Miscarriage of Justice: Definition And Meaning

Every person's life must include justice in some way. Every country has a court system in place to control the administration of justice. People look up to the courts because they are the mechanism for preserving justice. This characteristic of the courts contributes to the development of a trusting connection between the general public and the courts.

The result of improper influence on the courts in this connection is a miscarriage of justice. Many people even question whether the courts or the judges who hand down the verdict are to blame for miscarriages of justice. In any case, it compromises the legitimacy of the court system's establishment itself.

What is the Meaning of Miscarriage of Justice?

"A failure of a court or legal system to attain the goals of justice, especially one that results in the conviction of an innocent person," is the definition of a miscarriage of justice. An international issue is miscarriages of justice, which result in an increasing number of innocent individuals being found guilty and sentenced to lengthy jail terms for crimes they did not commit.

When a criminal or civil case has a blatantly unfair result, such as a person being found guilty and sentenced for a crime they didn't commit, this is referred to as a "miscarriage of justice." Wrongful convictions are another name for miscarriages. Sometimes innocent people wind up spending years in prison before having their conviction reversed.

A miscarriage of justice is a circumstance in which someone is penalised by the law for a crime that they have not committed. Wrongful arrest, erroneous charge, and improper punishment are all examples of a miscarriage of justice. Law enforcement officers, police, defence lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and correctional staff are all capable of miscarriage. Miscarriages can occur accidentally or without intent. Others are deliberate and venal.

The Long-Term Effects of Miscarriage of Justice

When wrongfully convicted individuals were released from prison, their problems did not cease. The impacts of unlawful imprisonment over time are examined in the section that follows, according to the respondents who have since been released from prison. These repercussions include grieving over lost loved ones and the impact on the family, displaying extreme rage and aggressiveness, tolerating injustices, and feeling imprisoned even after being freed.

Loss And Effect on Family

The first and important loss occurred in miscarriage of justice is losses your family and friends. If you are wrongly convicted than you loss your freedom and family also. However the most significant loss appeared to be the loss of family. The difficulties that come with losing a family through jail can have an impact on the families themselves. They may lose access to a crucial source of money in addition to losing their loved one's emotional support and having to deal with the reality that a family member is imprisoned.

Volatility, Anger, and Aggression

All of the respondents claimed that their unjustified incarcerations had a significant influence on their level of hostility and temperament as a whole. Participants in every case claimed to have become more irate, hostile, and impulsive since being imprisoned.

Intolerance Of Injustice

Most inmates go through a period of readjustment after being released from jail, during which they learn new ways to function in society and adjust to mounting social and familial expectations. An increasing intolerance for unfairness was observed among the interviewees. These men were profoundly impacted by specific instances where someone's rights were violated or where the result of a scenario was deemed unfair.

They appear to have developed a deep skepticism and suspicion of the justice and legitimacy of authority figures as a result of having been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Whether it was an injustice committed against them or others, it appeared to have an impact on many facets of their lives.

Consequences of Miscarriage of Justice

Its consequences are −

• Wrongful convictions involve a public admission that a specific crime has been committed by a specific person or people, as well as what initially appear to be "righteous" arrests and subsequent convictions. If it is determined that the conviction was obtained unfairly, one or both of these claims will be found to be untrue.

• Unaware witnesses to a miscarriage of justice in front of a large audience may lead the general public to believe falsehoods about the nature of the crime. Also, it could mislead the public into thinking that certain crimes are more common than they actually are or that specific groups of people are more likely to commit them.

• The media may be held accountable for skewing the public's image of crime by overrepresenting particular racial and gender groups as perpetrators and victims and for emphasising more sensational and exciting crime types as being more noteworthy.

• When a crime is committed and the wrong individual is found guilty of it, the real offender is released and frequently goes on to commit more crimes, including hundreds of violent crimes.

Remedies For Miscarriage of Justice

Following are some remedies −

Public Law Remedy

The Indian Constitution serves as the foundation for the public law remedy for a miscarriage of justice resulting from improper prosecution, detention, or conviction. In these situations, it is the violation of fundamental rights under Article 21 (the right to life and liberty) and Article 22 (protection against arbitrary arrests and illegal detention, etc.) that invokes the Supreme Court's and the High Courts' writ jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution, respectively. This includes the granting of compensation to the victim, who may have unjustly suffered detention or bodily harm at the hands of the state.

Citizens have a valuable right to their own liberty, and no one can be allowed to infringe on it unless they follow the legal procedures. The state must be held accountable for any harm caused by the unlawful actions of its personnel and be required to make good on any harm done to the citizenry.

Private Law Remedy

A civil lawsuit against the state for monetary damages is the private law remedy for negligent actions of state authorities. The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised the above-discussed constitutional remedy for a claim based on the state's strict liability as being distinct from and in addition to the remedy available under private law for damages resulting from tortious acts of public employees, particularly negligence committed by a public employee while performing their official duties.

Criminal Law Remedy

The applicable criminal law laws concentrate on the wrongdoers—the concerned public officials—in terms of the remedy for wrongful prosecution and detention due to police and prosecutorial misconduct. These rules provide the substantive and procedural parameters of the action that can be taken against the wrongdoers and are found in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), and the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC).

Conclusion

After selecting "wrongful prosecution" as the benchmark for a miscarriage of justice and defining the parameters of the term "wrongful," this chapter explores how to rectify the alleged miscarriage because acquittals alone are insufficient. As a result, this chapter wraps up the report with the Commission's suggestions for correcting the injustice that led to the erroneous prosecution. As it stands, the criminal justice system does not enable the state to effectively assist those who have been the victims of erroneous prosecutions due to a miscarriage of justice. There is currently no statutory or legal framework outlining the state's response to this problem.

Frequently Asked Question

Q1. What can be done to prevent miscarriage of justice?

Ans. Before and during your trial is when you have the best opportunity of preventing a miscarriage of justice. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you to make your case. If you are found guilty, your chances of obtaining justice through the appeals process are significantly reduced.

Q2. What was the biggest miscarriage of justice?

Ans. Robert Dreyfus. One of the most well-known instances of justice gone wrong in history is the "Dreyfus Affair". Alfred Dreyfus was a French soldier who had been wrongfully imprisoned on Devil's Island in 1894.

Q3. Is there compensation for miscarriage of justice?

Ans. Under certain conditions, you may be eligible for compensation for a miscarriage of justice under the Criminal Justice Act of 1988 Section 133, if you were wrongfully convicted and then proven not guilty.