The bill of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code recently passed by the Parliament displays a peculiar prevarication. Throughout the proposals the authors appear to take two hesitant steps forward and one hasty step backward. This confusion arises not because of an attempt to balance conflicting claims and rights but rather betrays a deeper malaise. There is a basic lack of faith in liberal constitutional guarantees and human rights jurisprudence. The bill was motivated more by administrative exigencies.
