World Factbook Of Criminal Justice Systems - India
W O R L D F A C T B O O K OF C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E SYSTEMSINDIAR.K.RaghavanIndian Police ServiceThis c o u n t r y report is one of m a n y p r e p a r e d forthe W o r l d F a c t b o o k of Criminal J u s t i c e Systemsunder Bureau of J u s t i c e S t a t i s t i c s grant No.9 0 - B J - C X - 0 0 0 2 to the State U n i v e r s i t y of N e w Yorkat Albany.The p r o j e c t d i r e c t o r was Graeme R.Newman, but r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for the a c c u r a c y of thei n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d in each report is that ofthe i n d i v i d u a l author.The contents of thesereports do not n e c e s s a r i l y reflect the views orp o l i c i e s of the Bureau of Justice S t a t i s t i c s orthe U. S. D e p a r t m e n t of Justice.GENERAL OVERVIEWi. Politicalsystem.India a t t a i n e d i n d e p e n d e n c e from the B r i t i s hCrown on A u g u s t 15, 1947, and b e c a m e a s o v e r e i g nd e m o c r a t i c r e p u b l i c on J a n u a r y 26, 1950.TheC o n s t i t u t i o n of India provides for a q u a s i - f e d e r a ls y s t e m of government.The P r e s i d e n t acts as H e a dof State. A Council of Ministers, h e a d e d by thePrime Minister, aid and advise the President.TheCouncil of M i n i s t e r s is c o l l e c t i v e l y r e s p o n s i b l eto the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.The c o u n t r y is d i v i d e d into 25 States, eachh e a d e d by a G o v e r n o r a p p o i n t e d by the U n i o nGovernment.A Council of M i n i s t e r s h e a d e d by theChief M i n i s t e r aids and advises him or her and isc o l l e c t i v e l y r e s p o n s i b l e to the State L e g i s l a t i v eAssembly.(Article 372 of the C o n s t i t u t i o n ofIndia p r o t e c t s all the law in force b e f o r e thec o m m e n c e m e n t of the C o n s t i t u t i o n until altered,repealed, or a m e n d e d by the c o m p e t e n t L e g i s l a t u r eor authority. It is under this p r o v i s i o n that thecommon law of the land has survived. This i n c l u d e snot only the p e r s o n a l laws such as the H i n d u Lawand M o h a m e d a n Law, but also the rules of E n g l i s hcommon law and c u s t o m a r y laws.)In addition,there are seven Union T e r r i t o r i e s (including N e w,,?
Delhi, the n a t i o n a l capital city) w h i c h ared i r e c t l y a d m i n i s t e r e d by the U n i o n G o v e r n m e n tthrough its officials.The C o n s t i t u t i o n of India c l e a r l y limits thel a w - m a k i n g power of the U n i o n and Stateg o v e r n m e n t s in what are known as the U n i o n List,State List and the C o n c u r r e n t List inScheduleVII.Subjects of r e l e v a n c e to the criminaljustice s y s t e m include the c o n s t i t u t i o n ;organization, j u r i s d i c t i o n and powers of theSupreme Court of India; and the e x t e n s i o n of thepowers and j u r i s d i c t i o n of m e m b e r s of a p o l i c eforce.Public Order, Police, o f f i c e r s andservants of the State High Courts and p r i s o n s arew i t h i n the l e g i s l a t i v e c o m p e t e n c e of States.In sum, the criminal Justice S y s t e m in Indiais a legacy of the B r i t i s h system.It has foursubsystems, those being the L e g i s l a t u r e(Parliament), E n f o r c e m e n t (police), A d j u d i c a t i o n(courts), and C o r r e c t i o n s (prisons, c o m m u n i t yfacilities).2. Legalsystem.The Indian legal s y s t e m is a mix ofa d v e r s a r i a l and accusatorial.In civil law, ac o n s c i o u s attempt has been made to respect andp r e s e r v e the t i m e w o r n tenets of both H i n d u andM u s l i m jurisprudence.(The President of India andG o v e r n o r s act a c c o r d i n g to the advice of theCouncil of Ministers.)An informal justice s y s t e mdoes o p e r a t e in the rural areas in civil andfamily matters.3. H i s t o r yof the C r i m i n a lJustice System.The j u r i s p r u d e n c e of A n c i e n t India, w h i c hwas e s s e n t i a l l y Hindu-ruled, was shaped by theconcept of "Dharma', or rules of right conduct, aso u t l i n e d in the various m a n u a l s e x p l a i n i n g theV e d i c s c r i p t u r e s such as "Puranas' and "Smritis'The King had no i n d e p e n d e n t a u t h o r i t y but d e r i v e dhis powers from "Dharma' which he was e x p e c t e d touphold. The d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n a civil w r o n g anda criminal o f f e n s e was clear. W h i l e civil wrongsrelated m a i n l y to d i s p u t e s a r i s i n g over wealth,the concept of pataka or sin was the s t a n d a r dagainst which crime was to be defined. (Basham,1967; Jois, Vol. I, 1990).The M a u r y a s Dynasty, which had e x t e n d e d tos u b s t a n t i a l parts of the Central and E a s t e r nregions d u r i n g the 4th Century, B.C., had arigorous penal s y s t e m which p r e s c r i b e d m u t i l a t i o nas well as the death p e n a l t y for even trivialoffenses.A b o u t the 2nd or 3rd C e n t u r y A.D., theD h a r m a s a h t r a code was drawn up by Manu, ani m p o r t a n t Hindu jurist.The coderecognized
assault and other b o d i l y injuries and p r o p e r t yoffenses such as theft and robbery.During therule of the Gupta D y n a s t y (4th to 6th C e n t u r yA.D.), the judicial h i e r a r c h y was formed.Thej u d i c i a r y was c o m p r i s e d of the guild, thef o l k - a s s e m b l y or the council and the king himself.Judicial d e c i s i o n s c o n f o r m e d to legal texts,social usage and the edict of the king, who wasp r o h i b i t e d from v i o l a t i n g the decisions. (Pillai,1983; Griffith, 1971; Thapar, 1990).India was s u b j e c t e d to a series of i n v a s i o n sby the M u s l i m s b e g i n n i n g in the 8th C e n t u r y A.D.and ending in the 15th c e n t u r y when a m i x e d raceof Persians, Turks and Mongols set up the M o g h u lEmpire.T h e y o c c u p i e d most of the N o r t h e r n regionand e n f o r c e d a M o h a m m e d a n criminal law thatc l a s s i f i e d all offenses on the basis of thep e n a l t y w h i c h each merited.These i n c l u d e dr e t a l i a t i o n (blood for blood), s p e c i f i c p e n a l t i e s(as for theft and robbery) and d i s c r e t i o n a r yp e n a l t i e s (Griffith, 1971; Atchuthan, 1983).India b e c a m e a nation under the B r i t i s h whoa r r i v e d in the early 17th C e n t u r y as traders ofthe East India Company. The C o m p a n y s l o w l ya c q u i r e d t e r r i t o r y across the s u b - c o n t i n e n t ,s t r i c t l y for c o m m e r c i a l o p e r a t i o n s in thebeginning, but g r a d u a l l y a s s u m e d c o n s i d e r a b l epowers of governance.C o n s i d e r i n g the M u s l i mcriminal law to be i r r a t i o n a l and draconian, theC o m p a n y b r o u g h t about several reforms t h r o u g h aseries of r e g u l a t i o n s which m o d i f i e d or e x p a n d e dthe d e f i n i t i o n s of some offenses, i n t r o d u c e d newoffenses and a l t e r e d p e n a l t i e s to make t h e m morelogical and reasonable. (Jois, Vol. II, 1990).In 1857, the large p o s s e s s i o n s and thea u t h o r i t y e n j o y e d by the C o m p a n y were t r a n s f e r r e dto the B r i t i s h M o n a r c h by an Act of Parliament.Until this time, India was a loose c o l l e c t i o n ofkingdoms, i n t e r a c t i o n s b e t w e e n w h o m were nominal,though cultural links were quite pronounced.An Indian Penal Code (IPC) d e f i n i n g crimeand p r e s c r i b i n g a p p r o p r i a t e p u n i s h m e n t s wasa d o p t e d in 1860, following the p a i n s t a k i n g work ofthe First Law Commission, p a r t i c u l a r l y itsC h a i r m a n Lord Macaulay.Drawing i n s p i r a t i o n fromthe E n g l i s h criminal law, the IPC has stood thetest of time.As a sequel to the IPC, a Code ofCriminal P r o c e d u r e was e n a c t e d in 1861 ande s t a b l i s h e d the rules to be f o l l o w e d in all stagesof i n v e s t i g a t i o n , trial and sentencing. (Rao,1991).This code was r e p e a l e d and a new Code cameinto effect in 1974.These two codes, along withparts of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, form theessence of India's criminal law.A large n u m b e rof special and local laws such as the Arms Act,P r o h i b i t i o n Act, Immoral T r a f f i c (Prevention) Act,etc., take care of various other a n t i - s o c i a l
activities.CRIMEI. C l a s s i f i c a t i o nof Crime.*Legal classification.The IPC divides ane s t i m a t e d 300 offensesinto two classes.C o g n i z a b l e crimes are those in w h i c h a p o l i c eofficer may arrest the a c c u s e d or a suspectw i t h o u t a warrant, and includes murder, rioting,rape, k i d n a p p i n g and abduction, robbery, dacoity,o r g a n i z e d robbery, h o u s e - b r e a k i n g and theft.Nonc o g n i z a b l e crimes are those in w h i c h a w a r r a n t isr e q u i r e d for arrest and are g e n e r a l l y of a m o r etrivial nature.Crimes can be c l a s s i f i e d as"bailable" or "non-bailable", d e p e n d i n g on theirseverity.(Rao, 1991)*Age of criminal responsibility.Under the IPC,criminal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y starts at the age ofseven.However, any act by a child b e t w e e n 7 and12 years old, which w o u l d o t h e r w i s e be criminal,is free from l i a b i l i t y if it is p r o v e d that thechild had not a t t a i n e d s u f f i c i e n t m a t u r i t y ofu n d e r s t a n d i n g to judge the nature and c o n s e q u e n c e sof his or her conduct on the o c c a s i o n in question.*Drug offenses.The N a r c o t i c Drugs andP s y c h o t r o p i c S u b s t a n c e s Act of 1985 p r o m u l g a t e d bythe U n i o n g o v e r n m e n t is the main l e g i s l a t i o nd e a l i n g with drug offenses.The Act definesn a r c o t i c drugs as coca leaf, cannabis (hemp) o p i u mstraw, and m a n u f a c t u r e d drugs, which includes allcoca derivatives, m e d i c i n a l cannabis, o p i u md e r i v a t i v e s and p o p p y straw concentrate.P s y c h o t r o p i c s u b s t a n c e s are those listed in theS c h e d u l e of the Act and include, among others,LSD, DET, and MDA.The Act p r o h i b i t s c u l t i v a t i o n of coca p l a n t sand the possession, sale, purchase, and use ofcoca leaves in v i o l a t i o n of the Act and inc o n t r a v e n t i o n of any license g r a n t e d under it.Asimilar p r o h i b i t i o n is i m p o s e d by the Act forp s y c h o t r o p i c substances. O f f i c e r s e m p o w e r e d underthe Act include those of the Union G o v e r n m e n t(Central Excise, Narcotics, Customs) and the StateG o v e r n m e n t (including Revenue, Drug Control,Excise, and the Police).2. Crimestatistics.The N a t i o n a l Crime Records Bureau of theUnion M i n i s t r y of Home A f f a i r s in N e w Delhi
publishesCrimein Indiaannually.*Murder.T h e r e were 39,174 m u r d e r s r e c o r d e d in1991.The IPC d e f i n e s m u r d e r as an act by w h i c hdeath is c a u s e d i n t e n t i o n a l l y . A t t e m p t s are notincluded.*Rape.T h e r e were 10,410 rapes in 1990.The IPCdefines rape as sexual i n t e r c o u r s e b y a m a n w i t h aw o m a n a g a i n s t her will, w i t h o u t her consent, orwith her consent, if her consent has b e e n o b t a i n e dby p u t t i n g her or any p e r s o n in w h o m she has aninterest in fear of death or harm.A t t e m p t s arenot included.* P r o p e r t y crime.There were 10,831 d a c o i t i e sr e c o r d e d in 1990. The IPC defines a d a c o i t y as arobbery c o m m i t t e d or a t t e m p t e d to be c o m m i t t e djointly by five or more persons.A t t e m p t s are notincluded.*Serious drug offense.In 1990, there w e r e 5,299drug offenses, as e s t a b l i s h e d by the N a r c o t i cDrugs and P s y c h o t r o p i c S u b s t a n c e s A c t of 1985.There were 64,234 kilograms of illegal s u b s t a n c e sseized.A t t e m p t s are not included.*Crime regions.In 1991, 8 cities r e c o r d e d m o r ethan I0,000 c o g n i z a b l e IPC o f f e n s e s each.Thesewere the four m e t r o p o l i t a n cities of Bombay,Calcutta, M a d r a s and Delhi and the cities ofAhmedabad, Bangalore, H y d r a b a d and Pune.The fourd i s t r i c t s of Patna, Bhopal, Indore, and J a i p u ralso r e g i s t e r e d m o r e than I0,000 c o g n i z a b l e IPCoffenses.M u r d e r s a r i s i n g out of land d i s p u t e s are m o r ecommon in rural areas. S u b u r b a n areas w h i c h havei s o l a t e d h o u s i n g units and are not i n t e n s i v e l yp o l i c e d report a large number of dacoities.Cities tend to report a large n u m b e r of p o c k e tp i c k i n g s and f o r c i b l e s n a t c h i n g of j e w e l r y cases.VICTIMSI. Groupsmostvictimizedby crime.Due to the a b s e n c e of s u r v e y data, it isd i f f i c u l t to say w h e t h e r a p a r t i c u l a r e t h n i c orage group is m o r e v i c t i m i z e d than another.2. Victims'assistanceagencies.A few p r i v a t e v o l u n t a r y a g e n c i e s are a c t i v ein a s s i s t i n g v i c t i m s and survivors, p a r t i c u l a r l y
in cases of m u r d e r or rape.All of the Stateshave S t a t e - s p o n s o r e d Legal A d v i c e Boards w h i c hoffer free legal a d v i c e to the poor, both incriminal and civil litigation.3. Roleof the victim.The v i c t i m hasor in sentencing.4. Victims'rightsnoroleeitherin p r o s e c u t i o nlegislation.Under S e c t i o n 357 of the Code of C r i m i n a lProcedure, when a Court imposes a fine or as e n t e n c e w h i c h includes a fine, it m a y o r d e r thefine to be a w a r d e d to the v i c t i m in c o m p e n s a t i o nfor any loss or i n j u r y c a u s e d by the offense.Incases w h e r e no fine is imposed, the Court m a ydirect the a c c u s e d to c o m p e n s a t e any p e r s o n forloss or injury. S e c t i o n 358 of the Code ofC r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e p r o v i d e s for c o m p e n s a t i o n to ap e r s o n w r o n g f u l l y a r r e s t e d by the police.Until a few years ago, the courts werer e l u c t a n t to invoke these sections of law.Recently, the Higher Courts have been m o r ei n c l i n e d to award c o m p e n s a t i o n where no fine hasbeen ordered.POLICEi. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .The Police are a civil a u t h o r i t y s u b o r d i n a t eto the Executive, r e p r e s e n t e d in the U n i o nG o v e r n m e n t by the Prime M i n i s t e r and in the Statesby the Chief Minister, and their r e s p e c t i v eC o u n c i l s of Ministers.P r o m i n e n t among the U n i o np o l i c e forces are the C e n t r a l Bureau ofInvestigation(CBI), Border S e c u r i t y Force (BSF),Central R e s e r v e Police Force (CRPF), C e n t r a lI n d u s t r i a l S e c u r i t y Force (CISF) and theI n d o - T i b e t a n Border Police (ITBP). Each of theseforces is h e a d e d by a D i r e c t o r / D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a lwith the status of a t h r e e - s t a r General in theArmy. The CBI is c o n t r o l l e d by the D e p a r t m e n t ofP e r s o n n e l of the U n i o n G o v e r n m e n t h e a d e d by aM i n i s t e r of State who reports to the PrimeMinister. The other forces are c o n t r o l l e d by theU n i o n M i n i s t r y of Home A f f a i r s h e a d e d by a C a b i n e tMinister.The bulk of the Indian Police is c o m p r i s e d offorces in the States. Each State has its own forceh e a d e d by a D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l of Police (DGP) whois e q u i v a l e n t in rank to his c o u n t e r p a r t in the
Union G o v e r n m e n t forces.A n u m b e r of A d d i t i o n a lD i r e c t o r s - G e n e r a l or I n s p e c t o r s - G e n e r a l of Police(IGP) who look after various portfolios, such asPersonnel, Law & Order, Intelligence, Crime, A r m e dPolice, Training, and T e c h n i c a l Services arel o c a t e d at the State Police H e a d q u a r t e r s andreport d i r e c t l y to the DGP.M a j o r cities in aState are h e a d e d by a C o m m i s s i o n e r of Police (CP)who, again, reports to the DGP.Areas outsidethese cities in a State are d i v i d e d into D i s t r i c t sof varying size.Each d i s t r i c t is h e a d e d by aS u p e r i n t e n d e n t of Police (SP) and s u p e r v i s e d by aD e p u t y I n s p e c t o r - G e n e r a l (DIG) w h o s e j u r i s d i c t i o nis called a Range, c o m p o s e d of a group of three orfour districts.In each D i s t r i c t and in the city p o l i c eforce, the b a s i c p o l i c e unit is a Police S t a t i o n(PS).A few p o l i c e stations have an O u t - p o s t (OP)w h i c h is a m i n i - s t a t i o n for serving remote ort r o u b l e - p r o n e localities.The n u m b e r of p o l i c estations depends on the size of the State and theDistrict.The state of Madhya Pradesh, w h i c h isthe largest state in terms of area (443,447 squarekilometers) has i,i01 Police Stations and 554out-posts.W h i l e the larger d i s t r i c t s have anaverage of 22 Police stations, the smaller oneshave 15.A m e d i u m - s i z e d State such as Tamil Nadu,with an area of 130,058 square kilometers, has1,090 p o l i c e stations and 163 out-posts.Am e d i u m - s i z e d D i s t r i c t c o v e r i n g an area of about8,000 square k i l o m e t e r s has about 40 p o l i c estations.Each p o l i c e s t a t i o n is h e a d e d by aS u b - I n s p e c t o r or I n s p e c t o r r e f e r r e d to as theStation House O f f i c e r (SHO). A d e s i g n a t e d n u m b e rof Constables, the lowest rank in the p o l i c eforce, and Head C o n s t a b l e s are a s s i g n e d to eachp o l i c e station.In some States, there area d d i t i o n a l ranks, such as A s s i s t a n t S u b - I n s p e c t o ror A s s i s t a n t Police Inspector.W h i l e urban p o l i c estations often have certain functional d i v i s i o n ssuch as Law and Order and Crime and Traffic, nosuch d i v i s i o n s exist in rural or v i l l a g e p o l i c estations.An A r m e d R e s e r v e at the D i s t r i c tHeadquarters, under the c o m m a n d of theS u p e r i n t e n d e n t of Police, handles p u b l i cd i s t u r b a n c e problems, such as religious or casteriots and clashes b e t w e e n p o l i t i c a l rivals.Thereare a few b a t t a l i o n s of the Special A r m e d Police(SAP) used for more serious situations.The SAPis d e p l o y e d by the D i r e c t o r General of Police whenthe s i t u a t i o n w a r r a n t s it.For example, if d u r i n ga major b r e a k d o w n of p u b l i c peace the State Policeare o u t n u m b e r e d and unable to cope with them a g n i t u d e of the disorder, a State G o v e r n m e n t mayask for Central forces, e s p e c i a l l y the C e n t r a l
Reserve Police Force. The cost of such d e p l o y m e n tis u s u a l l y borne by the State government.The Criminal I n v e s t i g a t i o n Department (CID)is an important arm of every State Policedepartment.Headed by an A d d i t i o n a l Director ofGeneral Police or Inspector General of Police, itis a s p e c i a l i z e d agency for c o n d u c t i n g sensitiveinquiries into allegations against public figuresor police personnel.More importantly, it ise n t r u s t e d with the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of importantcriminal cases which cannot be solved by theDistrict Police.2. Resources.*Expenditures.There are separate budgets for theUnion and State Police forces.A large State suchas Madhya Pradesh has an annual police budget ofRupees 3,730 million.A m e d i u m - s i z e d State suchas Tamil Nadu has an annual police budget ofRupees 3200 million.There are two schemes by which the UnionG o v e r n m e n t assists State Police d e p a r t m e n t s tostrengthen police administration: the PoliceHousing Scheme and the M o d e r n i z a t i o n Scheme.While the Police Housing Scheme funds thec o n s t r u c t i o n of housing un
the concept of pataka or sin was the standard against which crime was to be defined. (Basham, 1967; Jois, Vol. I, 1990). The Mauryas Dynasty, which had extended to substantial parts of the Central and Eastern regions during the 4th Century, B.C., had a rigorous penal system which prescribed mutilation
WORLD FACTBOOK OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS SINGAPORE Mahesh Nalla Michigan State University This country report is one of many prepared for the World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems under Bureau of Justice Statistics grant No. 90-BJ-CX-0002 to the State University
WORLD FACTBOOK of CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS cuba by Ray Michalowski Northern Arizona University This country report is one of many prepared for the World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems under Bureau of Justice Statistics grant no. 90-
US Department of Justice, World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington DC, 1993 MODULE 2 ASPECTS OF COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL POLICY. 6 Systems of Administration of Criminal Justice (Adversarial & Inquisitorial) . Perspectives on Criminal Justice Systems,
unity of the civil and criminal justice system, which means that the same court can hear both criminal and civil cases. 3. History of the Criminal Justice System. . The victim must establish that the crime fulfills three conditions: a) that the offense is punishable; b) that the offense attacked an interest that is penally protected; c) and .
-Organized a panel on International Terrorism for criminal justice department, November 2012. -Advised junior students, from 2012 to present. -Member: Criminal Justice Faculty Search Committee 2013. Chair: Criminal Justice Methods Faculty Search Committee 2014. -Member: Criminal Justice General Faculty Search Committee 2014.
Criminal Justice - CJ CJ 493 Undergraduate Research in Criminal Justice Faculty-guided undergraduate research in criminal justice. CJ 494 Criminal Justice Practicum Observation, participation, and study in selected criminal justice agencies. Economics - EC EC 332 Monetary Policy Analysis for Fed Challenge
School of Criminal Justice Dis-tinguished Alumni Award from the University at Albany, State University of New York. The School of Criminal Justice has a well-regarded doctoral program in Criminal Justice. Professor Zalman is a graduate of this pro-gram. Each year, the School of Criminal Justice at the Univer-sity at Albany selects two alumni
3. Articulate and defend differing views on contemporary criminal justice issues. 4. Analyze the sources of political influence over Criminal Justice Policy 5. Use a range of resources to research a contemporary issue in criminal justice 6. Apply criminal justice research methods to current issues in criminal justice Course Textbook:
