Shillong, Sep 29: Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Prof S. P. Singh Baghel today interacted with the Meghalaya State Legal Service Authority and the Bar Council in Shillong during his visit to the state.
While interacting with the media person after the meeting, the Union Minister revealed that it is as per the direction of the Prime Minister of India that he was there and said, “It is his instruction that Union Minister of every department should come and visit Northeastern States to take account of the proper implementation of schemes of the Government of India, to visit sites to monitor actual implementation of the schemes and to review the activities of the department which relates to your Ministry.†This will ensure accountability of the bureaucracy and proper implementation of the programmes, he added.
The minister while asserting that it is the collective responsibility of the Council to Ministers to bring all round development of the region, the Minister said that Ministers in addition to reviewing their own departments, also take into account of the functioning of other related departments so that the society at large prosper.
While speaking with the representative of the State Legal Service Authority, the Minister said that he have come to learn about the nature of the Legal Services in the state of Meghalaya and how the Judiciary functions in the state.
Baghel said, “I am happy that in comparison to few other states of the country, the rate of crime in Meghalaya is low and it has been very satisfying to learn that there has been no cases related to dowry in this stateâ€.
The Minister of state also added, “Overall this is a peaceful state, where the common man has no relation with crime and the criminals.â€
He further said the Government of India has allocated funds for construction of Court Rooms in the ratio of 60-40 with the state government and he reviewed progress of the construction and the percentage of utilisation of the funds.
The minister while referring to the response of the judicial system to crimes, the Minister said that he is shockingly amused to learn that there has been no case of police denying to register an FIR of an aggrieved person and as such there has been no use 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C. While in State like Uttar Pradesh and other North Indian states there has been many cases where people have to approach the Court to get their complaints registered.
Baghel explained, “A police officer is bound to investigate any cognizable case, when information is received by him. But if the police refuse to investigate any cognizable case then the aggrieved person has got a remedy to approach the Magistrate under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C. and further the Magistrate under this provision has been empowered to pass an order for investigation in the case where a cognizable offence was committedâ€.
The Minister however said that there has been cases related to Narcotics in the state and it is the need of the hour that the Forensic Science Labs are well equipped in the state so the labs can generate their results swiftly.
“This way the rate of conviction will be higher and the innocents will be acquitted without waste of valuable time,†he added.
The Minister also said that the present government under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very sensitive towards the crime committed against Women and child and the government has been committed for providing them fast track assistance to reduce their suffering. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 has been very helpful in addressing crimes against minors and when supplemented by scientific evidence there has been instances where criminals have been awarded life imprisonment as early as within a matter of four days, he added.
When asked about the delay in delivering justice, the minister opined that unanimous and cumulative efforts by all is the need of the hour so as to reduce the time taken for pronouncing a judgement by the Courts.
