Attorney General for India R Venkataramani calls for new framework for plea bargaining

New Delhi: Attorney General for India R Venkataramani on Monday called for a new national framework for plea bargaining based on social, cultural and economic principles to improve transparency and efficiency in the justice system.

Speaking at the seminar “Delivering Justice in Time: Global Practices and Indian Experiences,” organised by

O P Jindal Global University and National Law University Delhi, Venkataramani said, “Plea bargaining is becoming universal. There is a need for a national protocol to guide practitioners and victims so the process works in a transparent and objective manner.” He also proposed a National Institute for Criminal Justice Administration and a Legal Health Index.

In his keynote Address, Dr. Abhishek M Singhvi, MP & Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India highlighted India’s case backlog. “We must address the ‘ABCD’—access, backlog, cost and delay—by filling judicial vacancies, strengthening mediation, reviving Gram Nyayalayas and improving coordination among courts, police and prisons,” he said.

In his welcome address, C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O P Jindal Global University said India faces over five crore pending cases and proposed five reform pillars including strengthening judicial capacity, procedural reforms, technology and artificial intelligence in courts, expansion of plea bargaining and data-driven justice governance.

Prof. (Dr.) G S Bajpai, Vice Chancellor, National Law University Delhi said, “Speed alone does not equal justice,” stressing fairness, transparency and procedural integrity while calling for evaluation of timelines in new criminal laws and stronger victim justice frameworks.

A message from Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal conveyed interest in the seminar’s outcomes.