'Amend laws for time-bound trial of cases of crime against women’

A parliamentary standing committee has recommended for time-bound investigation and trial of the cases of crime against women, asking the government to consider amending the existing laws to provide for submission of charge-sheet by police in such cases within 30 days of the crime and the conclusion of the trial in courts within a period of six months to one year.

Necessary amendments should be made in the existing laws to deny bail to the accused involved in “heinous crime” against women, the panel recommended.

To expedite the trial of the pending cases and their time-bound disposal to provide “a reasonable time” for justice and surety of punishment, the panel recommended for setting up of permanent fast track courts with “appropriate legislative backing” along with the mandate to decide the cases within six months of the incident.

It also pitched for setting up of women cells with women police officers and other staff, at all the police stations in the country, asking the
Union Home Ministry to discuss with the states to explore the possibility of conducting a special recruitment drive for this.

“Delayed justice for Nirbhaya is a blot on our collective conscience... the public hailing of police action in Hyderabad case echoes the sentiment of the society that the guilty be punished immediately, it is a call for introspection for both the Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Home Affairs,” the House panel stated in its report.

The 31-member department-related standing committee on Human Resource Development (HRD), headed by Rajya Sabha Member Satyanarayan Jatiya, presented its report on the ‘Issues related to Safety of Women” to Parliament on Thursday.

The parliamentary panel took serious note of “a skewed distribution” of the fast-track special courts across the states. It asked the Ministry of Law and Justice to ensure a balanced distribution of courts.

“For example, there are 18 fast-track courts in Andhra Pradesh, 218 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Tamil Nadu and 31 in Karnataka,” the panel noted, suggesting that there should be one fast-track special court within 500 km of radius.

The House also expressed its anguish taking note of the fact that a number of the states have still not given their concurrence for setting up fast track special courts.