The Ram Jethmalani Memorial Lecture Series returned for its fifth edition, honoring one of India’s most distinguished legal minds. This year’s focus was on India’s latest criminal legislation, with an in-depth exploration of the rationale behind the enactment of three new criminal statutes.
The event brought together the nation’s leading legal experts to critically examine the legal intentions and effectiveness of these laws, particularly in their treatment of first-time offenders. The panel provided valuable insights into the motivations behind the new legislation and assessed how well these laws achieved their stated objectives, promising a comprehensive analysis of the evolving criminal justice landscape in India.
The first speaker who spoke on the theme was the Additional Solicitor General of India, Mr. Suryaprakash V. Raju, a very well-known face in India’s top court, and who has also represented the Union Government in many important cases.
Tribute to Ram Jethmalani
Starting the discussion, he first spoke about Ram Jethmalani and his dedicated career as a lawyer and said, “Ram Jethmalani was by far the best lawyer practicing on the criminal side; he is also a very good lawyer on the constitutional side, but on the criminal side no one could match him.”
Discussion on New Criminal Laws
He then spoke on the matter of the discussion and the three laws concerned therein and said, “You know that after about five decades, seven decades, ten decades there is always a need to change the laws as so much has changed, the values have changed, and the necessities have changed. So the laws that were in force earlier require an overhaul, and these three laws have precisely done the same.”
Examination of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Adhiniyam
Further in the discussion, he spoke on the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Adhiniyam, which was earlier known as the CrPC, and said, “This law required an overhaul in certain aspects, not all aspects; the overhaul was particularly with the need that justice is delivered in time.” He also added, “Delay of justice is denial of justice, and that is how this law tries to deal with the aspect of denial of justice because of delay.”
Sanctions and Reduction of Delays
He also spoke on another aspect that this law takes into consideration is sanctions and said, “Sanctions also used to take a lot of time. Sanction, whether it is under the PC Act or 197 of the IPC, always used to take time and many times charge sheets used to be filed without sanction giving rise to a lot of litigation. But now the law is if you don’t reject a sanction within 120 days, it is deemed to have been granted, and this is another way of reducing the delay as far as trial is concerned.”
Introduction of Community Service as Punishment
Towards the end, he also spoke on community service as a mode of punishment and elaborated, “This is a novel thing that is community service as a mode of punishment. You have cases where courts had given community service as a mode of punishment but this was not a recognized mode; constitutional courts have done it but magistrates could not have done it. Therefore, this is now statutorily recognized that in petty offenses community service has been provided. The US and UK already have this provision, so this is a good method of punishment taking into consideration modern requirements of the law.”
In conclusion, the Ram Jethmalani Memorial Lecture Series offered a profound examination of India’s evolving criminal legislation. Through insightful discussions led by top legal experts, including Additional Solicitor General Mr. Suryaprakash V. Raju, the event highlighted the critical updates in criminal laws aimed at enhancing justice delivery and addressing delays. The introduction of community service as a recognized punishment method marks a progressive step in legal reform. This comprehensive analysis underscores the ongoing efforts to modernize India’s criminal justice
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