INDIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sidharth Luthra, Aayushi Sharma Khazanchi and Sheezan Hashmi, Chambers of Sidharth Luthra
Commissioner of Police, the court can initiate the process of requesting assistance from a court or authority, in seeking state assistance for the attachment or forfeiture of a pro- claimed offender (Section 86). • Police can approach the court to attach and forfeit any property obtained as the proceeds of crime. The court is empowered to pass an ex parte order of attachment or seizure where the object of attachment would be defeated if notice is issued to the offender (Section 107). • The officer in charge of a police station is required to mandatorily register a FIR for offences, irrespective of the jurisdiction of said police station. Information may be given by the informant orally or electronically (Sec- tion 173). • Accused individuals have an opportunity to be heard before the court takes cognisance of an offence based on a complaint (Section 223 (1)). • Magistrates are required to furnish docu- ments of the case to the accused within 14 days from the accused’s production or appearance (Section 230). • Every state government is required to prepare and notify a Witness Protection Scheme for the State with a view to ensuring the protec- tion of the witnesses. Draft Witness Protec- tion Scheme 2018 was previously sanctioned by the Supreme Court of India in Mahendra Chawla v Union of India, 2018 SCC OnLine SC 2679 (Section 398). Revised timelines under the BNSS 2023 • Judgments are to be delivered by courts within 30 days from the completion of final arguments. • Charges against an accused are to be framed with 60 days from the first hearing on charge. • The court can proceed with a trial against a proclaimed offender if said offender has
absconded to evade trial, after 90 days from the framing of the charge. The purpose of this provision appears to be either to compel the appearance of individuals evading summons, investigation or trial, or to seize the assets of such fugitives who have properties located abroad. • Mercy petitions in death sentence cases are to be filed within 30 days before the Gover- nor and within 60 days before the President. The Superintendent of the Jail where the death row convict is lodged is responsible for informing convicts about the confirmation of their death sentence or the dismissal of their appeal or review of a special leave appeal. Digital focus of the BNSS 2023 • Provisions have been introduced for record- ing evidence through “audio-video electronic” means. To ensure this is implemented, court staff at all levels of court need to be trained. • To ensure that mandatory forensic inves- tigations happen, the capacity of forensic facilities needs to be scaled up. The Head of Crime Scene Management (CSM) at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Rohini in New Delhi estimates that FSL would have to deal with 8,000% more cases each year (90,000 cases). It currently deals with around 1,000 to 1,200 cases per year. • The inability to adequately scale up infra- structure and staff at forensic laboratories is likely to lead to bottlenecks and delays in trials. One nation, two systems? • Section 531 of the BNSS 2023 states that appeals, applications, trials, inquiries or investigations pending under the BNSS 2023 will be conducted under the old regime, cre- ating two parallel procedures of trial, at least in the foreseeable future.
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