3 Years After Delhi Rape, Conviction Rates Same

With controversy continuing over the ban on India’s Daughter, a British documentary on the Delhi rape case of December 2012, what has not been discussed as much is the record of the justice system in prosecuting such cases.

Only one in four rape trials leads to conviction in India, according to the latest data tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The conviction rate for rape trials was 26.4%, 24.2% and 27.1% in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Among the reasons for low conviction rates, according to Majlis, a Mumbai-based legal advocacy, are: victims recanting statements, delays in registering a first information report, faulty investigation, indifferent prosecutors, inconsistencies and contradictions in witness statements, insensitive judges and gruelling cross-examination of even minor children by astute criminal (defence) lawyers.

India’s conviction rate is higher than developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, which recorded a conviction rate of 7% in 2011-12. The conviction rate as low as 10% in Sweden and 25% in France, according to Time magazine.

with thanks : Yahoo News : LINK : for detailed news.