Dearth of justice for victims of crime: judge

If society has to be safe and secure, governments need to know the reasons for acquittal of the accused and bring in laws to rectify the mistakes that lead to acquittals, said A.S. Pachhapure, judge of the Karnataka High Court.

Unfortunately not much care has been taken to protect the interests of victims of crime in our criminal justice system, while a lot has been said about the personal liberty and human rights of the accused persons, he said in his address during the farewell given to him on his superannuation by the High Court and the State Bar Council here on Tuesday.

“If we look at the criminal justice system, the conviction rate was less than 10 per cent a decade ago and it is now increased to 20 per cent. Only 20 per cent of the criminals are punished while the rest are free and are part of society,” said Mr. Pachhapure.

Pointing out the dearth in the development law towards justice for victims of crime in the country, he said that it is time for the governments to do the needful to strengthen the prosecution for protecting the rights and interests of the victims of crime. Mr. Pachhapure was the first judge of the Special Court constituted to conduct the trial of disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2003-04. He had joined service as a district judge in 1993 and served in many posts, including Registrar (Vigilance) and Registrar General of the High Court, before he was elevated as a judge of the High Court in 2007.