Witness Protection Scheme

The apex court has pulled up the Allahabad High Court for routinely dismissing bail cancellation pleas by directing complainants to the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018. In a landmark ruling, the top court clarified the distinction between witness protection and bail cancellation, warning against judicial shortcuts that undermine justice

The recent killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 murder of the then newly-elected Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, has brought into focus the sorry state of the witness protection system in India.

Earlier, the SC bench directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide protection to witnesses under the Witness Protection Scheme. The bench also said that the statements of other witnesses should be recorded before the judicial magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and expedite the examination of digital evidence by experts.