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‘Conviction rate for crimes in Assam presents sorry picture’: NCRB report
Like other parts of India, incidents of crime, especially the grievous ones, get highlighted in Assam newspapers and TV channels and arrests of criminals also grab headlines
Like other parts of India, incidents of crime, especially the grievous ones, get highlighted in Assam newspapers and TV channels and arrests of criminals also grab headlines. But the rate of criminals getting convicted in court present a very dismal picture for the northeastern state, states a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
As per the Crime in India, 2020 report released by the NCRB, only 1.53% of those charge-sheeted in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes in Assam finally got convicted in court. In contrast, the national rate of convictions for IPC crimes last year was 14.35%.
As per the report, a total of 133,641 persons were arrested in Assam for the IPC crimes in 2020. Of these, while charge sheets were filed against 61668, only 949 of them were convicted. Courts acquitted 15919 of those arrested and 208 were discharged.
“One prime reason for this is faulty and unscientific investigation. There’s also a lot of pressure on policemen who, besides doing the investigation, are responsible for maintaining law and order and other duties,” said a former DGP of the state refusing to be quoted.
“The slow pace of trial is another factor as sometimes witnesses retract from their earlier statements or turn hostile after a few months or years. Lawyers involved in prosecution should be more professional and the tendency to file frivolous cases or several cases for one incident also needs to be curbed,” he added.
The conviction rate for crimes under special and local laws (SLL) in Assam is also very low. While the all India rate stood at 34.16%, in Assam the conviction rate for SLL crimes in 2020 was just 1.36%, said the NCRB report.
In 2020, a total of 12482 persons were arrested under the SLL in the state. Charge sheets were filed against 5564 of them and only 76 of them ended up getting convicted. The courts acquitted criminals in 1128 cases and discharged one.
“The total strength of Assam police is very low and as there is no division of investigation, law and order and security duties, the same policeman ends up doing all of these tasks, which results in an improper investigation. There’s a problem with infrastructure as well,” said noted lawyer Nekibur Zaman.
“The state doesn’t have a fully-equipped forensic sciences laboratory. There is also a lack of proper training for policemen to conduct a scientific investigation. In some cases, charge sheets are not filed on time, which results in criminals getting bail and influencing witnesses,” he added.
Zaman said that while the judiciary is doing its bit, police also need to ensure delivery of summons on time or exhibits produced on schedule in courts. He blamed the state government for appointing prosecution lawyers on political considerations and not giving them adequate support.
In 2020, a total of 146,123 people were arrested under the IPC and SLL crimes in Assam. Charge sheets were filed against 67232 of them. Of them, 1025 got convicted, 209 were discharged and 17047 were acquitted. The conviction rate for the state was 1.52% of those charge-sheeted in comparison to the national figure of 21.63%.
While conviction rates were low, the figures for recidivism (the tendency of persons arrested/convicted in past to commit crimes again) in Assam were better than the all-India figures.
In IPC cases, the rate for recidivism in Assam was 1.4% while the national figure was 4.8%. In SLL crimes, 4% of those arrested in 2020 were found to be repeat offenders in contrast to the all-India figure of 5% for such crimes.
