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: Indian Law
Famous quotes containing the words criminal and/or law:
“The criminal is quite frequently not equal to his deed: he belittles and slanders it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Most magazines have that look of being predestined to be left which one sees on the faces of the women whose troubles bring them to the Law Courts.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)