India's criminal justice system is in ICU: Tulsi

India's criminal justice system is in ICU and unless drastic measures are taken to revive it, the adage "justice delayed is justice denied" would become true, Rajya Sabha MP and eminent jurist K T S Tulsi warned here today.

"India's justice system is in ICU... and unless drastic measures are taken for its revival, the adage 'justice delayed is justice denied' will be proven right," he said.

Tulsi made the observation while speaking at a seminar on the criminal justice system in India, organised by Ludhiana Management Association here.

Pointing out the existence of a plethora of laws entailing repeated amendments, Tulsi rued that "the justice delivery system was pathetic, resulting in low conviction rates and failing to serve as a deterrent for those committing crimes."
Stressing upon "the need for a paradigm shift" in the criminal justice deliver mechanism, Tulsi said, "We need to change our mindset for having more and more laws, increasing the sentence and denying bail as deterrents against committing crimes."
He said "the sad state of affairs is due to our unwillingness and inability to make the courts accountable for delays due to the impending threat of being charged for the contempt of court."
Tulsi attributed the rising trend of mob lynchings to "the tacit support of politicians and indifference of those who are entrusted with the responsibility for maintaining law and order."