Cr.PC amendment will embolden criminals allege police

CHENNAI: Headlines such as "police arrest youth for sexual harassment," "robber caught by police," that often occupy print media space are expected to become a thing of the past once the CrPC (Amendment) Act 2008 is implemented. Policemen in Tamil Nadu, one of the states with the lowest crime rates, are mincing no words in expressing their anger at the new amendment that takes away the power of arrest from the police in offences where punishment is upto seven years imprisonment. The crime graph in the state, they say, could go up as result. "It is going to be chaotic. The new act will embolden criminals," said Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Davidson Devasirvatham. The amendment was not a move in the right direction, he added. Most officials cantacted by TOI expressed strong objection to the new amendment. "This is going to create a problem of law and order. If an accused is not arrested on complaints, then the affected party may take the law into his or her hand and things will become more difficult to manage. This is going to be disastrous," a senior police official said. The officials feel that the offenders will have scant regard for the law enforcement agencies and will carry out their criminal activities without fear. "We are directed to give memo to an accused. However, there is no time limit fixed for him or her to respond to that memo. Form now on, if a woman comes and lodges a complaint of sexual harassment, we can hardly do anything. We will issue the offender a memo and to which he may respond at a time of his convenience. Meanwhile, he may also harm the woman who had approached the police against him and may try to destroy the evidence. The amendment will be instrumental in the increase of crime," another senior police official said. However, on the other side, several human rights organisations have whole-heartedly welcomed the amendment. They said it was a welcome move and that it showed India as a progressive, civilised country. "The power of arrest, which the police enjoyed for so long did not play any role and the crime graph has been going up steadily. Our police forces are corrupt and they fabricate cases and detain innocents. They have been using their power only against the marginalised and the criminal politicians who regularly are party to several offences go scot free," said B S Ajeetha, advocate and human rights activist. She said the amendment had made our criminal legal system more civilised. Agni Subramaniam of Manitham, a human rights organisation, said, "We whole-heartedly welcome this move. This will eliminate the chances of custodial torture and illegal detention. Most of the cases booked by the police are false cases and they get innocent people convicted with the help of fabricated evidence. With this amendment, India showcases itself as a progressive country."

"Loved reading this piece by kavita jain ?
Join LAWyersClubIndia's network for daily News Updates, Judgment Summaries, Articles, Forum Threads, Online Law Courses, and MUCH MORE!!"

Join our Telegram group

Join our Whatsapp group