Background and economic status of accused often proves to be an impediment in the quest for a fair trial, said Supreme Court judge S Ravindra Bhat on Sunday.
Addressing a virtual moot court competition on criminal law organized by the Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre, Justice Bhat said that the practical realities of a criminal trial are disheartening. He was presiding over the 18th KK Luthra moot court event, the only moot court on criminal law held internationally 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 the legal fees quoted by lawyers and the limitation of cross-examining witnesses during the trial,” the top court judge said.
He added, “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 lives of both their families.”
The moot court event, held in memory of leading criminal lawyer KK Luthra was conducted virtually with 66 teams participating from reputed legal institutions from across the globe.
The final round of the event held on Sunday was judged 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.
{{/usCountry}}The final round of the event held on Sunday was judged 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.
{{/usCountry}}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 that 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 organized 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.