Human Rights of accused as incorporated in Criminal Law in India Dr. Kiran Gardner” Introduction: Human rights are the fundamental rights that humans have by the fact of being human being and that are neither created nor can be abrogated by any Government.! ‘These rights inherently reside in an individual human being independent to his participation in the society. These rights are recognised by the State but are independent of the legal system for their existence. Their origin can be sought in the Natural Law. They are based on their intrinsic justification and not on external enactments or recognition by individuals. ‘These rights are supported by several International Conventions and treaties such as the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, these includes Cultural, Economic and Political rights, such as Right to life , Liberty, Education and Equality before law, Right to Association, Belief, Free speech, Information, Religion, Movement, and Nationality. Promulgation of these rights is not binding on any country, but they serve as a standard of the concern for people and form the basis of many modern Constitution. Thus, a legal system that does not recognize Human Rights is not a Law? John Locke (1932-1704), the Scottish philosopher was the first to define Human Rights as absolute moral claims entitlements to Life and Liberty, and Property. The best known expression of Human Rights is in the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776 which proclaims that, “All men are by nature equally free and independent and {Program Director, School of Law, AURO University, Surat, “www businessdictionary,com/definition/human-rights.htm| retrieved on 24” September 2013 “Carlos SantigoNiuo, he Ethics of Human Rights, Clarindon Press, Oxford, 1991P., 10, 24 1have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter a state of so by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity.”* Human Rights implementations through Criminal procedure Code i India Human hts under Criminal Laws may be classified under following three categories: 1, Human Rights of accused persons, 2, Human Rights of Conviets, and 3, Human Rights of Prisoners. This paper delimits the study only in relation to the Human rights of the accused person as guaranteed by Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Human Rights of Accused person under Criminal Procedure Code Human Rights are generally violated by arbitrarily accusing and arresting innocent persons for an offence which one has not committed or is implicated due to enmity or victimisation, Indian Criminal law begins with the presumption that accused person is supposed to be innocent till he is proved guilty of some offence. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has similar provision under Article 14 (2) which states, ‘Everyone charged with criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law” Criminal procedure Code entitles following protection of Human Rights to accused in relation to his arrest, production before the Court and Judicial trial Human rights of arrested person safeguarded through Criminal Procedure Code: Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 states that, “No cone shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” And Article 11 declares, “www. businessdictionary.com/definition/human-rights.htm! retrieved on 24" September 2013, 2“(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarant es necessary for his defence. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or ‘omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed, Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.”* A police officer under S 41 of Cr. P.C. has the power to arrest an accused person without warrant under certain circumstances. In D. K. Basu v State of West Bengal,’ the Apex Court has given elaborate directions to be followed while arresting the accused. These guidelines have been incorporated in Cr. P. C. through 2009 amendment. Amended S 41A of Cr. P. C. has incorporated the provision of issuing a notice, by the police officer, to an accused that has been alleged to have committed a cognizable offence to appear before him. If the person complies and continues to comply with the notice, he shall not be arrested. $ 41B makes it mandatory for the arresting officer to bear an accurate, visible clear identification of his name which will facilitate easy identification. The section requires attestation of one witness who is the member of the family or respected person of locality where the arrest is made. The section cast duty on the arresting officer to inform the arrested person of his right to have a relative or a friend informed, if his family ‘member was not a witness to his memorandum of arrest. According to S 41D the arrested person is entitled to meet an advocate of his choice during interrogation. These sections safeguard accused for arbitrary arrest and detention and strengthens the presumption of being innocent till proved guilty. S 50 of Cr. P. C, mandates that person arrested to be informed of grounds of his arrest. This is in consonance with the Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mentioned above. “tto://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index shtml Retrieved on 24th September 2013, "1997 Cri. LJ. 743 (S.C.) 3Producing the arrested person before the Magistrate Article 9(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that, “Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgment." Sections 56 & 57 of the Code requires that the arrested person to be produce before the Magistrate having Jurisdiction within 24 hours of his arrest. Right to Fair Trial Article10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that, “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” Section 327 requires Court to be open. It provides that , “The place in which the Criminal Court is held for the purpose of inquiring into or trying any offence shall be deemed to be an open Court, to which the public generally may have access.” Accused Entitled to Compensation Article 9.5 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that anyone who has been victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation. In consonance with this provision section 358 of the Code of htto//mww.hrweb.org/legal/cor html retrieved on 24th September 2013, 4Criminal Procedur , 1973 provides for compensation to persons groundless arrested. Section 250 provides for compensation for accusation without reasonable cause. Conclusion. Human Rights of a person is violated by arbitrarily making an innocent person accused and at times arrested without following the procedure laid down by the law. If detail study of Human Rights and existing Criminal laws are made it would reveal that there are enough provisions that safeguards the rights of the accused. The adversarial justice system that is followed in India begins with the presumption that a person is innocent till he is proved guilty. Therefore, the burden is cast on the prosecutor to prove beyond doubt that the accused has committed an offence. In short, Laws are in place, what is needed is implementation of the existing laws in their letter and spirit. Reference 1, Anand V. K(Dr) and Singh P. K. (Dr); Human Rights, Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad. 2 Edition, 2008 2. Kelkar’s R-V.; Lectures on Criminal Procedure, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow4th Edition, 2006 3. Mista SN; The Code of Criminal Procedure, Central Law Publications, 17" Edition, 2011