Incidence of Crime

District Etawah is notorious for the emergence of a large number of listed inter-state and interrange gangs of dicoits and kidnappers operating throughout its southern and western boundaries. The riverain areas of the district provide excellent hide outs for the criminals. It is comparatively easier for them to escape across the rivers instead of by rail or roads. The ravines of Chambal and Yamuna provide a safe place for shelter and retreat for these gangs. Crime statistics in the different heads for the years 1970 to 1974 as given below :

ORGNISATION OF POLICE

At present the district is included in the police range. Kanpur, under the charge of a deputy inspector general of police, with headquarters at Kanpur. The district police administration is headed by a superintendent of police who is responsible for its efficiency,discipline and proper performance of its duties. He keeps contact with the residents of the district to acquire knowledge of unlawful happenings in the district The police force is divided into two broad divisions, the civil and the armed police.

Civil police—The duties of the civil police consist of watch and ward, maintenance of law and order, prevention, detection and investigation of crime and service of summons and processes of the law courts. The sanctioned strength of staff working in all police-stations is 596 consisting of one inspector, 49 subinspectors, 56 head constables and 490 constables. To secure a systematic and speedy functioning of the police, the district is divided into six circles Auraiya, Bharthana, Bidhuna, Chakar Nagar, Jaswantnagar and Sadar (city), each under the charge of a deputy superintendent of police. Each circle is subdivided into a number of police-stations which have broadly been demarcated on the basis of area and population, and located in important villages and towns. The police-stations and outposts circle-wise are given below :

Armed Police—The duties of the armed police are to furnish guards and escorts, to suppress and prevent disorder and crimes of violence, to maintain peace in disturbed areas and to protect Government property, treasuries and vital communications. The armed police is stationed at the reserve police lines at the district headquarters. The sanctioned strength is one subinspector, 45 head constables and 207 constables.

Prosecution Staff—There is a prosecution branch which has been separated from the regular police and placed under the charge of the district magistrate since April 1. 1974. It consists of a public prosecutor and 11 assistant public prosecutors. They are to conduct proceedings on behalf of the State before magistrates and also to advise the investigation of officers of legal matters, arising in the course of investigation of crimes.

Village Police—The village chowkidars. who are part-time servants are the only police agency in the villages. Their main duty is watch and ward, but they are also required to help during investigation. They are appointed by the district magistrate, while the control and supervision over them rests with the superintendent of police.

Pradeshik Vikas Dal

This organised and disciplined body of volunteers was set , up in the district originally under the name of Prantiya Rakshak Dal to mobilize manpower carry out youth welfare activities in the rural areas and prepare villagers for self-defence. It also performs civil defence duties like guarding, assisting police in traffic control, preventing looting fire fighting, maintenance of communication, etc.. At the district level a district organiser supervises all the activities pertaining to this organisation. He is assisted by 14 block organisers. The unpaid staff comprises 150 halka sardars (circle leaders). 1.132 dalpatis (group leaders). 5,660 tolinayaks (section leaders) and 56,600 rakshaks (guards). The P.V.D. personnel are also called for duty during fairs and when the police force is in need of relief.

Village Defence Societies—The village defence societies are nurolv non-official organisations set up to protect villagers especially against dacoits. The members are trained to stand up against undesirable elements in society and in defence of life and property. There were 996 such societies in the district in 1974.

Government Railway Police

There is a railway police outpost located at Phaphund, with jurisdiction over the railway section of Achhalda to Kanchausi. It is under the charge of a head constable assisted by 6 constables. It falls in the Etawah railway police-station area. The police station consists of 2 subinspectors, 3 head constables and 14 constables. The staff maintains law and order at these railway stations, controls passenger traffic and assists the railway magistrates on duty in the prevention of ticketless and deals with crimes committed within the railway areas.

JAILS AND LOCK-UPS

At present the district jail located at district headquarters is under the charge of a part-time superintendent who is assisted by a jailor, a deputy jailor and four assistant jailors. The control over the administration of jail is exercised by the inspector general of prisons, U. P. Lucknow. The jail hospital is looked after by a whole-time doctor, called assistant medical officer. This jail has separate wards for women prisoners and persons under trial. The district jail has a capacity to accommodate 346 convicts and undertrials. Its population figures from 1970 to 1974 are tabled below :

Welfare of Prisoners— Prisoners and undertrials. were for merlv divided into three categories 'A', 'B' and 'C' but since 1948 they are classified only as 'superior' and 'ordinary'. Condition of life in the district jail have improved considerably after independence with the introduction of added amenities. Regular wages are paid for the work they do in jail apart, from the allowance from relative for personal needs. They are encouraged to the three 'R' s reading, writing and simple arithmetic and part in other constructive activities. They read newspapers and periodicals from the jail library. Facilities for rcrea-out-door games, cultural and social activities and are also provided. Manufacture of article of moonj like thin ropes and basket? etc. is the chief industry in which prisoners are engaged.

Visitors — The ex-officio visitors of the jail are the director of medical and public health services, U. P., the commissioner of the Allahabad division, the district and sessions judge and the district magistrate. All the members of the State and Central lagislatures belonging to the district, all members of the standing committee of the State legislature on jails, the chairman of the central committee of the Uttar Pradeshiya Apradh Nirodhak Samiti and three members recommended by the district magistrate are non-official visitors of the jail.

Revising Board — There is a revising board for the district jail which considers the revision of the sentences of casual and habitual convicts with sentences of three years and above after they have served a specified period. It consists of the district magistrate, district and sessions judge and one non-official member.

Lock-ups — Lock-ups for both males and females are located in the primises of the collectorate for the custody of undertrials brought from the jails to courts to attend the hearing of their cases and persons sentenced to imprisonment by the courts till they are finally taken to the district jail. Lock-ups are supervised by the public prosecutor At each police station also there is a lock-up under the charge of the station-in-charge.

At the headquarters of each tahsil. there is a revenue lock-up, usually a small room, to detain persons arrested for non-payment of government dues. Such defaulters may be detained for a maximum period of 14 days at a time.

Probation

The probation scheme was introduced in the district in 1961. under the U. P. First Offender's Probation  Act, 1938. For this purpose a probation officer has been appointed. He supervises the activities and conduct of those released on probation, ensures that they observe the conditions of the bonds executed by them and makes reports regarding them to the courts concerned. In 1974 as many as 55 first offenders were released under the supervision of the probation officer.

The administration of justice under the Hindu monarchy always remained separate from the executive, and mostly independent in form and spirit. The law court bore the ancient Vedic name, the Sabha. The few references in Magasthene's work about the penalties for offences current in Chandragupta's time breathe the spirit of the penal law of the period. One of the means of ascertaining guilt was the ordeal used in both civil and criminal cases. Mutilation and torture were common penalties for many crimes. Besides Dharma, there were other bases of law : contract, custom and royal ordinance. The judges were appointed from amongst the Brahmanas and were fairly above the influence of the king. Records of cases were kept. Before the British introduced their own law, the Munammadan law of crimes was enforced in this region as in other parts. The qazi (judge) was the administrators of the Islamic law, both civil and criminal based on Qoraric principles. By the close of the 19th century suffi-ciennt unformity in the substantive and procedural lows of the country was achived by the passing of the Indian Penal Code. Code of the Criminal Procedure and the like.

In the pre-independence period the judicial courts consisted of those of the district and sessions judge, Mainpuri, whose jurisdiction extended to Etawah, the subordinate judge of Etawah and the munsifs of Etawah and Phaphund. The latter munsifi comprised the tahsils of Bidhuna and Auraiya, while the other two tahsils fell within the munsifi of Etawah.

The district of Etawah was taken out of the jurisdiction of the district judge of Mainpuri and began to function as a separate judgeship from August 1, 1958.

Criminal Justice

The sessions judge is the highest criminal court of the district and has the power to inflict the penalty of death subject to confirmation by the High Court. He is assisted by three additional „ sessions judges. The chief judicial magistrate at the district headquarters and two judicial magistrates of Bidhuna and Bharthana are also under the sessions judge. One munsif and two additional munsifs have also been invested with magisterial power of the first class and they try criminal cases. Details of the criminal cases committed to the sessions in the years 1972, 1973 and 1974 are given below :

Executive Magistrates—The entire responsibility to deal with situations like riots or disturbances in the district is integrated under the authority of the district magistrate. He is the chief executive magistrate of the district assisted by an additional district magistrate at the headquarters. The city magistrate, 4 sub-divisional-magistrates and 3 extra magistrates are executive magistrates. All the 4 tahsildars are subordinate executive magistrates. The new Code of Criminal Procedure enforced in the country from April 1, 1974 took away the judicial powers of the executive magistrates. However, they continue to exercise jurisdiction of a preventive nature under section 107 and 151 and of a prohibitory character under section 133 and 144 of the new Code. The executive magistrates also retain the power to arrest or order the police to arrest any person committing an offence in their presence. They have the power to send an offender to police or jail custody for a period not exceeding 24 hours, a remand being needed if the custody exceeds the period. They are also authorised to conduct identification proceedings of accused persons and record dying declarations under the new Code.

Civil Justice

Besides the district judge, there are three additional civil judges in the district who exercise equal powers with him. All of them have unlimited original pecuniary jurisdiction in civil cases, and powers of hearing revisions. Further, they have powers to hear certain other cases for which jurisdiction has been conferred upon them by various other Acts and statutes. The munsif and two additional munsifs dispose of regular civil suits" and also cases from the court of small causes up to a prescribed valuation.

Total valuation of the property in the suits so instituted was Rs 22,34,609.

Details of the disposal of suits in the year 1974 were as follows :

Previously, the judicial magistrates who were trying criminal cases under the appellate authority of sessions judge worked • under the administrative control of the district magistrate for purposes of law and order duties. As a step towards separation of the judiciary from executive all. judicial magistrates working under the district magistrate were transferred to the control of district and sessions judge, Etawah, with effect from October 2, 1967. This process reached its culmination with the enforcement of the new Code of Criminal Procedure on April 1, 1974 which ensures an absolute separation of the judiciary from the executive. The new Code makes some far-reaching changes, among others, in the classification, nomenclature and powers of courts. It also provides for a simplification of the procedure with a view to speeding up the course of trials, and attempts to give a fair deal to those generally placed disadvantageously in trials before criminal courts.

Nyaya Paachayats

For the purpose of associating people with the administration of justice, the U. P. Panchayat Raj Act. 1947. established panchayat adalats in 1949. They were subsequently named nyaya. panchayats. The jurisdiction of a nyaya panchayat usually extends over an area of five to ten gaon sabhas, depending on the population of the constituent villages. The total number of nyaya panchayats in the district was 150 in 1974.

The nyaya panchayats are empowered to try cases under the following Acts and their respective sections :

(a) The U. P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947

(b) The Indian Penal Code, sections relating to petty offences such as public nuisance, trespass, intimidation and threat etc. and cases of theft or misappropriation involving property not exceeding an amount of Rs 50 in value.

(c) Section, 24 and 26 of the Cattle Trespass Act, 1872

(d) Sub section 1 of section 10 of the U. P. District Primary Education Act, 1926 and

(e) Sections 3, 4, 7 and 13 of the Public Gambling Act 1867.