New Delhi, Sept 14: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has said that it was the "essential" function of a government to provide security to the people and their property and this could be achieved through proper utilisation of the criminal justice system. This ruling was given by a bench comprising Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Justice Arijit Pasayat while allowing an appeal filed by Madhya Pradesh government challenging a high court order reducing the sentence of four accused persons on the ground that long time has lapsed between the actual time of commission of the offence and the time of their conviction.

This ruling assumes significance in the wake of the severe strictures passed by the apex court on Friday against the Gujarat government for drafting an "eye-wash" of an appeal to challenge acquittal of all the accused persons in the Best Bakery case and doubting its intention to give protection to the people in need.

"Security of persons and property of the people is an essential function of the state. It could be achieved through instrumentality of criminal law," Justice Pasayat, writing the judgement for the bench, said.
Taking note of the changing scenario even in the criminal justice dispensation system, the apex court said the law should be dynamic and the trial courts should adapt itself to meet the new challenges.

If these challenges were not met, then "the contagion of lawlessness would undermine social order and lay it in ruins," he said.

Bureau Report