Way For First Time Offenders To Come Clean

New Delhi, Sep 23 (UNI) First time offenders willing to make a clean breast of it and start afresh have a way-- plea bargaining, Law and Justice Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj said today.

The option will not be open for offences punishable by death, imprisonment for life or for a term exceeding seven years, Bhardwaj told journalists after opening a National Workshop on Plea Bargaining.

''The accused should not be a previous convict for the same offence,'' according to a checklist for judicial officers considering such applications.

The Plea Bargain enactment-- Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2005-- excludes offences ''affecting the socio economic condition of the country,'' Bhardwaj said.

These include violations of laws on dowry prohibition, explosives, prevention of Sati, immoral traffic and atroctities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, regulation of infant foods, protecion of children, civil rights, army, air force and navy.

Bhardwaj explained that the system would allow a victim to collect compensation from the accused-- rater than go through expensive and time consuming litigation.

Experts say the concept has grown in some Western countries, especially the United States, as a response to delay and heavy workloads in courts and involves an informal system of pre-trial bargaining and settlement.

A suspect may be advised to admit part or all the crime charged in return for a specified punishment rather than await trial with the possibility of either acquittal or a more serious punishment.

Experts also see its possible utility in securing admissions in cases where it might be difficult to prove the charge laid against the accused.

On recommendations of the Malimath Committee, Code of Criminal Procedure was amended by adding Chapter XXI A, consisting of 12 Sections.

India's Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal voiced hope some weeks ago that the ''provision will be utilised sincerely and honestly so as to achieve the desired result of reduction in arrears and expeditious disposal of the criminal cases.'' Delivering Justice Sobhag Mal Jain Memorial Lecture in July, Justice Sabharwal said, ''not only will it expedite the disposal of the cases, it may also result in adequate compensation for the victim of the crime, since he along with prosecutor will be in a position to bargain with the accused.'' In the United States, where plea bargaining has surged, some legal experts maintain that its growth is directly connected to the failures of the trial system.

Experts say a downside of plea bargaining is that the community is denied a process which tries to get at the truth of what really happened in a case.

They say the system can be abused-- if it extracts guilty pleas from absolutely innocent people who plead guilty to charges they did not commit because they can't afford the risk of going to trial.

UNI MJ RP DS1622