The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently constituted a committee for reforming the criminal law system in our country. Such a move at a time of a public health crisis, at a time when the government is already dismantling and diluting various other laws is highly problematic and betrays the real intention. The establishment of the Committee by the MHA, as opposed to the Law Commission looking into the same raise further doubts. Also problematic is the constitution of the Committee - all male, Delhi based and from the dominant class- and its functioning. The public have been given just 2 weeks time to fill out answers to questions within 200 words in English all online. The entire process is exclusionary, does not envisage any real consultation, and only seeks to consult "experts". This entire process appears to be a pretence for changing the fundamentals of our criminal law system during this public health crisis. We urge you to sign the representation challenging such a sham exercise:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejNDFktVWtZX6h8-p81NqkpRTN3EsS8UwFWwvnKMkF59Al_Q/viewform
email to committee:
Extract from a response.. We are former judges, lawyers, academics and former bureaucrats working with the criminal justice system across the country. We are writing in response to the call for consultation issued by the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws...For such ngagement to proceed on a good faith basis, we call upon the Committee to demonstrate its bonafides and its commitment to a rigorous law reform exercise by ensuring full transparency regarding its constitution and its functioning.... We therefore call on the Committee and
the University to:
a. Release upfront, in one single tranche, the list of all questions/issues on which the Committee will be seeking inputs...
b. Provide at least 3 months time for stakeholders to respond to all questions/issues....
c. Ensure that the questionnaires are made available in all major Indian languages...
d. Remove word limits for responding to the questions...
e. Include more expertise and diversity. ..f. Provide additional mechanisms for inputs.
f. Commit to transparency and greater stakeholder engagement in the functioning of the Committee.
Signed by 14 former judges, 52 lawyers, 3 Academicians..