THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA, IN A CATENA OF DECISIONS spread over decades, has emphasised for the Witness Protection Scheme and the setbacks caused by the lack of it in offering a fair trial. However, the said plea has always been overlooked by the legislative wing of the state.
The Executive, with the help of the Judiciary and vice versa, is trying its best to fill in the said gap; however, that can never be said to be infallible in the absence of a specific legislation on the subject. The anticipated law for the witness protection scheme shall also establish an independent task force in addition to the mechanism for protection.
The Supreme Court in a very well-renowned decision in Krishna Mochi v. State of Bihar (2002), has more particularly observed that “the society suffers by both wrong convictions and wrong acquittals”. It goes unsaid that the role of a witness is paramount in the criminal justice system of any country. Therefore, any law aiming to redress the problem of “hostile witness” needs to be infallible.
