Basic rights of accused in criminal proceedings

Introduction:

Basic rights are considered to be the very fundamental requirement of every human being and the law also states the same. But, if a person is accused of a criminal act and is under the proceedings of the court, is he permitted to receive such basic rights from law? The answer is YES. The accused are entitled to certain rights irrespective of the fact that the person is an accused in a crime.

Here are some of the basic rights that are provided to the accused during the period of proceedings:

1. Presumption of innocence:

One cannot be accused guilty without the chance of proving the innocence. Presumption of guilt should be entertained. In criminal law, Blackstone’s ratio is the idea that 10 guilty persons could escape rather than one innocent person suffer. Article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has also recognized the presumption of innocence

2. Right to copy of documents:

As per the section 207 of CrPC, the accused has to be provided with certain documents.

The police report, the first information report recorded, the confessions and statements, and any other documents including the memo of arrest should be sent to the Magistrate

3. Right against solitary confinement:

Solitary confinement is the punishment of separating the accused from mankind. Complete isolation of the prisoner from the human society is objected and they have right against solitary confinement.

4 Right against handcuffing, bar fetters and protection from torture:

Educated persons and persons who are arrested without justification and who work selflessly for the good of the society should not be handcuffed. Only those prisoners who may get out of the control of the police need to be handcuffed. Similarly, lockup deaths have increased, and custodial torture is a violation of human rights and it destroys the dignity of the person. Article 21 states that no one should be deprived of his life or personal liberty.

5. Right to Legal Aid:

A person should always be provided with access to justice or else, it will be a case of violation of his human rights. The basic aim of legal aid clinics is to distribute justice to every nook and corner of the country. If an accused is a prisoner, he is virtually unable to exercise his constitutional and statutory right to appeal, therefore the Court gives the power to assign a council for the individual under Article 142 read with Article 21 and 39-A of the Constitution.

6. Right against self-incrimination:

During the process of trail, accused could incriminate himself either explicitly or implicitly. Thus, process of exposing own self to the criminal prosecution is objected under Article 20(3). The constitution says “No man is obliged to be a witness against himself.”

7. Right against double jeopardy

Article 20(3) has been enunciated to protect an individual from getting convicted for more than once for the same offence. The ambit of Article 20(3) is narrower than the English or the American rule against double jeopardy. The Indian provision articulates only the principle of autrefois acquit. In India, however, Article 20(2) may be invoked only if when there has been a prosecution and punishment has been given in the first instance.

8. Right to proper information:

The police officials who go to arrest the accused should bear accurate, visible and clear identification tags with their designations. The particulars of the officials who interrogate the arrested must be recorded in a register. The police should also produce a memo of arrest which should be attested by one witness and countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the date and time of arrest.

Conclusion:

Every human being is entitled to the basic rights irrespective of their criminal status. Thus, these are a few basic rights which would help the accused in correspondence with the law.

The author Ms. Yazhini is a third-year student of law at SASTRA University