NEW DELHI: Several provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) are likely to undergo a review as the Centre will soon initiate a major revamp of the criminal justice system.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a call for a nationwide consultation for effecting changes in IPC and CrPC. He was addressing the top brass of police organisations at the 49th Foundation Day of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD). He asked BPRD, a national police think tank, to play a leadership role in the consultation process.
“There should be countrywide consultation in the matter. Everybody in the country should be allowed to give suggestions. All recommendations should be documented and sent to the ministry. There has been no change for a long time in CrPC and IPC and we should go forward on this,” Shah said.
The minister also made a strong push for forensic reforms and said the age of third-degree torture was over and the police should be four steps ahead of crime and “criminal-minded people” through better investigation, forensic evidence and use of better scientific techniques.
Terming the conviction rate in criminal cases “very pitiful”, Shah said the government is considering making forensic evidence compulsory in all criminal cases where the quantum of punishment is seven years or more. “If a charge sheet is supported by forensic evidence, then ...automatically, the conviction rate will improve,” he said.
He announced setting up of a police and forensic science university at the national level adding that it will have affiliated colleges in every state. “After class 12 if any student who has decided to pursue a career in police or CAPFs, we should ensure that training of such students is done from the beginning itself,” Shah said.