With the states conviction rate at 9.4 per cent for 2012,the lowest in the country,the Maharashtra Polices pilot study on detection and prosecution points to hostile witnesses having a direct bearing on acquittals. The pilot study,done by Aurangabad Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar,has now been shared with the office of Director of Public Prosecution. The study looked at a 105 cases in Aurangabad,tried and heard at 17 sessions courts between January 2011 and December 2011. Of these,accused in 84 cases were acquitted and the conviction rate was a mere 20 per cent. As many as 44 cases of the total 105 pertained to bodily offences,in which 15 were acquitted of murder charges and 13 of attempt to murder charges. On an average,7.3 witnesses were examined in each case,with the gap between direct examination and cross-examination being very long. While several cases saw witnesses turning hostile,there were also three cases of complainants themselves turning hostile. Thirty-seven cases related to offences against women. In the 10 of these cases for rape,three saw acquittals since the victim,the most crucial witness in a sexual assault case,turned hostile. In another case,both the victim and her father turned hostile. In over 76 per cent cases,either the complainant or the witness turned hostile,making the case weak, says Kumar. We have also observed the long gap between the direct examination of the witnesses by the prosecution and their cross-examination by defence. We have enough reasons to believe they have been compromised or threatened, he adds. Witnesses in any case form the backbone,apart from forensics. While the average number of witnesses called for examination itself is low,it is also of concern that the ones who were examined turned hostile, says state DGP Sanjeev Dayal.
