example, offences against laws with respect to the matters specified in List-I or List-II of the 7th Schedule of the constitution, excluding the use of naval, military or air forces or any other armed forces come under this category.

•The Criminal Justice System in India follows the legal procedures established by the British during the pre-independence era.
•An Indian Penal Code (IPC) defining crime and prescribing appropriate punishments was adopted in 1860, prepared by the first Law Commission of India.
•It was developed in line with the English criminal law.
•Code of Criminal Procedure was enacted in 1861 and established the rules to be followed in all stages. This was amended in 1973.
•The NN Vohra Committee, set up in 1993, observed increasing criminalization of politics, talked of the unholy nexus.
•It was an effort to push the reforms in the criminal justice system.
•In 2000, the Government of India formed a panel headed by the former Chief Justice of Kerala and Karnataka, Justice V.S. •Malimath, to suggest an overhaul of the century-old criminal justice system.
•In 2003, the Justice Malimath Committee submitted a report with 158 recommendations.
•The Committee opined that the existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.”

The entire existence of an orderly society depends upon the sound and efficient functioning of the Criminal Justice System. The law of the land has to be in tune with the demands of the changing times and nature of complexities in offences. There should be a broader dialogue among all the stakeholders for effective provisions so that the interest of justice is served and served right, where no innocent suffers prejudice, exclusion leading to miscarriage of justice.

Similarly, the rules and procedures established by law need to reach the common man, and the role of civil society in this endeavour is paramount. Further, there is a need to streamline the police reforms, beef up the forensic evidence-based investigation, and prioritize advanced scientific analysis which must be strengthened and upgraded, catering to the demands of the present times. The infrastructural challenges confronting the judiciary must be addressed to facilitate the process of ensuring justice.

The criminal justice system, like any
system designed by human beings,
clearly has its flaws.

Criminal Justice System in India

Criminal law, including all matters included in the Indian Penal Code, Criminal procedure, including all matters included in the Code of Criminal Procedure feature under the concurrent list of the 7th Schedule as entries-1, and 2 respectively.Certain exceptions are also provided under two provisions(Entry-1, and 2) of the 7th Schedule. For example, offences against laws with respect to the matters specified in List-I or List-II of the 7th Schedule of the constitution, excluding the use of naval, military or air forces or any other armed forces come under this category.

•The Criminal Justice System in India follows the legal procedures established by the British during the pre-independence era.
•An Indian Penal Code (IPC) defining crime and prescribing appropriate punishments was adopted in 1860, prepared by the first Law Commission of India.
•It was developed in line with the English criminal law.
•Code of Criminal Procedure was enacted in 1861 and established the rules to be followed in all stages. This was amended in 1973.
•The NN Vohra Committee, set up in 1993, observed increasing criminalization of politics, talked of the unholy nexus.
•It was an effort to push the reforms in the criminal justice system.
•In 2000, the Government of India formed a panel headed by the former Chief Justice of Kerala and Karnataka, Justice V.S. Malimath, to suggest an overhaul of the century-old criminal justice system.
•In 2003, the Justice Malimath Committee submitted a report with 158 recommendations.
•The Committee opined that the existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.”

The entire existence of an orderly society depends upon the sound and efficient functioning of the Criminal Justice System. The law of the land has to be in tune with the demands of the changing times and nature of complexities in offences. There should be a broader dialogue among all the stakeholders for effective provisions so that the interest of justice is served and served right, where no innocent suffers prejudice, exclusion leading to miscarriage of justice. Similarly, the rules and procedures established by law need to reach the common man, and the role of civil society in this endeavour is paramount. Further, there is a need to streamline the police reforms, beef up the forensic evidence-based investigation, and prioritize advanced scientific analysis which must be strengthened and upgraded, catering to the demands of the present times. The infrastructural challenges confronting the judiciary must be addressed to facilitate the process of ensuring justice.

The criminal justice system, like any
system designed by human beings,
clearly has its flaws.

Psychology

Psychology has become a very important and popular subject today. It deals with many problems of everyday life. Psychology helps us to understand the behaviour of people around us, to find out why they behave differently and what forces are responsible to make them so different from others.It tries to explain wide array of factors involved in what we human beings do. The principles explained by psychology give us a rational basis of understanding of what we and others do. Psychology has been defined in many ways. In ancient days people were analysing the behavioural aspects on the basis of philosophy. They believed that there is a soul in every individual and this is responsible for all our activities.
This view led to the opinion that the subject matter of psychology must be the study of soul. But this definition could not answer the questions regarding the existence of soul and its accessibility for study. This condition led to a new definition by Greek philosophers who defined psychology as a ‘science of mind’. But this definition was also rejected on the same grounds as soul was rejected.

Gradually, as a result of the development of scientific outlook people started thinking on scientific basis and began to define psychology as a science of behaviour. Finally, it is JB Watson (1913) defined psychology as a science of behaviour of human as well as animal beings.Today this is the most accepted definition. In this definition the term behaviour includes the cognitive activities like thinking, reasoning, intelligence, imagining, memory, etc., co-native activities like walking, dancing, fighting, attacking and other action tendencies and also the affective activities like feeling, joy, happiness, sympathy, anger, jealousy, etc. in a person. This definition also includes the behaviour not only of human beings and animals, but also all living organisms and their mental processes.

Psychologists do experiments and make observations which others can repeat; they obtain data often in the form of quantitative measurements which others can verify. Like any other positive science psychology is also systematic in its approach. Measurement in psychology is often more difficult of course, than it is in other sciences.However, psychologists have devised many ingenious tests to assign numbers to data. Psychology is following all the principles of science like principles of behaviour,objective experimentation, analysis of data and behaviour, formulation of hypothesis, verification and generalization, etc.As a result of such a scientific approach many theories have been developed to explain the behaviour. Psychology believes in cause and effect relationship in behaviour. It is considered as a behavioural science as it deals with behaviour of the organism.

However, because of its objectivity in analysis of behaviour through experiments, it may be considered as a developing positive science of behaviour.

Psychology has a long past, but only a short history

Functions of National Disaster Management Authority NDMA

Evolution of NDMA

Emergence of an organization is always through an evolutionary process. NDMA has also gone through the same stages. The Government of India (GOI), in recognition of the importance of Disaster Management as a national priority, set up a High-Powered Committee (HPC) in August 1999 and a National Committee after the Gujarat earthquake, for making recommendations on the preparation of Disaster Management plans and suggesting effective mitigation mechanisms. The Tenth Five-Year Plan document also had, for the first time, a detailed chapter on Disaster Management. The Twelfth Finance Commission was also mandated to review the financial arrangements for Disaster Management.

On 23 December 2005, the Government of India enacted the Disaster Management Act, which envisaged the creation of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) headed by respective Chief Ministers, to spearhead and implement a holistic and integrated approach to Disaster Management in India.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the apex body for Disaster Management in India. Setting up of NDMA and the creation of an enabling environment for institutional mechanisms at the State and District levels is mandated by the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

India envisions the development of an ethos of Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness. The Indian government strives to promote a national resolve to mitigate the damage and destruction caused by natural and man-made disasters, through sustained and collective efforts of all Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and People’s participation. This is planned to be accomplished by adopting a Technology-Driven, Pro-Active, Multi-Hazard and Multi-Sectoral strategy for building a Safer, Disaster Resilient and Dynamic India.

NDMA Vision

“To build a safer and disaster resilient India by a holistic, pro-active, technology driven and sustainable development strategy that involves all stakeholders and fosters a culture of prevention, preparedness and mitigation.”

Functions and Responsibilities

NDMA, as the apex body, is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. Towards this, it has the following responsibilities:-

Lay down policies on disaster management.
Approve the National Plan.
Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in accordance with the National Plan.
Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan.
Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the Purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects.
Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plans for disaster management.
Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation.
Provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined by the Central Government.
Take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with threatening disaster situations or disasters as it may consider necessary.
Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management.

Policy

The National Policy framework has been prepared after due deliberation and keeping in view the National Vision to build a safe and disaster-resilient India by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy for DM. This will be achieved through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and efficient response during disasters. The entire process will centre-stage the community and will be provided momentum and sustenance through the collective efforts of all government agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations.

In order to translate this vision into policy and plans, the NDMA has adopted a mission-mode approach involving a number of initiatives with the help of various institutions operating at the national, state and local levels. Central ministries, States and other stakeholders have been involved in the participatory and consultative process of evolving policies and guidelines.

This Policy framework is also in conformity with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the Rio Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals and the Hyogo Framework 2005-2015. The themes that underpin this policy are:-

Community-based disaster management, including last mile integration of the policy, plans and execution.
Capacity development in all related areas.
Consolidation of past initiatives and best practices.
Cooperation with agencies at the national, regional and international levels.
Compliance and coordination to generate a multi-sectoral synergy.

NDMA Logo

NDMA logo The NDMA Logo reflects the aspirations of this National Vision, of empowering all stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of Disaster Management in India. The Map of India, embossed in gold, in the middle of the logo, circumscribed by the National Tricolor of Saffron, White and Green represents the aspiration to contain the potential threat of natural and man-made disasters through Capacity Development of all stakeholders. The outer circle is a Golden Ring of Partnership of all Stakeholders, whose hand holding is an expression of their solidarity to supplement the efforts of the Government. NDMA in the inner circle in tranquil Blue integrates the entire process by empowering all stakeholders at the local, district, state and national levels. NDMA will catalyze this Community Empowerment through institutional capacity development, strengthened public awareness and community resilience by mainstreaming disaster management in India.

Functions of National Disaster Management Authority NDMA

Horticulture

The science and art of growing, producing, marketing, and utilizing high-value, intensively grown food, and ornamental plants in a sustainable manner is known as Horticulture.Annual and perennial plants, fruits and vegetables, decorative indoor plants, and landscape plants are all examples of horticulture crops.

Horticulture farming also aims to enhance the quality of life, as well as the beauty, sustainability, and recovery of our ecosystem and the human condition.
Horticulture is divided into the cultivation of plants for food (pomology and olericulture) and plants for ornament (floriculture and landscape horticulture). Pomology deals with fruit and nut crops. Olericulture deals with herbaceous plants for the kitchen, including, for example, carrots (edible root), asparagus (edible stem), lettuce (edible leaf), cauliflower (edible flower buds), tomatoes (edible fruit), and peas (edible seed). Floriculture deals with the production of flowers and ornamental plants; generally, cut flowers, pot plants, and greenery. Landscape horticulture is a broad category that includes plants for the landscape, including lawn turf but particularly nursery crops such as shrubs, trees, and vines.

Temperate zones for horticulture cannot be defined exactly by lines of latitude or longitude but are usually regarded as including those areas where frost in winter occurs, even though rarely. Thus, most parts of Europe, North America, and northern Asia are included, though some parts of the United States, such as southern Florida, are considered subtropical. A few parts of the north coast of the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean islands are also subtropical. In the Southern Hemisphere, practically all of New Zealand, a few parts of Australia, and the southern part of South America have temperate climates. For horticultural purposes altitude is also a factor; the lower slopes of great mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas and the Andes, are included. Thus, the temperate zones are very wide and the range of plants that can be grown in them is enormous, probably greater than in either the subtropical or tropical zones. In the temperate zones are the great coniferous and deciduous forests: pine, spruce, fir, most of the cypresses, the deciduous oaks (but excluding many of the evergreen ones), ash, birch, and linden.

There is no sharp line of demarcation between the tropics and the subtropics. Just as many tropical plants can be cultivated in the subtropics, so also many subtropical and even temperate plants can be grown satisfactorily in the tropics. Elevation is a determining factor. For example, the scarlet runner bean, a common plant in temperate regions, grows, flowers, and develops pods normally on the high slopes of Mount Meru in Africa near the Equator, but it will not set pods in Hong Kong, a subtropical situation a little south of the Tropic of Cancer but at a low elevation.In addition to elevation, another determinant is the annual distribution of rainfall. Plants that grow and flower in the monsoon areas, as in India, will not succeed where the climate is uniformly wet, as in Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. Another factor is the length of day, the number of hours the Sun is above the horizon; some plants flower only if the day is long, but others make their growth during the long days and flower when the day is short. Certain strains of the cosmos plant are so sensitive to light that where the day is always about 12 hours, as near the Equator, they flower when only a few inches high; if grown near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn, they attain a height of several feet, if the seeds are sown in the spring, before flowering in the short days of autumn and winter. Poinsettia is a short-day plant that may be seen in flower in Singapore on any day of the year, while in Trinidad it is a blaze of glory only in late December.