Saraswati Vihar murder lone ’84 riots case to come under Witness Protection Scheme

The Saraswati Vihar father-son duo murder case — in which former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has been convicted — is the only 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which the victim’s family has been extended protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018.

“The victim’s family members were harassed a lot and they were scared to give evidence against Sajjan Kumar. But the protection given to them under the Witness Protection Scheme helped them and they mustered the courage to record their testimonies against the accused,” senior advocate HS Phoolka, who has been representing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, told The Tribune.

Noting that “witnesses are eyes and ears of justice”, the Supreme Court had on December 5, 2018 approved the Centre’s witness protection scheme and directed all the states and union territories to implement it forthwith “in letter and spirit”.

Finalised in consultation with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), the scheme envisages safeguards to ensure that witnesses and accused do not come face to face during investigation or trial and adequate security measures should be there for the safety of the witnesses besides all possible steps for expeditious completion of the trial of cases. It provides for identity protection and gives a new identity to the witness.

The scheme has three categories of witnesses based on the threat perception and the types of protection measures envisaged are to be applied in proportion to the threat. The protection is not expected to go on indefinitely and is supposed to be for a specific duration on need basis to be reviewed regularly.

Under the scheme, in all the district courts of India, vulnerable witness deposition complexes have been set up by states and union territories with the financial support of the Central Government.

“One of the main reasons behind establishing these Vulnerable Witness Deposition Complexes was that a large percentage of acquittals in criminal cases is due to witnesses turning hostile and giving false testimonies, mostly due to lack of protection for them and their families, especially in case of women and children,” the top court had said in its order.

The scheme provides for usage of specially designed court room having special arrangements like live links, one-way mirrors and screens apart from separate passages for witnesses and accused with the option to modify the image of the face of the witness and modify the audio feed of the voice of the witness, so that he/she is not identified.

There are provisions for support persons, pre-trial court visits and facilities for pick and drop of the witnesses from their residence.

Four Vulnerable Witness Deposition Complexes were set up in the National Capital Territory. These complexes provide facilities such as separate witness room, separate accused room, play area for the child witnesses, pantry, separate toilet and an exclusive and comfortable waiting area. The complexes are also equipped with all facilities for an audio-visual exchange for a free interface between the presiding judge, the witness and the accused without the witness facing the accused and having a separate entry for vulnerable witnesses, so that they do not come in direct contact with the accused at any point of time.