JURY TRIAL IN INDIA – ABOLISHED OR NOT?
THE LAWWAY WITH LAWYERS JOURNAL VOLUME:-10 ISSUE NO:- 10 , April 5 , 2024 ISSN (ONLINE):- 2584-1106 Website: www.the lawway with lawyers.com Email: thelawwaywithelawyers@gmail.com JURY-TRIAL-IN-INDIA-ABOLISHED-OR-NOT? AUTHORED BY DIVYA SHANJEEV B.E., LLB., ABSTRACT A Jury trial is a trial conducted before a Jury. The very first jury trial happened in India, in the town of Madras, where a mistress had murdered her employee slave girl in 1664. A jury is a set of people, selected based on several rules and criteria, before whom a trial is conducted and they decide on the case and give a verdict. The verdict given by the Jury is analyzed by the Judge of the respective court and he accepts the jury’s judgment upon being satisfied that the Jury was aware of all the details and the shreds of evidence in the case. The judge does not have an option as the jury decides whether the defendant has committed the crime or not. Trial juries consist of a minimum of 6 members and not more than 12 members. Each Juror must participate in the verdict. The court may direct one or two jurors in addition to the regular panel to be called and impaneled to sit as alternate jurors. The US has framed rules for the selection and processing of the Jury Trial. Jury trial was predominant in the United States but now it has lost its importance everywhere as it became more of a biased and partial trial. The Jury trial in India is believed to have been replaced by The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Jury trial is assumed to have come to an end in India with the famous Nanavati case and a less famous case that happened in Kolkata, where the jury acquitted all the defendants by an eight to one towards acquittal of murder. No wonder jury trials had to be abolished for their biased verdicts clearly depicting partiality. Now it is a matter of question if the Jury trial has been abolished for good or not. There are two different views to it. There is the view that the Jury trial is completely abolished and there is another view that the Jury trial is not been completely abolished but it is being used wherever necessary but rarely. Through this article let us analyse the facts about when and how jury trial started, why was it abolished, was it completely abolished or not. – Keywords: jury trial, abolished, jurors, delegates. 1.1 INTRODUCTION Jury trial was considered one of the best trials in India for all criminal cases. The very first jury trial was introduced in India by the British in 1665 and existed in India until 1973 when it was completely replaced by the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973. Though K M Nanavati Vs State of Maharashtra was the famous case that proved the jury system to be ineffective, this was not the last case of the jury trial. The Nanavati case gained more importance because of its media coverage through Blitz newspaper. A less famous case in Kolkata in the year 1963 was also tried by a special jury. West Bengal did not easily stop Jury trials, even after Jury trials were abolished in many places all over the country. There was a special jury trial in Madras High Court that heard an appeal from a jury trial held in Karaikal (Pondicherry) as soon as the territory was incorporated into India but before the incorporation of proper court systems. It is highly important for lawyers to think and answer the question, “Is Jury Trial completely abolished in India or not?”. One more important fact is that jury trials have gained less importance due to their inefficiency and corruptive verdicts, based on the Nanavati and Kolkata cases, but it is to be understood that jury trials were not abolished after the Nanavati case. A few exceptions to date have not led to the complete abolition of Jury Trials and there is no official abolition of Jury trials by the Government or by the courts to date. In its 14th report, the Law Commission did recommend the abolition of jury trial, and in its 41st report, the Law Commission recommended the sections to be amended for the abolition of jury trial but there is no evidence to date about any legislation regarding the abolition of a jury trial. 1.2 THE BEGINNING OF THE JURY TRIAL It is believed that the jury trial started in India at the Presidency town of Madras, in the year 1665. The first jury trial was a mistress employee case, 6 English and 6 Portuguese were summoned by the British to form a grand jury. The trial was held in April 1669. It was held that Ascentia Dawes the mistress was guilty of murder but not in the manner and form prescribed in the indictment. So, she was held not guilty and set free. The jury trial continued thereafter until it received a thwart after the Nanavati case in 1959. Even after the famous Nanavati case that recommended the abolition of jury trials due to its biased and inefficient nature, there have been several jury trials that took place after that until 1973. After 1973, no order or amendment abolished jury trials completely, and there are still a few community-oriented cases that are adhering to jury trials. 1.3 THE VERDICT THAT SHOOK THE JURY SYSTEM – THE NANAVATI CASE K.M. Nanavati Vs State of Maharashtra, 1962 AIR 605 is a very landmark case that grabbed the attention of the country in 1959. Kawas Maneckshaw Nanavati, an Indian Naval Officer was put on trial under Sections 302 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code, 1960 for the alleged murder of his wife’s amour, the deceased, Prem Bhagwandas Ahuja. Nanavati was the second in command of the Indian Naval Ship “Mysore”. He married Sylvia in 1949 in Portsmouth, England. They had three children by their marriage. Due to the exigencies of Nanavati’s service, they