Supreme Court Provides Guidelines for disposing Cases via Plea Bargaining, Compounding of Offences, and Probation of Offenders Act
The Supreme Court in the matter of Suo Moto Writ Petition on POLICY STRATEGY FOR GRANT OF BAIL, has issued guidelines for the disposal of criminal cases through the triple method of plea bargaining, compounding of offences, and under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. As a pilot initiative, one court from each of the Ld. Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Ld. ACJM or CJM, and Court of Sessions in every district may be selected. These courts are tasked with identifying cases pending at pre-trial or evidence stages, where the accused faces charges carrying a maximum sentence of 7 years' imprisonment, excluding cases specified in Section 265A Cr.P.C., notably offences notified by the Central Government dated 11.07.2006, or offences against women or children under 14 years of age.
The selected cases will be scheduled for consideration under Chapter XXIA of Cr.P.C., plea bargaining, the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, or compounding, with notice provided to the Public Prosecutor, complainant, and accused. The notice will include information regarding legal aid availability through the District Legal Services Authority for both accused and complainant. The Public Prosecutor will assess the criminal history of the accused, and only cases involving first-time offenders will be considered.
During the proceedings, the court will explain plea bargaining, compounding benefits, and Probation of Offenders Act, with legal aid available through the District Legal Services Authority. If necessary, the accused will be given time to deliberate on their decision. For accused in judicial custody, the trial court will facilitate discussions on plea bargaining or compounding, with panel lawyers available for assistance.
A four-month timeline is suggested for this initiative, including one month for Judicial Officer training and case identification, one month for party notifications, and two months for case consideration. These suggestions, formulated by Amici Curiae Advocates Gaurav Agrawal, Liz Mathew, and Devansh A. Mohta, with input from ASG K. M. Nataraj, have been accepted by the bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka.
High Courts are advised to appoint a Nodal Officer of Registrar rank in each court to monitor implementation. However, the number of designated courts per district is left to the discretion of the respective High Courts. It's emphasized that existing time-bound schedules should not be disrupted.
The court also approved a one-time mechanism for convicts sentenced to imprisonment of 10 years or less, with no prior criminal history. This mechanism involves case listing by the High Court and High Court Legal Services Authority, post-conviction counseling by the District Legal Services Authority, and assessment of criminal antecedents by the Director General of Police.