Re-classify IPC into four: Committee
Criminal offences covered by the IPC must be re-classified into four comprehensive codes, according to the draft national policy on criminal justice drawn up by the N R Madhava Menon committee.
By Bharti Jain, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Criminal offences covered by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) must be re-classified into four comprehensive codes on the basis of severity and appropriate response for better management of the criminal justice system, according to the draft national policy on criminal justice drawn up by the N R Madhava Menon committee.
The four-fold scheme, finalised by the Madhava Menon panel on national criminal justice policy, proposes a social welfare offences code where the focus is on reparation and restitution rather than punishment; correctional offences code covering crimes punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine; penal code for graver offences punishable with jail term beyond three years and even death; and an economic offences code for select crimes that endanger economic security under the IPC and other relevant economic laws.
Each of the proposed four codes will incorporate the rules of procedure, the nature of trial and evidence and the types of punishment. According to the Menon panel, which will submit its paper on national policy on criminal justice to Union home minister Shivraj Patil here on Wednesday, “The four-fold scheme of reorganising criminal law and procedure is aimed at better management of the crime scenario.”
The social welfare offences code would apply to crimes where the object of criminal justice is restitution rather than retribution, such as marriage offences that are civil in nature, prohibition offences, vagrancy or minor campus indiscipline.
Since arrest is unnecessary here, justice can be meted out by ordering compensation and community service. These cases can be tried by grameen nyayalayas and local bodies, according to the final draft of the committee’s criminal justice policy.
The penal code would only apply to the third category of more serious offences, punishable with imprisonment beyond three years and, in the rarest of rare cases, death. According to the Madhava Menon panel, these are the crimes where the maximum energy, time and resources of the State are to be spent. The last category proposed is the economic offences code, wherein select offences from the IPC and other economic laws, including major frauds, will be covered. They might require multi-disciplinary, inter-state and transnational investigations.
Besides, keeping in mind globalisation and spread of new technologies that have tended to facilitate serious economic frauds, the panel has suggested the creation of an independent, multi-disciplinary Serious Fraud Unit with powers to co-ordinate the criminal justice system to respond promptly and effectively.
The proposed draft national criminal justice policy has proposed a wider range and variety of punishments as well as a revision in fines in keeping with the contemporary value of money.
The four-fold scheme, finalised by the Madhava Menon panel on national criminal justice policy, proposes a social welfare offences code where the focus is on reparation and restitution rather than punishment; correctional offences code covering crimes punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine; penal code for graver offences punishable with jail term beyond three years and even death; and an economic offences code for select crimes that endanger economic security under the IPC and other relevant economic laws.
Each of the proposed four codes will incorporate the rules of procedure, the nature of trial and evidence and the types of punishment. According to the Menon panel, which will submit its paper on national policy on criminal justice to Union home minister Shivraj Patil here on Wednesday, “The four-fold scheme of reorganising criminal law and procedure is aimed at better management of the crime scenario.”
The social welfare offences code would apply to crimes where the object of criminal justice is restitution rather than retribution, such as marriage offences that are civil in nature, prohibition offences, vagrancy or minor campus indiscipline.
Since arrest is unnecessary here, justice can be meted out by ordering compensation and community service. These cases can be tried by grameen nyayalayas and local bodies, according to the final draft of the committee’s criminal justice policy.
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Under the correctional offences code, offences requiring police intervention and which are punishable with up to 3 years imprisonment may be covered. They can, in most cases, be liable to fine, probation and short-term imprisonment and are open to settlement through lok adalat and plea bargaining. Such crimes can also be dealt with compensatory remedies and by imprisonment only in extreme cases. The penal code would only apply to the third category of more serious offences, punishable with imprisonment beyond three years and, in the rarest of rare cases, death. According to the Madhava Menon panel, these are the crimes where the maximum energy, time and resources of the State are to be spent. The last category proposed is the economic offences code, wherein select offences from the IPC and other economic laws, including major frauds, will be covered. They might require multi-disciplinary, inter-state and transnational investigations.
Besides, keeping in mind globalisation and spread of new technologies that have tended to facilitate serious economic frauds, the panel has suggested the creation of an independent, multi-disciplinary Serious Fraud Unit with powers to co-ordinate the criminal justice system to respond promptly and effectively.
The proposed draft national criminal justice policy has proposed a wider range and variety of punishments as well as a revision in fines in keeping with the contemporary value of money.
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As for offences punishable with life imprisonment or death, the panel has suggested a sentencing board of three judges, including the trial judge, to enable a subjective determination of the punishment.Download
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