NCJ Number
222941
Journal
International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 13-26
Date Published
January 2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article comparatively analyzes the situation of witness protection in India and the United States and provides various recommendations for the improvement of witness protection in India.
Abstract
If the Indian law is compared to that of the United States, it can be noted that a United States lawyer would term the Indian law as ‘ancient’ as far as the law of witness protection is concerned. It is not that the laws are not present. Some of them are in place, but the difficulty remains that they have not developed at the same pace as the crime itself. The United States has the laws on “Witness Protection” which most of the countries do not have. From the prevention of ‘witness intimidation,’ to maintaining the ‘anonymity’ are some of the most important aspects of “Witness Protection” issues that the “Witness Protection Programs” in the United States deliberate upon and that too is done comprehensively and extensively dealt with. Hence, it is in the interest of India to fall back upon the United States for starting the Witness Protection Programs. In India, the situation of protection of witnesses is bleak. Due to their lack of witness protection in India, many witnesses do not favor the victim or appear in court. In the United States, there is a very effective Witness Protection Program. The aim of this article is to recommend the need for effective Witness Protection Programs in India. The paper is divided into four parts. Part one is a brief introduction to the problem of ‘hostile witnesses’. Part two deals with the Indian position on the ‘protection of witnesses’ and its lacunae. Part three briefly introduces the United States’ position on the subject, and lastly, part four recommends the developments required in the Indian law with special reference to the United States’ jurisprudence on the subject. References, notes