Report No. 200
Chapter II
Human Right Conventions, Madrid Principles, Indian Constitution and Contempt of Courts Act, 1971
Our criminal law and criminal jurisprudence are based on the premise that the guilt of any person charged in a court of law has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and that the accused is presumed to be innocent unless the contrary is proved in public, in a court of law, observing all the legal safeguards to an accused. Not only that, the accused has a basic right to silence. That right stems from the constitutional right of the accused common to several constitutions that the accused cannot be compelled to incriminate himself. That is also the reason why confessions to the police are inadmissible in a court of law.
The right to silence has been considered in detail in our 180 th Report, (2001) titled "Art 20(3) of the Constitution of India and the Right to Silence". At the outset, it is necessary to go into some fundamental concepts relating to human rights as contained in International Conventions, the Madrid Principles and our Constitution and Contempt of Court Act, 1971.
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