RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN CUSTODY

RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN CUSTODY

Subject : Polity

Context :  National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a special court in Mumbai that the arrested assistant police inspector Sachin Waze, now suspended from Mumbai Police, was not cooperating in the probe against him and was insisting on his lawyer being present during interrogation

Concept :

• Right to counsel means a defendant has a right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant’s legal expenses.
• The right to counsel is generally regarded as a constituent of the right to a fair trial.

In India

• Article 22 of the Constitution of India states that “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.”
• Section 41D of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) states that an accused is entitled to “meet an advocate of his choice during interrogation, though not throughout interrogation”
• In 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that a court could not decide a case without a lawyer present for the defendant, and mandated that a court must appoint a lawyer when the defendant cannot afford one.
• Public legal assistance is provided through the National Legal Services Authority and state-level legal services organizations.
• Courts appoint legal aid lawyers in both civil and criminal case