Conviction rate is an area of concern for the Delhi Police. Having taken cognizance of the low conviction rate of the cases registered in the national Capital, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is actively considering a Delhi Police proposal of 56 posts of deputy legal advisers and 181 assistant legal advisers to handle the cases of the Delhi Police in various courts of the city. The proposal also includes appointment of more investigating officers for quality and professional investigation.
Well-placed sources said the MHA was in the process of augmenting the police force in wake of a steep fall in conviction rate in the Capital over the last 12 years. Records show a dismal 31.2 per cent conviction rate in 2005 which touched an all time low of 4.9 per cent in 2016. Not long ago, Delhi had the best conviction rate in the country a decade ago. Now it is forced to compete with States like Bihar, Assam and West Bengal owing to its abysmal conviction rate.
States such as; Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh despite having registered maximum number of FIRs in 2016 (over 2.64 lakh in Maharashtra and 2.85 lakh in Uttar Pradesh), have logged far better conviction rates with 15 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively.
At present, Delhi Police’s total strength is approximately 90,000 personnel, out of which 25 per cent are posted for security duties. Despite boasting strength of 90,000, the Delhi Police has just 6,500 investigating officers (IOs) to investigate over two lakh cases. With the Delhi Police adopting a policy of free and fair registration, the number of FIRs keep piling up but the number of IOs remained the same. “This has put tremendous workload on the IOs who are hard pressed to file chargesheet within the stipulated period and also produce evidence”, said an official.
Sources added that the Delhi Police has also requested the MHA to increase the number of public prosecutors in ratio with the rise in criminal cases. For instance, the number of cases registered in 2011 was just 53,353. It saw a quantum jump of 2,09,519 in 2016.
“A mechanism was being devised through which assistance of legal experts would be sought to provide better guidance to IOs. There is also a move to upgrade the existing forensic facilities by setting up new laboratories”, the official said. Reports also suggest that the Delhi Police was seriously considering deploying mobile forensic vans in all districts for collection and examination of on-the-spot evidence.
Faced with low conviction rate, the Delhi Police has already set up a legal cell headed by Deputy Community of Police (DCP) to monitor and analyse orders passed by various courts on a day-to-day basis to achieve better conviction rate.
“We have started bringing out monthly calendar of all important matters pending in district courts, high court, Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal. All the cases are being tracked to ensure that cases are put to trial with all the evidence and material on record. IOs are being trained with the developing craft of investigations to deal with the changing face of crime and criminals”, said a police officer.