ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the amendments proposed by the government to the criminal law, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Thursday said the Law Ministry did not take the stakeholders into confidence before drafting them.
SCBA said in a statement that with the introduction of such amendments, the existing legal system will get worse. SCBA was of the view that the Ministry had proved itself incompetent by proposing these amendments. "These amendments are nothing but a sham," the statement concluded.
Earlier on Thursday, Federal Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem, listing key amendments suggested by the government, said the Criminal Procedure Code needs to be tweaked as per the requirements and noted that more than 700 amendments have completely changed the existing legal system. changed from. He said the formation of an independent prosecution service, forensic laboratory and a statute of prison rules were significant reforms.
He said that a law was made for compulsory distribution of budget to police stations to meet the cost of investigation, besides sub-inspectors in police stations were appointed preferably with a bachelor's degree. He said the trial judge would be made accountable before the High Court for not finalizing the matter in nine months. He said that the court can freeze any document including identity card, bank account etc of a fugitive.
He urged lawyers to support reforms in electronic recording of witnesses, in whatever language it is, to ensure accuracy and speed of cases. He said that in cases of personal offences, including murder or rape, it would not be mandatory for the video maker to appear before the law to produce a witness as evidence of the incident. He emphasized the implementation of civil law reforms with effective role of judiciary, benches and prosecutors and investigators.