Criminal Justice system of India

India has the longest constitution in the world.  Various articles in our constitution have been amended several times over the years and still, the justice is served in very few plates out of many. The three pillars of the criminal justice system police, prosecution, and Judiciary lack co-operation. Justice is generally delayed or is only available to those with money only. According to NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) 2013-14 data, more than 80% of the crimes went unpunished due to loopholes in the Indian Justice system.

Article 21 guarantees the right to speedy Justice but more than 66% of Indian criminals are under trials and more than 2000 have been in prison for over 5 years. There are only 19 Judges per million people on average in India, according to Law Ministry data. The police population ratio stands at 131.1 per lakh population which is against the UN norm of 222.

Problem of under trials

The total number of prisoners increased from 4, 50,696 in 2017 to 4, 78,600 in 2019, according to NCRB. Out of 4, 78,600 prisoners in 2019, 69.05% of prisoners were under trial. The number increased by 2.15% during the period between 2018 and 2019. Uttar Pradesh (22.2% under trails) among Indian states has reported the highest number of undertrials followed by Bihar (9.5%) and Maharashtra (8.3%) at the end of 2019. There were 1,543 women prisoners with 1,779 children at the end of 2019. Among them, 1,212 were under trial followed by 1,409 children. 

The reasons for so many under trial are indiscriminate arrests, the slow investigation by police, failure to pay the bail surety, lack of knowledge, and literacy among the public. The under-trials account for 70% illiterates, 53% Muslims, Dalits, and Tribal people. Most of the people are convicted of petty crimes on the other hand among these people Muslims are mostly picked on terror charges.

                   Age groups of the prisoners according to NCRB, 2019

Around 74.08% under trial prisoners were confined for a period up to 1 year. 13.35% of the totals under trials were confined for 1 to 2 years followed by 4.25% under trial prisoners were confined for 3-5 years and 1.52% confined for more than 5 years. The time taken for disposal of a case sometimes exceeds a life span. This not only finishes the important period of a person’s life but also put people in a situation not to trust the judicial system.

                                                        Types of offences

A large number of undertrials cause problems such as prison violence, health problems, the effect on families of prisoners, overcrowding of jails, and increased expenses. Many a time prolonged imprisonment leads to mental breakdown. By the end of 2019, 7,394 prisoners were suffering from mental illness. In the same period, the sanctioned staff was 3,320 while the actual strength was 1,962 including 254 medical staff women.

Situation of prison and prisoners

The occupancy rate in Indian prisons is 118.5%, according to NCRB 2019 reports. That means Indian prisons have more prisoners than their capacity. Delhi has reported the highest number of occupancy rates (174.9%) followed by Uttar Pradesh and (167.9%) and Uttarakhand (159.0%). There are only 20 women Prisons in India. Although Uttrakhand has the highest overcrowding for women prisoners in India of more than 170 percent, the state does not have a separate women jail.

The first and foremost factor responsible for the high occupancy rate in prisons is because more than half the population in these prisons is under-trial. The other problems are understaffing and underfunding. These 3 factors give rise to inhumane conditions in which prisoners are forced to live. There is a constant absence of legal aid. Most of the inmates belong to socially and economically backward classes.

The conditions of prisons are pathetic. The cells are dimly lit and poorly ventilated. The prisoners are not even provided with quilts or basic furniture needs. The urinal area is always without a door and a pot is present in the name of the commode. The water supply is unpredictable and the stench unbearable. The problem of overcrowding and bad sanitization facilities increases the chances of communicable diseases like Tuberculosis, HIV, cholera, etc.

A total of 1,731 people died in custody in India in 2019 as compared to 1,639 in 2018. The majority of deaths were related to natural causes like HIV, brain hemorrhage, kidney-related ailments, etc. 57 deaths were categorized under “unknown reason” while 149 were categorized under “unnatural reason” such as suicide. Prisoners’ right activist states that most of the death could have been avoided if treated on time.

Unwarranted beatings are an integral part of the prison’s life. Police brutal beatings often result in the death of prison inmates. It not only violates basic human rights but put the family of the one being accused in serious trouble. While the normal people in prisons do not have basic access to water and favorable sleeping conditions, the professional gangsters and white-collar criminals bribe the police on a regular basis. They have access to mobile phones, weapons, liquor, and luxurious life even inside the prison cells.

The women make 4% of the total prisoners in India. They are teased, harassed, abused, and tortured. Reviewing prison conditions in Punjab, it was reported in a book that to get basic supplies they have to serve the officials and guards. They are sometimes forced to perform sexual favors and massage in order to gain basic necessities.  More than 50% of the women interviewed during a prison survey complained of violence and abuse in police custody.

Vacancies, diversity and budget

Understaffing is one of the main problems of prisons across India. The overcrowding of prisons due to under trial and lack of staff increases the workload on staff. The violence is more likely to happen under less staff in prisons. According to NCRB data, the following are the sanctioned and actual strength of various staff.

In India, prisons are understaffed by 33%. The percentage of women share in prison staff is very less which increases the chances of women prisoners being assaulted more often. In 2015, the total women staff was 8.28% of the total that is not even 10% of the total police force. There is a major scarcity of female leading officers.             According to NCRB 2019 prison data; there are only 8 states and Union territories where women account for more than 10% of the total force.

Apart from women officers, the share of economically and socially backward classes in the police force is very less even after steps taken by the government like that of reservation policies. The diversity is nowhere up to the point. In 2019, Karnataka was the only state in India to fill all the officer level reservation posts in all caste categories. The highest number of SC vacancies among Indian states was found in Uttar Pradesh (68%) followed by Haryana (59%) and Jammu & Kashmir (55%). The Muslim represented in the police force has remained low at 3-4%. The caste, minority, and religious reservations ignore the absence of the transgender community. It is quite difficult to attain efficient and effective results with a lack of diversity among the staff in prisons across India.

The budget provided for the improvement of representation of the Police force varies at the official level and what is actually being spent. According to the 2015-16 report of Modernization scheme to assist forces, the utilization levels were below 60% for more than 3/4^th of the states. The Indian prisons and the police force in India are inadequately resourced.

The cybercrimes which are more likely to happen now a day need technical skills, training, and proper infrastructure which are inadequate and outdated. Police in India lacks proper resources as well as skills. The Union budget for modernization of police increased the budget up to 8%, but the data up to 2017 shows that in most of the states the budget remains underutilized. The poor utilization of budgets in states is not only the reason for under-staffed forces but also the poor performance of the police.

Improvement in system across different states of India

The impropriate working of the justice system costs India almost 9% of its GDP each year. The old-age technology, pathetic prison conditions, lack of transparency in the system makes it difficult for the justice system to rise and work efficiently. However, some states across India have taken various steps to curb different problems in the justice system at different levels.

Telangana’s prison administration has set an example for different states across India to bring reforms. Over the past four years, Telangana has drastically improved the condition of prisons across the state. The structure is more flexible and allows the officers to act fast. The hygiene in prisons is taken care of by paying prisoners to clean them. The collaboration and contacts with the business world outside provide employment opportunities to prisoners and save them an ample amount of money. The medical facilities have been improved over the years along with the proper recruitment of staff members.

Kerala decentralization model has allowed the system in the state to become more transparent and trustworthy for the people. The state has shifted the responsibilities of public service and governance activities to the small panchayats. The panchayats are responsible for the social and economical development of the assigned area. This model brings the justice system closer to the people. The health, education, infrastructure development are funded under the head accounts and planned by the local bodies in their respective areas. This is a unique model and sets an example for states across India to take similar steps.

The states were ranked in 2019 on the basis of justice delivered. Maharashtra topped among the 18 large and mid-size states followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Those states which topped the list were not able to score 60% when taken into consideration the main pillars of the judiciary system. It shows that there is a strong need for reform in our justice system, be it the representation of minority groups, vacancies in the police force, or the situation of prison and prisoners.

Politics and Justice System

Corrupt officers, violence in prisons, under-representation of various backward groups, apart from these factors, the aspect which slows down the wheel of justice in politics. It plays a crucial role in the design and the way a system acts in a country. The ruptured criminal justice system is rarely talked about in the campaigns or rallies. The problem is that Indian politicians like to speak about the topics with which they can divide or manipulate society.

The reason that the criminal justice system is shushed in politics is that 43% of our parliament members are facing criminal charges. In most of the states, the politicians are charged for crime and scandals and re-elected by the parties. The police are used by the politicians to favor the situations to their side but they are thrown and punched aside when things go wrong.

The politicians give tickets to those with deep pockets. This is because elections are quite expensive in today’s era, a political party needs someone who can fund themselves and feed the parties as well. The voters choose the candidates even after being aware of criminal charges against them because they see it as a chance to represent their community and develop it through the leader belonging to the same caste or class. The illiteracy among the mass voters is another factor.

                         % of criminal charged faced by MLAs and MPs of different states

States have long-pending cases including against sitting lawmakers. It scares at first but the public in India is so used to listening about politicians’ scandals that it no longer amazes them. The general idea is ‘that’s what politicians do’. Some of the data of states with a high number of cases pending against politicians are as follows;

                                            Times of India report, December 5, 2018

This phenomenon has been increasing with passing time and Bihar upcoming elections favor it. According to ADR (Association of Democratic reports), 34% of candidates in Bihar’s second phase upcoming elections face criminal charges. In 2019, ADR analyzed that 80% of new MPs from Bihar faced criminal cases. This gives an idea of the fact that how tightly crime and democracy are linked to one another in India.

Criminal Justice system outside India

Norway has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. It has ranked 2^nd in the best justice system across the world. The judiciary is independent of the legislature and executive branches of Government. The country has undergone major prison reforms. The major focus is on the principle of rehabilitating prisoners instead of punishing them.

The police force is community-based and is trained to deescalate situations with a few officers as possible. Norway prisons are ranked among the most humane in the world. The maximum imprisonment is of 21 years. There is no death sentence or life imprisonment. It is considered enough to take away the freedom of prisoners. The major reform took when the justice system was changed from punitive to reformative. The progressive and transparent system may work in India as well if implied properly.

A similar image is painted by Denmark. It has been ranked 1^st for an efficient justice system across the world. The reason is structured judiciary. More than 2/3^rd of Danish people do not believe in parliament but more than 87% of people trust in the judiciary. The strong faith is because of the independence of the judiciary and gradual reinforcement of reforms over the years. Its legal framework has gone major reconstruction after 1999 reforms which introduced the Administrative court and judicial appointments council.

In India, people avoid becoming a part of legal processes because of the time it takes. We grow up hearing “court kehhariyo ke chakkar se dur raho”, this is because of a lack of public trust in the judiciary system. The prison and the pathetic conditions in which prisoners have to live needs to be changed. To revive the public confidence ad transparency in our justice system few changes can be done like:

• Modification of Penal code.
• Introducing fine technology and proper tools for investigating and forensic examination purposes.
• Maintaining a limited connection between politics and crimes
• Sorting the problem of undertrials
• Improvement of prison conditions
• Actually using the budget allocated to the justice system
• Filling the vacancies and maintaining diversity
• Victim compensation fund
• Providing legal aid

 The countries like Denmark and Norway set an example in front of the biggest democracy India to revive the Criminal Justice system. We should remember what Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

“Injustice anywhere is threat to justice everywhere”