Mangalore, September 21: Almost 95 per cent of the reported crimes in this country go unpunished due to the poor criminal justice system, lamented S M Jaamdar, Principal Home Secretary, Government of Karnataka.
Inaugurating a new post-graduation course -M Sc in Criminology and Forensic Science - at the School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, here, on Wednesday, he said overdependence on corroborative witnesses is one of the weaknesses of criminal justice system in India.
“In the present situation if 100 crimes are reported, accused in five are punished and rest go unpunished,” he said.
He pointed out that millions of cases in various courts across the country are pending for many years.
He opined that criminal trials in most cases fail mainly because witnesses turn hostile and not much importance is given to conclusive scientific evidence.
“If we want to change this situation, we have to depend more on conclusive evidence based on modern investigations tools than witnesses”, he suggested.
Mr Jaamdar also said that the bringing a criminal to books is the responsibility of civil society. “This mentality may have an impact on overall conviction rates across India”, he said.
Dr Channappa Gowda, Deputy Commissioner, Alok Mohan, IGP, Western Range, Seemanth Kumar Singh, City Police Commissioner and Labhu Ram, Superintendent of Police were present among others.
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