Plea Bargaining Framework Call At Justice Seminar
- Attorney General urges new plea bargaining framework
- Experts discuss backlog, legal reforms, and justice delivery
Hyderabad: Plea Bargaining Framework emerged as a key focus at a national seminar on delivering justice in time. Attorney General for India R. Venkataramani called for a new approach to plea bargaining. The seminar was jointly organised by O.P. Jindal Global University and National Law University Delhi.
Addressing the inaugural session, Venkataramani stressed the need for a national protocol. He said, “Plea bargaining is becoming universal.
There’s a new need for a national protocol for plea bargaining, a national protocol which can be evolved and which can, in a very healthy way, advise, guide and counsel practitioners as well as victims of justice, so that the protocol can work in a more transparent and objective way. The legal and civil authority should be prepared to play important roles. The Chief Justice of India has consented to have a strong internal discussion on it. Existing legal mechanisms will also be made ready to look with a new lens and that there is concession for the defense and the resource management for the state.
The resource management for the state is not only relevant for the plea bargaining aspect. It is resource value for the state, essentially, like an economic principle which should run through the entire administration of justice.
This is why I have been thinking about a National Institute for Criminal Justice Administration which will also have an everyday index where we watch the measurement and performance. Those who practice in the trial court will find out how painful it is for people to simply waste their resources for governments, institutions, people, lawyers and judges as well as time!”
Meanwhile, he also proposed a Legal Health Index to assess justice delivery systems. He said, “A Legal Health Index is important for our country. The Legal Health Index will probably identify factors which will include preventative and predictable procedures, the ease of justice, what roles each one of us can play and what kind of resources’ investment that we require.
Therefore, a Legal Health Index should be properly conceived, identified and then operationalized. And who should do that? I do not think it needs to be necessarily in the hands of governance institutions but it is a role for law schools and universities in conceiving and maintaining the Legal Health Index. It’s important also for the community to get intellectually involved and to give a different point of view,” he added.
In his keynote address, Dr. Abhishek M. Singhvi highlighted the issue of pending cases. He said, “It is the paradox of India’s legal system, capable of producing some of the world’s most sophisticated jurisprudence, while simultaneously struggling with a massive backlog of cases. We need to deal with the ‘ABCD’—the access, backlog, cost and delay issues, and the obvious step is to appoint court judges.
We need to fill judicial vacancies, adopt multi-track case management systems, resolve very old cases through dedicated mechanisms, strengthen mediation and revive Gram Nyayalayas, and improve coordination across courts, police and prisons. We need a synergy and focus to deal with the high number of pending cases which is also holistic.
We need a curative and preventive approach and unconventional in a bold, new methodology to address the issue. The other extreme, which is a big failure, is arbitration. Arbitration has become pre-litigation litigation which is just adding one more separate limb to the process but the reality is that there are not enough trained mediators and this needs to be addressed on a war footing. There is also the issue of human infrastructure. The criminal law justice system includes the criminal hearing judge, the police and the prison staff and all these have to be synergically coordinated.”
Earlier, Prof. C. Raj Kumar underlined the urgency of reforms. He noted that India faces over 5 crore pending cases and proposed steps to improve justice delivery. These include strengthening judicial capacity, procedural reforms, and the use of technology and artificial intelligence.
The seminar also featured a message from Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal. He expressed interest in the outcomes and noted that a detailed report would be shared for follow up discussions.
Later, Prof. G.S. Bajpai emphasized that speed alone does not ensure justice. He called for fairness, transparency, and strong procedures. The event concluded with multiple sessions on reforms, digital courts, artificial intelligence, and pre trial mechanisms, with participation from legal experts, senior advocates, and academics.
Now you can get the latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram every day. Click the link to subscribe. Click to follow Indtoday’s Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates and Follow us on GoogleNews
More Stories…
Plea Bargaining Framework Call At Justice Seminar
Plea bargaining framework discussed at justice seminar. Attorney General calls for reforms, national protocol, and Legal Health Index in India.
