SC agrees on Center’s 24×7 witness protection scheme

Apex Court ordered all states and union territories to immediately implement a scheme intended to protect witnesses in the cases

• The Supreme court agreed on the first ever plan – called “Witness Protection Scheme” framed by Union Government of India to protect the witnesses in criminal and intensive civil cases from turning hostile and tampering cases on 6th December, 2018.
• The Apex court ordered all states and union territories to immediately implement a scheme intended to protect witnesses in criminal cases to prevent them from turning hostile, a fact blamed for the low conviction rates in criminal trials in the country.
• Under this scheme, witness protection may be as simple as providing a police escort to the witness up to the courtroom or, in more complex cases involving an organized criminal group, taking extraordinary measures such as offering temporary residence in a safe house, giving a new identity, and relocation at an undisclosed place.
• The scheme also considers that the competent district authority, chaired by the district and sessions judge with the head of the police as member and head of the prosecution as the member secretary, will deal with applications by any witness, his family member or friend seeking protection.
• This includes cases where the threat extends to the reputation, the safety, the property of the witness or their family members during the investigation or trial. And, the final category includes the threats that extend to harassment or intimidation of witnesses and their family members.
• The court has also directed the states and union territories to establish a vulnerable witness deposition complexes within the end of 2019. This area is to be equipped with facilities to prevent the accused from confronting the witnesses and posing them any threats.
• This ruling comes in the context of a number of cases of fatal attacks suffered by witnesses in the past. On Thursday’s hearing, the SC deliberated on the petition to seek protection for the witnesses in rape cases that involved Gujarat-based preacher Asaram Bapu.
  

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  The scheme will apply to witnesses of three categories

• The first category includes cases where the threat extends to their life or that of their family members during an investigation, trial or even after that.
• The second category includes cases where the threat extends to the reputation, the safety, the property of the witness or their family members during the investigation or trial
• The final category includes the threats that extend to harassment or intimidation of witnesses and their family members.

Such applications will be disposed of in five days with an assessment of the threat perception by the local police. The respective courts will have witness protection cells to implement it, except in case of a witness relocation which will be carried out by the state home department.

There will also be a Witness Protection Fund to bear the expenses incurred in protecting a witness. The protection measures shall be proportionate to the threat and for a specific duration not exceeding three months at a time.