J&K govt fine-tuning criminal justice system: Law minister

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government is tweaking the investigative process to improve the criminal justice system in the state, Law and Justice Minister Abdul Haq Khan said today.

The government is in the process of deputing dedicated police officers for investigation and it has started showing results, Khan said at a performance review meeting of the prosecution wing of Jammu police.

"The biggest hurdle in the timely deliverance of justice is faulty investigation. The government is mulling to improve the criminal justice system by fine-tuning the investigation process," Khan said.

The loopholes left in the investigation by the officers concerned take a toll on the deliverance of justice and help criminals go scot-free, he added.

He said joint efforts should be made to fix the loopholes in investigation and prosecution stages.

"Coordination among the investigating agencies, forensic and medical experts and prosecutors can lead to a foolproof mechanism for establishing the case during trial," Khan said.

The minister sought a report on the action taken against government officials, including police personnel, who have not appeared as witnesses in various cases in the courts and affected the timely deliverance of justice.

Khan said promotions in the prosecution wing of the police department would be based on performance and any lapse would reflect in annual progress reports.

The minister said that all vacancies in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) must be referred to recruiting agencies, adding that police headquarters could send employees with technical qualification on contractual basis to the FSL till such posts are filled.

He called for upgrading the Forensic Science Laboratory and asked the Director of FSL to make relevant recommendations to the home department for the same.