ISSN: 0973-5089 | [email protected]

Witness Protection in India and United States: A Comparative Analysis

Tanuj Bhushan, Pranati

Hidayatullah National Law University, India

Abstract:

In India, situation of protection of witnesses is bleak. A few witnesses in cases like Jessica lal case remained courageous, but due to lack of witness protection in India, many witnesses do not favor the victim or appear in the court. In USA there is a very effective Witness Protection Programmes thus witness could remain courageous. A witness is considered to be a major clue which helps the judiciary to arrive at a conclusion in a particular case but in India where the problem of witness turning hostile is very common, the Judiciary fails to give proper judgment and the criminals escape. This article comparatively analyses the situation of witness protection in India and US and provides various recommendations for the improvement of witness protection in India.

Keyword:

Witness protection; India; United States; programmes.