Bangalore International Centre is conducting a webinar titled, ‘Guilty Until Proven Innocent? Examining the Ethical Foundations of Criminal Justice’ on September 15 at 6.30 pm. NLS faculty members Mrinal Satish and Kunal Ambasta will be speaking at the event along with human rights lawyer Isha Khandelwal, and moderated by Manisha Sethi, Head, Centre for Criminal Justice Reform & Research, NALSAR.
Concept: The adage “innocent until proven guilty” is considered foundational to justice and the rule of law. However, the law in India does not give this adage the core significance one would expect. Our constitution permits what is called “preventive detention”. We have laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) which make it close to impossible to receive bail and allow great latitude to the state in declaring a case to be under UAPA. Our investigative and judicial processes move so slowly that it is not unusual for a person to be jailed in the pretrial stage for longer than the possible sentence if convicted.
Such conditions can be construed as a violation of ethical foundations of justice, also laying the grounds for the misuse of law enforcement for purposes of politics and power.
For more details on the event, click here.