INTRODUCTION

Let hundred go unpunished, But never punish an innocent person”

The accused person has the right to  free and fair trial. It is a constitutional commitment towards him. Beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt the prosecution have to prove the guilt of the accused person. The accused person is provided with certain rights for protecting himself from the barbaric act and illegal arrest.

1.PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENSE

The principle of presumption of innocence which clearly  states that an individual is always considered as “Innocent until proven guilty”. In the case of Woolmington vs. Dpp the house of lords held that ” presumption of innocence is the golden thread of criminal law and can no way be jeopardised “. The conviction of innocence is against to Democratic principle of our country. So before convicting a person. The accused person has the opportunity to defend himself and also present his statements and arguments. The state has the obligation to provide free legal aid to the accused person to defend himself from the criminal trial. In virtue of section 228 of criminal procedure code,the court will provide equal opportunity to both the parties. After hearing both sides the court has the utmost authority to declare a decision. The decisions of the court should not be biased. The court will not support a particular side or to show any favour or disfavour to any party. The prosecution has the duty to prove the guilt of the accused. After  the trial, if the allegations against the accused are proved the accused is considered  as guilty otherwise he will be discharged from the case

2.VENUE OF THE TRIAL

In Rajendra Ram chandra kavalekar v. State of Maharastra& another In this case  court observed that, If we want to determine the territorial jurisdiction of a court with regard to criminal offence, it is completely on the basis of place of occurence of the incident and not on the basis of where the complaint was filed. On the basis of averments contained in the complaint or charge sheet will decide the venue of enquiry. Section 177 of Cr. P. C clearly defines that every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. By virtue of section 178 of the code if the place of occurence of the crime is uncertain because where an incident is partly in one local area or other part is done in another local area or where it consists of several acts done in different local areas, it may be tried by a court by a court having jurisdiction over any of such local areas.

Section 177to 189 of Cr. PC helps to facilitate fair trials.

3.INDEPENDENT, IMPARTIAL AND COMPETENT JUDGES

The code of criminal procedure provides independent and impartial competent judges. It will help to increase the belief of citizens towards the criminal justice system.

4.RIGHT OF ACCUSED PERSONS OF AT THE TRAIL.

( a) Right of accused to know of the accusation.

Right to be informed of the accusations against the accused is a basic right of an accused person. In the period of trial the court will frame charges against the accused person and it is the duty of the court to be read and explained to the accused. Section 211 and 224 are the main provisions to be followed by the court.

( b)Right of accused to be tried in his presence

The accused person has the right to present in his trial and to properly understand the allegations which are charged against him. The presence of the accused person in his trial is considered a fair trial. According to section 238 the magistrate has the duty to provide the significant documents such as copy of the charge sheet, statements of the witness etc to the accused.Mohd. Hussian @ julifikar v. The state of Delhi, In this case there were fifty six witnesses in this case .The accused was allowed to cross examine only one witness. The Hon’ble court held that this is not the right way to do the cross examination. If a person is charged with serious criminal offences. He should have the right to take part in the whole proceedings of his trail.

(c ) Right to cross – examine prosecution witness

By virtue of section 244, the accused will get an opportunity to  cross- examine the witnesses produced by the prosecution. According to section 246,  if the charge has not been framed the prosecution will not get the opportunity to cross-examining the witnesses.

(d )Right of accused to offer evidence in defence

According to section 241 of the criminal procedure code magistrate will call upon the accused to present his evidence before the court. If the accused will put a written statement the magistrate will record it in the file. Prosecution has the duty to collect evidence against the accused. The burden of proof completely lies upon the prosecution.

( d )Right to speedy trial

The apex court held that a speedy trial is an essential part of fundamental right to life and liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the constitution of india. If a person is under jail custody, it is very essential that he should be speedily tried. A delayed trial is always not an unfair trial. Sometimes the accused may intentionally delay the trial.Now a days many undertrials are kept in jail. This causes a heavy burden on the judiciary.

In the case of surya narayanan singh v. State

The speedy trial should start from the stage of police investigation. If any delay may occur in the stage of police investigation it will clearly affect the ordinal and speedy trial of proceedings.

In another case  Raghubir singh v. State of Bihar, if the delay was caused due to the tactics of the accused or delay is caused due to the nature of the case and because of the prevailing situation in the country. The court held that there was no delay in investigation and trail of their cases warranting the quashing of proceedings against him.

CONCLUSION

Right to a fair trial is an essential right of a person who believes in our criminal justice system. Equity, justice and liberty are the three pillars of administration of justice of India. The criminal justice system of India consists of all necessary provisions and also we have to follow them with utmost respect.

Aishwarya Says:

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