What is Plea bargaining in India?

Question

Plea bargaining is a concept introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code of India through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005 by means of Sections 265A-265L (Chapter XXIA) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. It allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for a more lenient sentence. It refers to the negotiation process between the prosecution and the defence in a criminal case, where the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser offense or accept a specific sentence in exchange for concessions from the prosecution. It is a voluntary agreement entered into by the defendant, with the approval of the court, to resolve the case without going to trial. In this process, the defendant typically admits guilt or accepts responsibility for a crime but seeks a favourable outcome by reaching an agreement with the prosecution.

Answer 1

Plea Bargaining is the agreement in criminal law proceedings where the prosecutor provides a concession to a defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or no contendere.

When the Government and court has a strong case the government or court might offer a defendant a please deal to avoid trial and also sometimes reduce his or her exposure to a more lengthy sentence.

The defendant in plea bargaining can only plead guilty if they actually committed a crime and admits to committing the crime in open court before a Judge.

An example of a plea bargain or please bargaining is a  prosecutor agrees to charge a defendant with reckless driving instead of a DUI offense if the defendant admits guilt.

A prosecutor agrees to take the death penalty off the table as a penalty in a murder case if the defendant agrees to admit to the crime.

In numerous cases the defendant may benefit from the plea bargaining process because he receives a lighter sentence for pleading guilty to a lesser offense.

The defendant, his family, and the victim are spared the public trial and accompanying emotional trauma.

Many successful criminal prosecutions in the United States end not with jury trials, but with plea bargains.

Plea bargains are agreements between defendants and prosecutors in which defendants agree to plead guilty to some or all of the charges against them in exchange for concessions from the prosecutors.