'Crime rate is going up due to lack of fear of law'

Conviction rate in cases of crimes against women is low because of lackadaisical approach of law enforcement agencies while crime rate is going up due to lack of fear of law, a Supreme Court judge said today.
"The problem is with law enforcement. If the law enforcement agency is strict and proper, crime would be controlled. Nobody has the fear of law, that's the trouble. So long as enforcement lags, crime is bound to go up," Justice J Chelameswar told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar, referring to rising incidents of crimes against women.
"What is the conviction rate in this country? It is about five per cent...Existing law is sufficient, provided we have serious implementation and our law enforcement agencies efficiently handle crime and corruption. In most cases the prosecuting agency did not provide sufficient evidence."

Justice Chelameswar was the chief guest at the seminar on 'Offences against Women and Children and Terrorism-Challenges Ahead', jointly organised by Bar Council of India and Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh.
As many as 200 million cases were pending in the country's courts, he said. "Do you think that it is humanly possible for the existing members of the judiciary to solve them? The state does not create number of posts...Whatever infrastructure is required. What is the point in blaming the judiciary alone?" he asked.
Every magistrate's court has an average of four to five thousand cases pending before it, he said.

Replying to a query about remission system in various states, he said it was the responsibility of lawmakers to frame a uniform policy in this regard. In his speech, Justice Chelameswar stressed the need for uniform sentencing policy across the country.