Plea for mechanism to probe corruption in Judiciary

New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Lok Sabha members today pleaded for removal of the loopholes in the criminal justice system to prevent influential people going scot-free after committing a crime.

Participating in a discussion on the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Amending Bill, 2006, the members said while the poor languished in jails for years for petty crimes, the powerful and the mighty managed to get maximum three-month imprisonment for heinous crimes.

Initiating a discussion on the Bill, Mr P S Gadhavi (BJP) supported the Bill. He said trial in murder cases did not proceed for as long as 10 years and the system had enough loopholes for the criminals to go scot-free. He suggested that there should be a provision for video recording of witnesses and for payment of compensation to the victim of a crime.

Pointing out that there was shortage of judges, he said they should be adequately trained. An inquiry mechanism should be put in place to probe the cases of corruption in the Judiciary. A special investigation agency could be set up for the purpose.

Mr L Rajgopal (Cong) stressed the need for a speedy justice system, saying justice delayed is justice denied. At the same time, he said justice should not be hurried up as justice hurried is justice buried. He said victims of rape were humiliated during trial proceedings.

Mr Rajgopal said children were kept in observation homes for long. He wanted the facility of counselling to be given to juvenile delinquents. In order to prevent witnesses to go hostile, he suggested that there should be time-bound prosecution and trial of the powerful people.

Earlier, moving for consideration of the Bill, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the Bill had already been passed earlier and became an Act. But due to protests lodged by certain organisations to some provisions of the Act, it could not be implemented.

Since there was no provision to partially implement the Act, the present Bill had been brought forward to partially implement the provisions of the Act passed earlier, he added.

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