Community service, is defined in Section 23 of The Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) as “the work which the court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community for which he shall not be entitled to ant remuneration.” Community Service is explicitly added in the types of Punishment in Section 4 (f) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and intends on playing a crucial role in the criminal justice system.
It is one of the
few new additions to the provisions of previous code where it is evident that
the draftsmen of the new Criminal Laws clearly show their intent on copying and
implementing laws and provisions from laws of “developed” countries in the
world.
Intended Purpose:
Community
service is intended to provide an alternative to traditional custodial
sentences like imprisonment and fines. this has been specifically developed for
the purpose of attaching accountability to offenders that are not habitual or
involved in an offence for the first time for non-serious crimes.
It allows
offenders to contribute positively to society while avoiding incarceration. But
at the same time, efficiency of such provisions in a country like India, where
crime and corruption levels are high and there is no shortage of manpower, is
doubtful. By engaging in community service, individuals can repay their debt to
society and reintegrate into the community.
The BNS has introduced community service for six specific offenses:
- Non-appearance in response to a proclamation under Section 84 BNSS (Section 209 BNS).
- Public servant unlawfully engaging in trade (Section 202 BNS).
- Attempt to commit suicide to compel or restrain exercise of lawful power (Section 226 BNS).
- Petty theft (involving property worth less than INR 5,000) by first-time offenders upon returning the stolen property (Proviso to Section 303 BNS).
- Misconduct in public by a drunken person (Section 355 BNS).
- Defamation (Section 356 BNS).
Critique and Challenges:
While the
intention to include a punishment such as Community Service may be applauded,
but at the same time it cannot be denied that the draftsmen have clearly missed
the trick by just copy pasting the provisions form codes in U.S A. In my
limited understanding, I find no attempt of actually drafting this provision to
adapt according to the conditions of India which is sad and shows the lethargic
attempt of the legislature for becoming or competing with developed nations in
the world.
But to have
understood this one should have looked into what these “developed nations” are
going through, their economy, challenges and efficacy of their judicial System.
But clearly no effort was made there and the said provision was just blindly
copy pasted.
Let’s just
discuss the challenges for this provision in India.
Wastage of
Resources: With the rise of social media and internet, every information
has become very accessible throughout the globe. We do watch documentaries, movies,
TV Shows and read articles about how this Community Service is performing is
countries like U.S.A. and their contribution to the society. What we find it
that it is a cumbersome task to get to implement such a punishment. Not always
effective as its not always easy to get someone to perform a task efficiently
for which he does not really want to perform. It takes state resources like for
example, for supervising on convict to perform community service, there needs
to be 2-3 Police personals present with him, for which the salaries for that
day would be paid by the state. Also depending upon the task assigned, state
will further incur losses. Not just that, for any person with a criminal bent
of mind, this could act as an endorsement to try this type of offence and not
face appropriate punishment.
Now this begs a
question, is India really ready to spend such resources on such punishments. Or
would an increment in the amount of fine for the offence would have served a
better deterrence.
Abundant Man Power:
in the so-called developed countries, when their society structure and their
topography are compared, we see that the population is way less compared to
what needed for maintaining the vast areas of land in their country. Now ask
the same question about India, and the result will be a total opposite. But
still, some justify the blind copy of law provisions.
In India there
is ample man power available for doing tasks covered under the punishment of
community service. On the contrary there are not enough tasks for all the
skilled and unskilled labour to perform and earn a living in the country. When
this is added to the situation where some of these tasks/jobs could be taken
away by punishments of community service, then it begs the question as to who
is really being punished in such a situation? The Convict or the person trying
to work a miniscule job and earn his bread for the day? This needs to be
answered by the draftsmen of such provisions.
Inconsistency:
There is a chance that different judges may impose community service sentences
inconsistently, leading to perceived unfairness. There will be no uniform
sentence leading to chaos.
Supervision
and Enforcement: What we have noticed from the experience of other
countries that have similar provisions in place is that ensuring completion of
assigned hours and maintaining proper records can be challenging. In India more
so, ultimately questioning the provision’s applicably in India.
Conclusion
In my opinion,
all facets of the provision should be considered before trying to implement
such laws onto people by the government. The introduction of community service
aligns with the BNS’s commitment to restorative justice. It does seek to repair
the harm caused by criminal behaviour and foster a more just and inclusive
society in theory but it also needs to translate into practice. By allowing
offenders to actively contribute to their communities, we move beyond mere
punishment and focus on rehabilitation.
However, such provisions in my opinion, are an attempt by the government to try to feel like a “developed” country, even if it’s for some time, without actually coming up a better solution to the problems while understanding your own self and your own needs and without actually working hard on for it.
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Sources:
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