Kerala High Court highlights that Indian criminal law should focus on reform, not just punishment. Justice Kunhikrishnan explains that social issues often lead people to crime and everyone deserves a second chance.
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KOCHI: The Kerala High Court reminded everyone that Indian criminal law is based on reform and not only on punishment.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, while hearing a case, said that a person doesn’t become a criminal by birth. Many outside problems lead people to do crimes.
These include poverty, no proper education, no jobs, broken family situations, and mental health problems that are not treated.
“To remove criminal activities from our society, better education, creating job opportunities, support for mental health, community engagement, etc., are important. By addressing these underlying factors, society can work towards reducing crime rates and promoting a safer, more supportive environment for all, including the criminals,”
-the Court said.
The judge clearly mentioned that society is also responsible for creating criminals, so society must also help to change them and bring them back on the right path.
“An environment in which society continues to blame criminals simply because of their past history should be avoided. A person is not born as a criminal. The society and all of us create criminals because of certain situations which should be avoided. Therefore, every citizen has a duty to see that the criminals are going on a reformatory pathway,”
-the Court added.
To give a deep example, Justice Kunhikrishnan talked about the famous Hindu sage Valmiki, who had once lived a life of crime before writing the great epic Ramayana.
“As per the Hindu purana, ‘Ramayanam’ was written by Valmiki. Valmiki, one of the most revered sages in Hindu mythology, was originally a forest dweller who lived a life of crime, by robbing travellers in the forest to support his family. The puranic story says that, after he met the ‘Saptarishis’ (Seven sages) and heard their words, he reformed and thereafter wrote the great epic ‘Ramayana’. It cannot be said that a criminal will always be a criminal and a rowdy will always be a rowdy. If the person is coming with a genuine claim that he is on the reformative pathway, the court cannot ignore the same”,
-the Court said.
Justice Kunhikrishnan also mentioned a similar situation from 2023 when he gave parole to a well-known criminal Ripper Jayanandhan to attend the launch of his book.
“I am not saying that the above-mentioned person is already reformed. But it seems that he is on the path of reformation. It is also to be noted that the relatives of the persons who were murdered by him are also in the society. That is one of the reasons why he is continuing in jail even now,”
-the judge clarified.
This judgment came while hearing a petition filed by a man whose name and photo were in the rowdy list of Fort Kochi Police Station. He told the Court that he had not been part of any crime in the past eight years, had a stable job, a better group of friends, and regularly visited the church.
He also said that he was acquitted in all but one case, and the trial in the remaining case (where he is the eighth accused) is still ongoing.
The Public Prosecutor strongly opposed the request. He said the man still had connections with criminals, so the police should continue to watch him.
But the Court decided to give the man a second chance. The High Court ordered the removal of his name and photo from the rowdy list.
Still, the Court reminded the man that this was a chance to walk the right path, and also appreciated that the police’s original intention was to protect society.
The Court also spoke about how rowdy lists should not be put on public display in police stations.
“It is clear that the photographs of the criminals are not displayed in the police station premises, which is accessible to the public. It will be kept in a secure area accessible only to the police personnel, ensuring confidentiality and preventing public exposure. Therefore, there is no infringement of the privacy of the criminals, and society should also know the same,”
-the Court added.
The petitioner was represented by Advocate Shabu Sreedharan.
Senior Public Prosecutor P Narayanan and Senior Government Pleader Sajju S appeared for the State.
CASE TITLE:
Nixon vs The City Police Commissioner.
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