New Delhi (Agency): Manipur recorded the lowest chargesheeting rate for IPC offences in 2022 at 10.4 percent while Kerala recorded the highest rate of chargesheets filed for offences registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at 96.0 percent in 2022 among states/UTs, the Crime in India 2022 report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows.
Puducherry came in second at 91.3 percent, followed by West Bengal at 90.6 percent, compared to the national average of 71.3 percent.
The chargesheeting rate is the percentage of cases in which the police file a chargesheet out of the total number of cases disposed of in that particular year.
A chargesheet is prepared either by the police or the investigating agency recommending prosecution. Once filed and submitted, the court takes cognisance of the chargesheet and begins the process of framing charges. If charges are framed, the matter goes to trial.
According to the Crime in India 2022 report, while police in Kerala registered a total of 2,35,858 cases under IPC that year, this number was 3,237 for Puducherry and 1,56,503 for West Bengal. Among metropolitan cities, Kozhikode and Kochi in Kerala made it to the top of the list in terms of cases registered, along with Patna in Bihar.
The report also revealed that the overall crime rate — crime rate per lakh population — in India stood at 258.1 per lakh population in 2022, compared to 268 per lakh population the previous year.
The overall conviction rate for offences registered under IPC in 2022, according to NCRB data, was 43.8 percent for murder, 27.4 percent for rape, 33.9 percent for kidnapping and abduction, 24.9 percent for rioting and 35.9 percent for physical harm (including acid attacks).
A closer look at the data reveals that of the 2.35 lakh IPC offences registered in Kerala in 2022, 1,63,100 pertained to alleged instances of negligent and rash driving. For this particular offence, the state recorded the highest crime rate in the country at 457.1 per lakh population.
Further, NCRB data shows that at 661 per lakh population, Kerala recorded the highest IPC crime rate among any state in India in 2022.
Manipur, meanwhile, recorded the lowest chargesheeting rate for IPC offences in 2022 at 10.4 percent. The rate of cognisable cases registered in the state under the IPC, however, stood at 94.2, which was the fifth highest in the country. NCRB data shows that the state recorded 3,029 IPC offences in 2022.
Meghalaya had the second lowest chargesheeting rate for IPC offences at 26.9 percent, while the rate of cognisable crimes registered in the state under the IPC stood at 87.6 percent.
Delhi, with a meagre IPC chargesheeting rate of 30.2 percent, came in third despite recording the highest IPC crime rate across states and UTs at 1424.1 per lakh population.
For offences registered under Special and Local Laws (SLL), Kerala had the fourth highest chargesheeting rate at 99.1 percent. Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 99.9 percent, while Delhi fared relatively better with 98.2 percent.
Special and Local Laws are laws specifically designed to address region-specific, or cultural legal matters within a particular state or area.
In 2022, a total of 32,28,322 individuals were arrested across the country in connection with 35,61,379 cases of IPC offences. Overall, a total of 43,67,588 individuals were charge-sheeted under IPC in India in 2022. Of these, 10,55,181 were convicted, while 9,81,194 persons were acquitted and 1,52,787 persons were discharged.
In terms of persons convicted, Kerala continues to make way for the rest with a staggering number of 5,02,311 persons being convicted for IPC offences in 2022, followed by Tamil Nadu with 3,38,804 convictions. As for acquittals, Gujarat topped the list with the acquittal of 2,75,628 persons accused of IPC offences, followed by Maharashtra with 2,16,440. (Courtesy: ThePrint)
