New Delhi: Six months after the shocking acquittal of all the accused in the Jessica Lall murder case, the Union Cabinet might make the first move to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on Thursday.
The amendments aim to tackle the problems of hostile witnesses and perjury and is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the present session.
The amendments seek to give the victim's kin the right to appeal against verdicts favouring the accused. It will also seek to make perjury punishable.
The Bill will make it mandatory for the investigating officer to record statements of witnesses under oath before a magistrate.
If the amendments are cleared by the Cabinet and subsequently by Parliament, the problem of witnesses turning hostile after recording their confessional statements will end and the long-pending demand of law enforcement agencies for protecting witnesses from pressure of any kind will be met.
The amendments will also grant legal rights to victims and their family members in criminal cases to hire a lawyer during the trial.
(With inputs from PTI)
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