Maharashtra designates police stations, govt offices for court depositions; move faced protests in Delhi

Resistance in Delhi

On August 13, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena issued a notification designating all police stations in the National Capital as places where police personnel can present evidence and depose before courts through video conferencing. However, it was met with massive resistance by local Bar Councils.

Many lawyers argued that police stations were not “neutral venues” and testimonies presented from there would erode the fairness of a trial. Lawyers said that since police stations are controlled environments, such testimonies reduce scrutiny and accountability, as the defence, whose role is to test and challenge the state’s evidence, faces a witness in an environment shaped by the state itself.

The protests forced the police to stay the execution of the notification till “all stakeholders were heard” and representatives of protesting lawyers were called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Bar Council of India condemned the order, stating that it was issued without consulting “major stakeholders in the justice system”.

‘Going ahead with changes as per law’

Meanwhile, an official with the Maharashtra government said the notification was issued in June, but so far there has been no opposition. “We are just going ahead with the amendments mentioned in the new laws,” the official added.  

Last year, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by the BNSS, and the Indian Evidence Act by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). As per sections 265(3), 266(2) and 308 of the BNSS, the examination of a witness may be done by audio-video electronic means at the designated place to be notified by the state government.

“Considering the changes in the system, which expects speedy justice for victims, the Maharashtra government is preparing the infrastructure to fulfill the needs of the time,” an official said. While implementing the changes, the state government has also taken steps to adopt modern technology in the criminal justice system, the official said.

Accordingly, the government has notified all departments, semi-government, government-aided bodies, offices, municipalities, corporations, commissions, tribunals, institutions, all government or aided medical colleges, public health centres and hospitals as “designated places”, the official added.

Almost all the government offices across the state have been designated to record the statement of witnesses, and it leaves no chance that a person is unable to be present as a witness before the court, the official said, adding that in the future, this could be extended to the upper courts as well, so that the concept of postponement due to unavailability of a witness will come to end.