Under the supervision of Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (Patron-in-Chief J&K Judicial Academy) and guidance of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, Chairman, Governing Committee of J&K Judicial Academy, the Judicial Academy today organized one day training programme on “Criminal Justice System with stress on role of prosecutor, sensitization towards victims of sexual violence with need for reforms in investigation process, in order to meet expectations of accused, victim and society” for Public Prosecutors and Investigating Officers of Kashmir division.S D Singh Jamwal, Director, Police Academy, Udhampur and Nisar Hussain Draboo, Director Prosecution, Kashmir were Resource Persons and the participating officers.Director, Judicial Academy gave an overview of the programme and emphasized that foundation for the criminal justice system is fair investigation by the police and efficient prosecutor.Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, Judge, High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in his inaugural address said that foundation of Criminal Justice system in India is based on four main pillars including Police, Prosecution, Prison and Judiciary besides correctional services. “The Prosecutor must be fair, impartial and constantly guided by the principles of equity, justice and good conscience in all actions to secure justice”, he added.
Justice Koul said that foremost functioning of criminal justice system must focus on protecting the rights and interests of the victim. “A victim of crime has only hope in four pillars so we have added responsibility towards them. We should pursue and serve hard to achieve this goal dedicatedly to provide a crime-free-society to our next generations.Director, Police Academy Udhampur and Director Prosecution, presided over the working sessions and deliberated in detail upon various issues relating to sensitization towards victims of sexual violence, role of prosecutor with need for reforms in investigation process, in order to meet expectations of accused, victim and society.Both the resource persons gave their presentations to the participants comprising Public Prosecutors and Investigating Officers who had been nominated by Home Department of the UT administration. They stressed upon the need that all stakeholders in Criminal Justice System should work with synergy in raising efficiency in the individual delivery of services by each institution.During interactive session, Public Prosecutors and Investigating Officers discussed problems and solutions besides suggesting remedies towards ensuring fair and speedy trial of criminal cases.Director, J&K Judicial Academy expressed gratitude to the visiting resource persons and participants and hoped that the deliberations made in the programme will prove beneficial while exploring remedial measures to improve the Criminal Justice System besides enhancing better co-ordination between Investigation, Prosecution and the Trial Court.