What is Plea bargaining?

Plea bargaining refers to a person charged with a criminal offence negotiating with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.

It primarily involves pretrial negotiations between the accused and the prosecutor. It may involve bargaining on the charge or in the quantum of sentence.

Background:

• In India, the concept was not part of law until 2006. There has always been a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure for an accused to plead ‘guilty’ instead of claiming the right to a full trial, but it is not the same as plea bargaining.
• The Law Commission of India, in its 142nd Report, mooted the idea of “concessional treatment” of those who plead guilty on their own volition, but was careful to underscore that it would not involve any plea bargaining or “haggling” with the prosecution.

• Plea bargaining was introduced in 2006 as part of a set of amendments to the CrPC as Chapter XXI-A, containing Sections 265A to 265L .

When is it allowed?

• In India Plea bargaining can be initiated only by the accused and that to someone who has been charged sheeted for an offence that does not attract the death sentence, life sentence or a prison term above seven years can make use of the scheme .
• It is also applicable to private complaints of which a criminal court has taken cognisance.
• The categories of cases that cannot be disposed of through plea bargaining are those that involve offences affecting the “socio-economic conditions” of the country, or committed against a woman or a child below the age of 14.

Rationale of Plea Bargaining:

The Justice Malimath Committee on reforms of the criminal justice system endorsed the various recommendations of the Law Commission with regard to plea bargaining. Some of the advantages are that

• The practice would ensure speedy trial, end uncertainty over the outcome of criminal cases,
• Save litigation costs and relieve the parties of anxiety.
• It would also have a dramatic impact on conviction rates.
• It may help offenders make a fresh start in life.
• Reduction of  pendency of cases and decongesting prisons can also be achieved by plea bargaining.

Why in News?

• Many members of the Tablighi Jamaat belonging to different countries have obtained release from court cases in recent days by means of plea bargaining.
• Accused of violating visa conditions by attending a religious congregation in Delhi, these foreign nationals have walked free after pleading guilty to minor offences and paying the fines imposed by the court.
• These cases have brought the focus on plea bargaining as a practice by which time consuming trials can be avoided.