Maharashtra: Conviction rate dips in state as many witnesses turn hostile

Maharashtra: Conviction rate dips in state as many witnesses turn hostile

The Maharashtra police are faltering in their effort to combat crime. The conviction rate in the state fell from 25.14% in 2011 to 23.7% last year, underscoring the urgent need for sounder investigations and better coordination between public prosecutors and investigators.

Statistics collated by the directorate of public prosecution show that 3.43 lakh cases (under the Indian Penal Code, central and state laws) were "conducted" or concluded in 2012. Of these, 43,039 ended in convictions. By comparison, the year before, there were convictions in 48,130 cases of the 4.5 lakh that reached closure.

State home minister R R Patil conceded a dip in convictions in Maharashtra over the last few years. "The Democratic Front government in 2011 appointed a committee to study causes of the poor rate and recommend corrective measures. The home department adopted those measures."

Patil said the results of the department's steps will begin showing. "There has already been an improvement in numbers in the first four months of 2013," he said.

The home department claimed there was a marginal rise in conviction rate in 2012, compared to the previous year, but failed to provide figures.

A senior official said the conviction figures are mainly a result of witnesses turning hostile and lack of witnesses. The dearth of witnesses, he said, was the cause for 14.03% acquittals and witnesses turning hostile the reason for 25% exonerations . Director-general of police Sanjeev Dayal pegged the latter figure at 66%.

The worrying conviction rate becomes bothersome when zoomed in on.

State home department data shows convictions were gained in 9% of the Indian Penal Code cases in 2010; the next year, the tally slipped to 8.2%. In 2012, "the compounded conviction rate decreased to 7.8%," a Mantralaya official said.

Other states have better records than Maharashtra . In 2011, the National Crime Records Bureau said, while Maharashtra achieved convictions in 8.2% IPC cases, Uttar Pradesh scored convictions in 59.6% such cases, New Delhi in 58.1% and Haryana in 25.1%.

Taking note of the trend, Dayal had recently emphasised the need for better coordination between prosecutors and investigators. He ordered senior officers of assistant commiss ioner rank to investigate violent crimes so as to build watertight cases which prosecutors can take to their logical end. For serious crimes against women, he said probes must be supervised by deputy commissioners to ensure sound paperwork before filing of chargesheets.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Maharashtra-Conviction-rate-dips-in-state-as-many-witnesses-turn-hostile/articleshow/20402809.cms?intenttarget=no