Witness Protection Programme

URGENT NEED FOR A WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAMME IN INDIA
Prepared by: Prof. Hiralal Gaikwad
      B.S.L.,LL.M.(NET),D.L.L.,D.I.P.L.
The role of a witness is very important in a trial. He is an indispensable aid in the justice dispensation system in any civilized society. According to Bentham, witnesses are the eyes and ears of justice. Their each and every statement is very important as it has a magic force to change the course of the whole case.
The greatest weakness of our criminal justice system is that it has become dogged and does not function in a fluent fashion resulting in prompt determination of the guilt or innocence of those charged with crime. The most overwhelming and important reason for this weakness is the fact that prosecution witnesses retract from statements made earlier before the police and turn hostile in the Court. Witnesses are turning hostile with predictable regularity in cases involving heinous crimes or high profile personalities due to external pressures, thereby leading to the failures of the criminal justice system.
The whole issue of hostile witness came under sharp public scrutiny after the judgment in the landmark Jessica Lal and Best Bakery case . These cases came as an eye-opener showing glaring defects in the judicial system. This Article discusses how the law relating to the protection of witnesses is inadequate and also focuses on the need for a witness protection programme.
A criminal case is built upon the edifice of evidence that is admissible in law. For that, witnesses are required, whether it is direct evidence or circumstantial evidence. Today the witnesses are a harassed lot. Not only that the witness is bribed, threatened, abducted, even maimed or done away with. For all these reasons and many more, a person abhors from becoming a witness.
When Does A Witness Become Hostile.
              The role of a witness is paramount in the criminal justice system of any country. According to Bentham, witnesses are the...