ANALYSIS OF PROBATION OF OFFENDER’S ACT
Introduction
Probation is termed as a process of releasing an offender acknowledging his good behavior. We all know people make mistakes but to correct those mistakes the offenders could be given a chance in terms of good behavior. Crime cannot be reduced when law punish the offenders rather law can be reduced when the offenders are corrected so that they don’t repeat the crime again. The probation of offender’s act includes different sections which explains as to how an offender can be released after due admonition (to release an offender after a warning). When a criminal is convicted, it gives a state of relief to the society as well as the victims but the major specification of rule of law should be to reform the criminals. Majorly, we see the youth criminals to become more aggressive once they are put behind the bars. In order to correct this, the probation act was formed in the year 1958. The first provision to deal with probation was in Section 562 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. After the amendment in 1973, the probation was dealt with in Section 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Laws constituted under the Act
In the process of probation, the probationer plays a very specific role. It constitutes different sections, here I will be discussing about some important sections:
Section 3 - This section deals with admonition which specifies that an offender will be released after a firm warning however considering the nature and character of the offender.
Section 4 – This section deals with probation on good conduct which means to release an offender examining his behavior. If an offender is noticed to do some good conduct then he may be released under this section of the said act.
Section 5 - This section says that even if a person is released under Section 3 or Section 4, he may be asked by the court to pay compensation for the victim’s loss.
Section 6 – This section talks about the offender’s below 21 years of age; they won’t be put behind the bars if the offence is not so serious. The restriction of their imprisonment is applied by the court.
Section 7 - This section says that the report of the probation should be kept confidential. The report is compulsory for the offender’s below the age of 21 years.
Litigations
In the case of Keshav Sitaram Sali v. The State of Maharashtra[i] the appellant was an employee who filed a case against a worker for theft of charcoal of Rs.8 before the magistrate. The defendant was charged a fine of Rs.500 and if unable to pay an imprisonment of 2 months. The Supreme Court held that the High Court should imply section 3 or section 4 for such minor thefts.
Smt. Devki v. The State of Haryana[ii] ,in this case, it was observed that Section 4 would not be applied to the abominable culprit who was found guilty of abducting a teenage girl and forcing her to sexual submission with a commercial motive.
Conclusion
We can say that probation of offender’s act is very significant for the youth majorly. As mostly we see that the youth are the ones who get into some trouble and make some mistake so as to provide them with some help to correct their mistake and to make them a better human being for the future. However probation period can be examined regard to their behavior, if noticed that the offender is not guilty for their deed then they won’t be considered for any probation. This a good step taken by the rule of law in order to not only punish the people but also to reform the criminals so that there is a reduction of crime.
Any person should be entitled to probation with regard to their age and their intention to do an act of crime. A youth being the future of our country should be examined and have the chance to justify if act. Mostly we see that youths are easily manipulated, toxicated by others to get their work done. Having a system of probation period does a lot of positivity to the youth generation, they get a hope to learn from their mistakes and start a new life again. Probation can also be applied in situations where a person tries to end his own life because of any reason like family issue, unemployment, depression and many more such issues which leads a person to reach appoint where he or she does not want to live anymore. The success of probation is entirely in the hands of the State Government and the resources it allots to the programmers. Resources are needed to employ trained probation officers, to set up homes for that on probation and also for their training besides others.
Thus while concluding it can be said that the concept of Probation would be effective only where the judiciary and the administration work together there must be a common understanding between the Magistrate (or) Judge and the Probation Officer. Probation would be effective only when there is a sincere attempt made to implement it. It would be of great benefit for a country like India, where the jails are often overcrowded, with frequent human rights violations which would harden the human inside a person. Probation is an affirmation of the human inside every being and it must be given the importance.
-SHIBANI AGARWAL
5th YEAR BBA.LL.B
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES
NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY
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