Governor Power-Pardoned a mother accused of killing his son after she completed 12 years of life imprisonment- Purohit
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Punjab, today presided over the 3-day International Conference (3-5 November 2022) “Securing Justice to Victims of Crime” organised by the Centre for Criminology, Criminal Justice and Victimology (CCV), Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab in collaboration with Indian Society of Victimology (ISV)and World Society of Victimology (WSV). The Eighth International and Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Indian Society of Victimology on “Securing Justice to Victims of Crime” commenced with the inaugural Session.
Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Punjab, deliberated on the Indian justice system. He elaborated on relationship between accused and the state in liberal democracies. Purohit said,“Victimology is a language of empathy. It is high time that the victimological foundations must find a place in our criminal justice administration.”
Governor Power-Pardoned a mother accused of killing his son after she completed 12 years of life imprisonment- Purohit. While delivering his inaugural address, Purohit said “before I leaving my office for this function, I signed a file pardoning a lady accused of killing his two month old son in a fit of rage. Few years ago she had killed the infant after fight with her husband. She is in the jail after the lower court convicted her for life imprisonment. But her trail is still going on at Supreme Court. The apex court will either acquit her or convict her. But, she has already served 12 years imprisonment. I got the application from her for pardoning and I pardoned her.”
Purohit cited the Supreme Court of India while alluding to the case of Jagjeet Singh v. Ashish Mishra. He exhorted lawyers to reserve time for providing legal aid to the poor and underprivileged. He emphasized that cognitive training of functionaries and appropriate framework for empirical investigation of victimization of vulnerables could be plausible alternatives to avoid delay in justice. Trial delays thwart the safety of victims deprived of justice. He narrated instances from the court of King Vikramaditya and Jahangir. He congratulated CCV, RGNUL for organising conference on pertinent issue related to the rights of victims of justice.“I am sure that deliberations of the conference in form of paper would aid the processes of justice,” Purohit said.
Governor Power-Pardoned a mother accused of killing his son after she completed 12 years of life imprisonment- Purohit suggested the delegates to forward the proceedings of this conference to the Supreme Court with a suggestion “deliver the justice in time. Don’t linger on the delivery of justice to the victims.”
Prof. G. S. Bajpai, President, Indian Society of victimology (ISV) and Vice-Chancellor RGNUL, Punjab welcomed the guests and delegates to the conference. In his presidential address, Prof.Bajpai reiterated the need to advance the cause of victimology. He dwelled on the rights of victims of justice. “There have been tremendous strides in victim assistance program. The terminology of justice has changed from injury, offence and harm to mediation, restoration, restitution and compensation,” he said. Delving into the dimensions of victimology. Prof Bajpai reminded the audience that evolving victim justice must work on untapped domain of criminology. “Countries with high crime rate have inverse relationship with happiness. Victimology has to promote happiness quotient, enhance public safety, ensure peace and harmony, restore human dignity, humanize and facilitate achievement of constitutional goals,” he said.There have been tremendous strides in victim assistance program. The terminology of justice has changed from injury, offence and harm to mediation, restoration, restitution and compensation.
Justice J. R. Midha, Former Judge, Delhi High Courtand Distinguished Professor, RGNUL said, “The contemporary criminal justice system paradigm focusses on punishing crime through incarceration to reset the moral balance. This paradigm ignores the voice and needs of the most impacted victims. The pervasive problem of victimization is inability to address needs of the victims.” Dr. V. Vaishnavi, General Secretary, ISV presented anual report of Indian Society of Victimology.
On this occasion Hand Book of Laws and Case Laws for Victims of Crime authored by Prof. G. S. Bajpai and Journal for Victimology and Victim Justice were released. PriyankKanoongo, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) New Delhi, Prof. B. B. Pande, Distinguished Professor, National Law University, Delhi, Prof. (Dr.) Peter Schafer, Treasurer, World Society of Victimology & Professor, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and officials of district administration were present during the inaugural session.
Prof. Anand Pawar, Registrar, RGNUL extended a vote of thanks. He appreciated the endeavours of all collaborators and support of the district administration for conduction of the conference. 200 delegates from India, Germany and Bangladesh would present papers in 20 technical sessions.
November 3,2022
