Plea Bargaining(Section 265 A-L of Cr.PC)

Presented By- Absar Aftab Absar

introductionIntroduced after the amendment Act of 2005 in Code of Criminal Procedure.

Came into effect on July 5,2006.

Pre-trial negotiation between Defendant and Prosecution.

Accused pleads guilty in return for certain concessions promised by the Prosecutor- usually to drop or reduce some charges.

It is introduced in response to the delay in the disposal of criminal cases.

Historical Background (Global)

Was used in America in the 19th Century.

In the year 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. to avoid execution sentence. He finally got an imprisonment of 99 years.

In a landmark judgment in , Bordenkircher V. Hayes, the US Supreme Court held that the constitutional rationale for plea bargaining is that no element of punishment or retaliation so long as the accused is free to accept or reject the prosecutions offer.

Historical Background (Indian)

In the 12th Law Commission Report the concept behind incorporating Plea Bargaining was mentioned.

To reduce the delays in the disposal of criminal trials and appeals and also to alleviate the sufferings of under trials.

The NDA government formed a committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of the Karnataka and Kerala High Courts, where Justice V. S. Malimath came up with some suggestions to tackle the ever-growing number of criminal cases.The Malimath Committee recommended that a system of plea bargaining be introduced in the Indian Criminal Justice System to facilitate the earlier disposal of criminal cases and to reduce the burden of the courts.

The Early Bias…In erstwhile cases, the Supreme Court has described plea bargaining as 'the subrosa ante-room settlement' 'method of short circuiting the hearing'

It stated that the practice 'would tend to encourage corruption, collusion.

In, State of Uttar Pradesh v Chandrika {2000 Cr.L.J. 384}

It was observed that the court has to decide on merits. Mere admission of the guilt must not be a ground for reduction of sentence.

Reasons for bringing this concept in India

Speedy disposal of criminal cases i.e. reduction in heavy

backlogs.

Less time consuming.

End of uncertainty of a case.

Saving legal expenses of both the parties i.e. accused

and state.

Less congestion in jails.

Contd…Under present system, 75% to 90% of the criminal cases results in acquittal, in this situation it is preferable to introduce this concept in India.

It is not fair to keep the accused with hard-core criminals .

Indian Model of Plea Bargaining

Accused initiates the proceedings.

Offence not punishable with maximum seven years of imprisonment.

Application filed by accused in the court where trial is pending.

Court examines the accused in camera.

Contd…

Court has to satisfy itself that filing of application is voluntary.

Court is responsible whether the application is voluntary and with free consent of accused.

Time is provided by the Court to work out a satisfactory disposition of case.

Contd…

Court is bound to dispose of the case after awarding compensation as per the settlement.

Quantum of punishment to be decided after hearing concerned parties.

It may range from one-fourth to one – half of the prescribed punishment for that offence.

Contd…

Law makes it mandatory to pronounce Judgment in a open Court.

The statements in application made by accused shall not be used for any other purpose.

No appeal to any Court lies against the judgment.

Benefits in respect of Victim

He can easily get the

compensation.

He can save

himself from long

drawn Judicial Process.

Less time and money consuming

.

Benefits in respect of Accused

In case of Minimum

Punishment, he will get

half punishment.

If no such punishment is

provided, then he will

get one fourth of the

punishment provided.

He may release on

probation or admonition.

He may get the gain of

period already

undergone in custody under section 428 of

Cr.P.C.

Contd…No appeal lies

against the judgment in

favour of him.

Admission of accused cannot be used for any other purposes except for Plea-

bargaining.

Less time and money

consuming.

Cannot be invoked

Punishment of offence more than seven years and/or it affects the socio-economic condition of Country( to be notified by Central Government).

Committed against women or child under fourteen years.

Previously convicted by court in which charged with same offence.

Judicial Pronouncements on Plea Bargaining

State of Uttar Pradesh v. Chandrika {AIR 2000 (SC) 164, AIR 1999 (SCW) 4251, 2000 CrLJ 384}

In, State of Gujarat v Natwar Harchanji Thakor, {AIR (2005) Cr. L.J. 2957}

Gujarat High Court in favor of Plea Bargaining

It addressed it as a new dimension to the realm of Judicial reforms

Contd…

SC examined the concept in,

Murlidhar Meghraj Loyat v State of Maharashtra {AIR1976SC1929, 1976CriLJ1527} and Kasambhai v State of Gujarat {AIR1980SC854, 1980CriLJ553}.

In the latter case SC resisted a plea of guilt based on Plea Bargaining as it would oppose Public policy.

Contd…

In, Kachhia Patel Shantilal Koderlal vs State of Gujarat and Anr.

The Court held that plea bargaining is unconstitutional and illegal and would subvert the process of law and frustrate social objective.

Advantages of Plea Bargaining

Manages case load.

Reduces work load of Prosecutors and giving them time to prepare for grave cases.

No time and money consuming trial, accused just submits before law.

Contd…

The prosecution has chance to find accused as guilty by co-operating with him in plea bargaining, which is not possible if prosecution is weak.

Prosecutor may agree for a plea bargaining of an insignificant accused to collect evidence against other graver accused.

Contd…

Gives relief to victim also as he can avoid lengthy court procedure.

Beneficial for under trials too as it helps reducing long pendency in court.

Disadvantages…

For accused there is every chance of being practically coerced.

Plea Bargaining undercuts the requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

That plea negotiation is substantially more likely than trial to result in the conviction of innocent.

It is to show leniency towards offenders.

Prosecutors can be influenced by the equities of individual cases, the seriousness of the accused’s alleged crime, their prior criminal record, and so on.

Contd…

Prosecutors can use plea bargaining to create seemingly impressive conviction rates.The personal bias with the defence lawyers also may influence plea bargaining practices.The private defense lawyers may sometimes deceive the client and may pursue for Plea Bargaining.

Conclusion….

Law is still in nascent stage. No results as to the efficacy can be drawn out.

It is a leniency towards the accused.

Only Plea Bargaining cannot solve the backlog of cases.

It can be efficiently used for miscarriage of Justice by Prosecutors as well as Defense lawyers.

Process is unfair with the innocent.