Revive whipping punishment

PUNE, Nov 1: Some senior police officers, who have settled here after their retirement, have called for reviving the punishment by whipping ...

PUNE, Nov 1: Some senior police officers, who have settled here after their retirement, have called for reviving the punishment by whipping for offences of highly objectionable type.

Perturbed about the delay in investigation and trials of various crimes, former CRPF director general V G Kanetkar, retired IPS officer S P Karnik, former CBI director Mohan Katre, former Intelligence Bureau director V G Vaidya and former principal secretary, home department, Maharashtra Government, B J Misar have formed a group of retired senior officers.

At a press conference here on Thursday, Kanetkar said the group has recommended that punishment by whipping may be imposed for eve-teasing of serious type which involves touching the victim8217;s body, sexual abuse of children, rape or sodomy, profiteering in or hoarding of essential commodities and vandalising public or private property.

The group has recommended using plea bargaining system. It has suggested that community service should be introduced as punishment for minor offences and that the authority to suspend sentences imposed by trial courts should be given to the sessions courts. They have recommended that there should be only one appeal against acquittal or convictions in cases tried by magistrates and that should lie with the sessions court. The revision petition to the High Court against the appellate judgments of the sessions court should be only on a point of law and revision petition to the Supreme Court should be only in cases where death sentence or life imprisonment has been imposed, Kanetkar said.

The group has recommended that provisions regarding anticipatory bail should be repealed and that the present mandatory provision regarding grant of bail to an accused if the investigation is not completed in 60/90 days should be modified. They have also suggested that certain police officials should be empowered to hear and dispose cases pertaining to minor offences and that police officials of and above the rank of deputy superintendent of police should be empowered to record confessions of the accused.