THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- January 24, 2018 - Topic 1
Reform
with caution — on criminal justice system
It is not a bad idea to revisit old committee
reports with a view to considering their possible implementation. However, such
an exercise must be pursued with care and caution. The Centre’s decision to
revisit the 2003 report of the Justice V.S. Malimath Committee on reforming the
criminal justice system needs to be examined through the prism of civil rights.
It includes controversial recommendations such as making confessions to a
senior police officer admissible as evidence, and diluting the standard of proof
required for a criminal conviction. It also contains valuable suggestions to
revamp the administration of criminal law, covering the entire gamut of the
justice system from investigation to sentencing, from matters of policy to the
nuances of criminal procedure and the law of evidence. The committee made 158
recommendations, and since then some of these have become law. Its suggestion
on permitting videography of statements has been implemented. The definition of
rape has been expanded and new offences against women have been added. Its
advocacy of substantial witness protection has not been realised, but victim
compensation is now part of law. The Centre would do well to ignore the
recommendations relating to making confessions to high-ranking officers
admissible, and increasing the period of police custody from 15 to 30 days.
These provisions were available only in anti-terrorism laws that are now no more in force. There is no need
to bring them into general criminal laws.
The Malimath report suggests a standard of proof
lower than the current ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard. It moots a ‘clear
and convincing’ standard, that is, it is enough if the court is convinced that
something is true. Such a measure would have adverse implications for suspects,
and requires considerable deliberation. There is some understandable disquiet
about the state of criminal justice administration in the country and there is
a crying need for a wide range of reforms. As the Madhava Menon Committee’s
‘Draft National Policy on Criminal Justice’ (2007) noted, such popular
dissatisfaction arises from the low rate of conviction, the apparent role of
money and influence in the outcome of cases, delayed and denied justice, lack
of protection to witnesses and inadequate attention to crime victims. The
widespread perception that there is corruption on the one hand and a deep nexus
between crime syndicates and politicians on the other, has added to the erosion
of public confidence in the justice delivery system. Despite all these considerations,
any move to make substantive changes in the way criminal justice is
administered will have to be done with great circumspection, lest vital
constitutional safeguards against abuse of police and judicial powers are
violated in the process. In the name of revamping the law, investigation and
trial should not be altered in a way that undermines the principles on which
the justice system was founded.
Vocabulary
Implementation: the process of putting a
decision or plan into effect; execution.
Example: She was responsible for the
implementation of the plan
Synonyms: slaying, performance, carrying into action
Pursue: follow something in order to
catch or attack them.
Example: The officer pursued the van
Synonyms: follow, run after, chase, hunt, stalk, track, trail, shadow
Confession: a formal statement admitting
that one is guilty of a crime.
Example: He signed a confession to the
murders
Synonyms: acknowledgment, apology, defense, exculpation
Antonyms: accusation, censure, charge, complaint, condemnation
Admissible: acceptable or valid,
especially as evidence in a court of law.
Example: The Court unanimously held that
the hearsay was admissible
Synonyms: valid, allowable, allowed, permissible, permitted
Antonyms: inadmissible, impermissible
Revamp: give new and improved form,
structure, or appearance to.
Example: An attempt to revamp the museum's
image
Synonyms: renovate, redecorate, refurbish, recondition, rehabilitate
Advocacy: public support for or
recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
Example: Their advocacy of traditional
family values
Synonyms: support for, backing
of, promotion of, championing of, argument for
Provision: the action of providing or
supplying something for use.
Example: New contracts for the provision of
services
Synonyms: supplying, supply, providing, giving, presentation, donation
Antonyms: accident, adventure, calamity, casualty, chance, contingency
Adverse: preventing success or
development; harmful; unfavorable.
Example: Taxes are having an adverse effect
on production
Synonyms: unfavorable, disadvantageous, inauspicious, unpropitious
Antonyms: favourable, favorable
Deliberation: long and careful
consideration or discussion.
Example: After much deliberation, we
arrived at a compromise
Synonyms: thought, consideration, reflection, contemplation, meditation
Antonyms: accomplishment, achievement, act, action
Inadequate: lacking the quality or
quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
Example: These labels prove to be wholly
inadequate
Synonyms: insufficient, deficient, poor, scant, scanty, scarce
Antonyms: equal, competent, capable, adequate top
Substantive: having a firm basis in
reality and therefore important, meaningful, or considerable.
Example: There is no substantive evidence
for the efficacy of these drugs
Synonyms: essential, substantive, meaty, substantial
Antonyms: adjective, nonmeaningful, unessential, inessential
Circumspection: the quality of being wary
and unwilling to take risks; prudence.
Example: Circumspection is required in the
day-to-day exercise of administrative powers
Synonyms: essential, substantive, meaty, substantial
Antonyms: carelessness, disregard, heedlessness, inattention
