RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED PERSON IN INDIA

Innocent until proven guilty

India is a democratic country where every human being is entitled to some basic rights which they inherent with their birth such as the right to freedom, right to live, etc. In India we have 6 fundamental rights guaranteed by part III of the constitution also have many human rights. Both fundamental rights and human rights have a common goal of ensuring a dignified life for every individual. Dignified life includes the right to freedom, liberty, equality, etc. These rights are also available to the accused person and no one has the right to deny it, however, certain exceptions are there. India follows the principle of natural justice which says that every person should receive a fair and unbiased hearing before any decision is made that will affect them negatively. Three requirements of natural justice should be met in every case; adequate notice, fair hearing, and no bias.

There are certain rights available to the accused person in India under Constitutional Law and Criminal Law.

Under Constitutional law:

Article 14 of the constitutional law provides the right to equality which includes the right to get a fair representation in criminal procedures. Our constitution believes in the theory of “Let Hundreds Go Unpunished, But Never Punish An Innocent Person”.
Article 20(1) of the constitutional law says that “no person shall be convicted of any offense except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offense, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offense.
Article 21 of the constitutional law talks about the rights to life and liberty that is why the accused are given human treatment in jail or police custody.
Articles 22 says that (1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.(2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate. However, this right is not available to the alien.

Thus, these rights under constitutional law are available to every person and cannot be changed or altered.

Under Criminal Law:

Right to know the grounds of arrest and of right to bail: Section 50(1) of Cr.P.C. says that “Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offense for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest”. Sec 50(2) says that “ Where a police officer arrests without warrant any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offense, he shall inform the person arrested that he is entitled to be released on bail and that he may arrange for sureties on his behalf.”
Right to be taken before a magistrate: if a person is arrested with a warrant or even without has to be produced before a judicial officer within 24 hours without any delay. Sec 56 and 76 of the code says that an accused has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
Right to free legal aid: Every indigent accused has a right to free legal aid and the judicial officers and court must inform the accused about this right.
Right to be examined by a medical officer:Section 53 of the code talks about this right. If the arrested person request so, a police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector can permit the same but it should be done by a registered medical practitioner.
Right to be defended by a lawyer: Section 303 of the code gives rights to every accused to get a lawyer to be defended.
Right to be present during the trial: The accused person has the right to be present during his trial.
Right to protection and privacy: The privacy of every individual should be protected and mere presumption of offense does not permit the police officials to violate the right to privacy of an accused person.
Right to appeal: The accused person has a right to appeal against his conviction in the higher court.

All these rights are given to the accused person to protect their fundamental rights and human rights.

About the author –
This blog is authored by Shalini Bhatt, second year law student at Chanakya National Law University, Patna.

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