Socio-economic status of accused often impedes fair trial: SC judge

Background and economic status of an accused often proves to be an impediment in the quest for a fair trial, said Supreme Court judge justice S Ravindra Bhat on Sunday

Background and economic status of an accused often proves to be an impediment in the quest for a fair trial, said Supreme Court judge justice S Ravindra Bhat on Sunday.

Justice S Ravindra Bhat addresses the moot court event on Sunday. (HT)

Addressing a virtual moot court competition on criminal law organised by Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre (CLC), justice Bhat called the practical realities of a criminal trial “disheartening”. He was presiding over the 18th KK Luthra Moot Court event, the only moot court on criminal law held on an international level within the country.

“Extraneous factors such as the background and economic status of the accused very often prove an impediment in the quest of a fair trial,” justice Bhat said, adding that this gets compounded by legal fees quoted by lawyers and the limitation of cross-examining witnesses during the trial.

“It is the poorest and desperate who need legal aid who miss out. In the end there is loss of more than one life — the life of the deceased, the life of the poorly represented accused, and the life of both their families.”

The moot court event, held in memory of leading criminal lawyer KK Luthra was conducted virtually, with 66 teams from reputed legal institutions across the globe participating.

The final round of the event held on Sunday was adjudicated by three judges of the Delhi high court — justices Najmi Waziri, Yashwant Varma and Subramonium Prasad. The moot court problem revolved around the most intriguing aspect of murder, particularly the ‘last seen theory’ and ‘circumstantial evidence’.

Justice Bhat said, “Matters involving taking of life are the most difficult cases for a judge to adjudicate, especially more so when it comes to that corner of circumstantial evidence case.”

He urged the winners and participating students to help those who are ill-equipped to meet the inequities plaguing the criminal justice system. He said the essence of personal liberty in securing bail can be protected only if lawyers wield the knowledge of law.

Teams representing national law universities, law faculties of central Indian universities, and top universities from UK, Brunei, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe participated in the virtual event that began on March 7. The competition was organised by senior advocates Sidharth Luthra and Geeta Luthra in memory of their father.

The team from Symbiosis Law School, Pune won the competition followed by the team from Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia.