NDTV

New Delhi, Jun 9: The government is ready with a draft bill which will radically alter India's criminal laws, especially with regard to rape and hostile witnesses prompted by the Jessica Lall case.

The bill will now be sent to the cabinet and is expected to be introduced in Parliament next month.

A woman is raped every 34 minutes in India. For many justice is difficult and often rare, but now radical changes are on the cards. The government's draft bill that amends the Criminal Procedure Code is ready and the details are available exclusively with NDTV.

• All judgements in rape cases will have to be delivered within two months from the date from when the examination of witnesses begins Investigations into the rape of a child will have to be completed within three months
• All rape investigations will have to be conducted at the residence of the victim, as far as possible, by a female officer
• If the victim is under 18 then she should be questioned in the presence of her parents or a social worker
  As far as possible an in-camera trial should be conducted by a woman judge or magistrate.
  

"It's a very good step forward, especially for rape victims," said Kamini Jaiswal, senior advocate.

The new bill will also deal with hostile witnesses and botched up investigations:

• Witnesses who turn hostile in court will now go to jail for a minimum of three months and maximum of two years along with a fine
• For the first time witnesses will have to sign statements they give to the police. A copy of the statement will be given to the witness and crucially another copy will be sent to a magistrate
• The signed statement can then be used in court in case a witness backtracks late
• For the first time there will be an independent public prosecutor who will not come under the CBI or the police
• Police officers only of the rank of a sub inspector and above can investigate an offence that carries jail term of seven years or more.

"We have changed the law to include an independent prosecutor, witness protection and we have sent this back to the Home Ministry which may introduce it in Parliament next month," said Hansraj Bhardwaj, Union Law Minister.

It was after the shocking acquittals in the Jessica Lall case that Sonia Gandhi intervened and the government began working on this new law.