[MTC Global] Excellent piece: NNFI Judical Improvement Group findings & suggestions are: Our Brethren in Power who have faulted should now be given an escape route. Justice this day on must be IT led.

Following article should be of interest to every management student. I treat myself as a lifelong management student hence this article interested me.

Regards

Virendra Goel

Why are we still delivering justice in a bullock cart?

Manoj Mitta, TNN Sep 30, 2012, 05.59AM IST

Senior Supreme Court lawyer KTS Tulsi tells Manoj Mitta that crimes can reduce if India's status as an IT powerhouse is leveraged to improve the functioning of the police and judiciary.

What do you make of the sudden spurt in crimes such as murder and rape, especially affecting the middle class?

The spurt is as much a reflection of the increasing immorality and materialism as it is of the decreasing deterrent value of the dysfunctional criminal justice system.

What are the reforms that need to be made urgently to the criminal justice system?

It's time we stopped thinking in terms of illiberal measures such as enacting stiffer penalties, reversing the burden of proof or even increasing the number of judges. Rather, we should be more creative in applying modern technology to the criminal justice system, leveraging our country's status as an IT powerhouse . It's a travesty that in this supersonic age, we are delivering justice in a bullock cart. Why do Indian courts, for instance, depend on the ability of judges to record evidence in long hand? Or on semi-literate typists who make hordes of mistakes ? The output of Indian judges is 25 pages per day while the corresponding figure for their American counterparts is 300 pages. This is mainly because American judges are equipped with high-tech facilities for recording and transcribing evidence.

Do you think technology can make such a difference to the functioning of the police as well?

Of course, it can. After all, the procedure for recording FIRs has remained unchanged since the 19th century . The infusion of IT in the registration of FIRs will make justice more accessible. Instead of going to the police station , you will just have to make a phone call and give information about the crime. There should be automatic recording of every call to the police station, with the facility of simultaneous relay to patrol vehicles in the vicinity of the caller. The recording machine should replace the existing "daily diary" of the police station. Besides, every police station should have CCTV and interrogation rooms equipped with cameras so that witness statements can be recorded faithfully and without any duress.

How will modernization of police stations check shoddy investigation?

We have traditionally depended far too much on the vagaries of oral evidence. Combined with chronic delays, this has resulted in low conviction rates. Technology can retrieve the situation by shifting the focus of the investigation from witness statements to the more objective scientific evidence. For this, every police station should have a mobile forensic van, which can accompany the homicide squad to the crime scene. This will help preserve the sanctity of the crime scene so that evidences in the form of finger prints and other telltale signs can be lifted before they are contaminated. Scientific evidence can bring out the truth in no time and expedite investigation and prosecution. It will also reduce the chances of innocent persons being arrested and tried.

When prosecution witnesses turn 'hostile' in the court, isn't it more likely to be due to flawed investigation rather than because they had been bought off by accused persons?

The application of technology to court management can drastically reduce scope for framing innocent persons or suborning witnesses. All serious offences punishable with imprisonment of at least seven years are tried in sessions courts. Thanks to the possibilities offered by technology, we have the means to restore the original meaning of sessions courts, which is courts that would try each case at a stretch on a day-to-day basis in a single session. This will not only increase the disposal of cases but also help witnesses discharge their civic duty without having to visit courts endlessly.