Arthita Halder, BBA LLB (Hons.) Alliance School of Law
ABSTRACT
The capacity of courts to punish the perpetrator and provide justice to the victim can be used to assess the success of criminal justice administration. During the process of determining guilt, courts rely on evidence presented by the parties, whether oral or documented. The oral evidence is presented through witness versions. Witnesses are a vital source of information for courts in determining the guilt of the accused. The witness versions make it easier for the courts to reach a fair conclusion. As a result, the witness plays an important part in criminal justice administration. For this reason, Whittaker Chambers said, “In search of truth, he plays that sacred role of the sun, which eliminates the darkness of ignorance and illuminates the face of justice, encircled by devils of humanity and compassion.” 1 Reports of witness inducement, threatening, harassing, and intimidation are coming in on a daily basis. All of these incidents instil dread in the minds of witnesses, causing them to hesitate to come forward to participate in the court process and frequently turn antagonistic. Furthermore, a witness falters due to our country's absence of a witness protection framework. The Law Commission of India, in its different findings, underlined the problems that witnesses encountered over the course of the trial and suggested that a complete strategy on witness protection be incorporated. In this research paper, the researcher seeks to highlight the problem faced by the witnesses in the criminal justice system and discuss the issue of witness protection in India. Also, under Criminal Code Procedure there is no such sections for the protection and safeguard of witnesses. Therefore, the researcher will also focus on how CrPC should protect the witnesses. This paper has analysed the scheme for the protection of witness and also its drawbacks. The Law Commission of India has suggested and recommended to incorporate a comprehensive policy on the protection of witness in India which has been analysed in this paper. Therefore, the need for fair trial in highly important for the jurisdiction which is the main focus in this paper.
Keywords: Witnesses, Law Commission of India, Criminal justice administration, oral evidence
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