New Delhi: Noting that the people concerned scheduled caste And scheduled tribe continues to “face insurmountable obstacles in accessing justice from the stage of filing the complaint to the conclusion of the trial”, Supreme court Said on Friday that they should be made an active stakeholder in criminal proceedings and it is mandatory to keep victims of crimes under SC/ST Act Informed about the court proceedings against the accused and allowed trial.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna observed that Section 15A was incorporated in the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act 2015 to inform the members of marginalized castes about the proceedings of the court, including a The bail of the accused is also included, so that “the case can be effectively proceeded and countered. Effects of the faulty investigation”.
The court said that the victim or dependent has a right to be heard and ruled that the provision is an imperative which “must be observed with continuance”.
Section 15A(3) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act states that the victim or his dependent shall have the right to fair, accurate and timely information of any court proceeding including bail proceedings and the Special Public Prosecutor or the State Government shall have the right to it. Information has to be given. aggrieved in respect of any proceeding under this Act.
It said, “We also emphasize that sub-section (3) of section 15A provides that a reasonable and timely notice should be issued to the victim or his dependent. It shall mean That the notice is given to the victims or their dependents earlier or at the earliest. If there is undue delay in issuance of the notice, the victim, or their dependents, as the case may be, will not be informed of the progress made in the case and this will be done by the accused. This will adversely affect their rights to effectively oppose the defence of the defense. It will ultimately delay the bail proceedings or even the trial.”
The SC said that victims are often implicated in the role of a spectator in the criminal justice system and they often face significant obstacles during investigation and prosecution. “But the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes… are suffering because of procedural loopholes in the criminal justice system,” it said.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna observed that Section 15A was incorporated in the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act 2015 to inform the members of marginalized castes about the proceedings of the court, including a The bail of the accused is also included, so that “the case can be effectively proceeded and countered. Effects of the faulty investigation”.
The court said that the victim or dependent has a right to be heard and ruled that the provision is an imperative which “must be observed with continuance”.
Section 15A(3) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act states that the victim or his dependent shall have the right to fair, accurate and timely information of any court proceeding including bail proceedings and the Special Public Prosecutor or the State Government shall have the right to it. Information has to be given. aggrieved in respect of any proceeding under this Act.
It said, “We also emphasize that sub-section (3) of section 15A provides that a reasonable and timely notice should be issued to the victim or his dependent. It shall mean That the notice is given to the victims or their dependents earlier or at the earliest. If there is undue delay in issuance of the notice, the victim, or their dependents, as the case may be, will not be informed of the progress made in the case and this will be done by the accused. This will adversely affect their rights to effectively oppose the defence of the defense. It will ultimately delay the bail proceedings or even the trial.”
The SC said that victims are often implicated in the role of a spectator in the criminal justice system and they often face significant obstacles during investigation and prosecution. “But the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes… are suffering because of procedural loopholes in the criminal justice system,” it said.
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