Law of India - Criminal Law

Criminal Law

The Indian Penal Code formulated by the British during the British Raj in 1860, forms the backbone of criminal law in India. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 governs the procedural aspects of the criminal law.

Jury trials were abolished by the government in 1960 on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and public influence. This decision was based on an 8-1 acquittal of Kawas Nanavati in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra, which was overturned by higher courts.

In February 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to counsel.

Capital punishment in India is legal. The last execution was conducted in 2012, when was hanged for the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008.

Read more about this topic:  Law Of India

Famous quotes containing the words criminal and/or law:

    It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.
    Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)

    One of the reforms to be carried out during the incoming administration is a change in our monetary and banking laws, so as to secure greater elasticity in the forms of currency available for trade and to prevent the limitations of law from operating to increase the embarrassment of a financial panic.
    William Howard Taft (1857–1930)