ISSUANCE OF PROCLAMATION TO ENSURE PRESENCE OF ACCUSED AT TRIAL: AN EMPTY RHETORIC

Abstract

The author in this article shall be discussing proclamation as a mode for ensuring the accused presence at trial and the effects of issuing proclamation. A person’s right to liberty is seriously undermined by issuance of proclamation against him. The author shall discuss the Court’s duty before issuing a proclamation. Once proclamation is issued, the follow up procedure is sluggish. The Legislature in the newly enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 has enacted far reaching reforms with respect to proclaimed offenders. The Courts have also played an active role in trying to plug the loopholes of the mechanism. The author shall discuss the follow up procedure that shall be undertaken in order to ensure the efficacy of proclamation as a tool to ensure accused presence. In the end, the author explores the possibility of conducting trials of proclaimed offenders in absentia so that the rule of law is not undermined and there is no secondary victimisation of the victim who helplessly stares the criminal justice system where the accused takes the system for ransom by absconding himself and rendering the case infructuous. The author in the last part shall discuss the suggestions which shall be undertaken by the law enforcement agencies to ensure that proclamation does not become a mere formality but a robust tool to ensure accused presence at the trial. 

KEYWORDS: Absconding; Accused; Presence; Proclamation; Trial