A study conducted by the Praja Foundation has indicated that serious cases take an average of 26 months from the time the police register them till the time they reach their logical conclusion, be it conviction or acquittal.
The data pertaining to the time taken for a case to conclude, which traced its journey including its registration, investigation, beginning of trial and conclusion, was released by the Praja Foundation in its report, ‘The State of Policing and Law and Order’ in the city.
The Foundation has obtained data through Right to Information applications and has also conducted a survey of a cross-section of Mumbaikars about their perception of safety in the city.
Praja Foundation members said they conducted a study of cases of serious crimes registered from January 2008 to December 2012. Of the 4,900 cases recorded in that time period, only 1,324 reached conclusion, while the rest are still at some stage of trial.
The longest time
According to the study, in 310 rape cases, it took 9.2 months to just file a charge sheet, while 30 dacoity cases took the longest time to reach their conclusion, an average of 25.6 months.
“Statement of the victim and a medical record are the main requirements in rape cases. The fact that such cases go on in court for so long in spite of this is a cause for concern,” said Nitai Mehta, Founder and Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation.
All the cases studied by the Foundation took about 28.6 hearings on average, with murder cases taking as many as 41.7 hearings over 16 months. An average time span of 12.3 months was seen from the first hearing in the courtroom to the decision date, the Foundation's data states.
At least 5267 police officials were recruited in financial year 2015-2016, the highest ever in the past five years. Milind Mhaske, Founder and Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation, however, said, “Although there has been an increase in the number of recruited personnel, the investigation process is slow.”
Rising crime rate
In a general survey on the crime rate in the city, the Foundation found that the number of rape cases increased by 289 per cent from 2011-12 to 2015-16, while cases of molestation went up by 287 per cent in this time period.
The Foundation also conducted a survey, seeking responses from 25,000 people across the city, which indicates that 33 per cent of them feel unsafe in the city, especially when it comes to women and children.
