When Kunwarpal Singh walked into a Ghaziabad court in 2025, he made a decision that would end his 26-year-old legal battle. Charged with possessing an illegal pistol in 1999, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to “till rise of court” with a Rs 500 fine. As the court visitors rose from their seats after the verdict, Kunwarpal was a free manRishi from Bulandshahr — facing charges under the UP Gangster Act since 2002 — pleaded guilty after spending over nine years in jail. The court sentenced him to the time he had already served behind bars — 9 years, 5 months, and 12 days. Rishi walked out free after paying a Rs 5,000 fine.Similarly, Sahil — arrested in Noida with 5.2gm of smack — chose to plead guilty after seven months in custody. The fast-track court, considering his status as the sole earning member of his family, sentenced him to the time already served in jail plus a Rs 1,000 fineThese are not cases in isolation. They represent a growing trend where defendants are increasingly choosing to admit their guilt and plead for leniency instead of standing trial to expedite resolution. Called ‘plea bargaining’, the clause is being increasingly used by those who have spent considerable time in police custody. “Most of these accused don’t have active family members to pray on their behalf. So, they often spend several years behind bars without their cases even coming up for trial,” said Prateek Kumar, a lawyer who claimed to know many such cases.Special public prosecutor Varun Tyagi, who argued against Danish in a Gangster Act case, said the accused was advised by his lawyer to plead guilty. “He had been in jail since April 2023 and suffering from failing health. Danish had denied the charges against him on June 25. Merely a week ahead, he decided to confess to the crime. His counsel did not cross the prosecution’s arguments, which suggests that the accused knew it was better to plead for leniency than continuing to argue the case,” Tyagi said.Danish was sentenced to 2 years and three months of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 5,000. “He had already spent that period in jail. So, he walked out free,” he added.Ajit Nagar, secretary at the GB Nagar Bar Association, insisted that plea bargaining significantly reduced case pendency. “When an accused pleads guilty, they are at liberty to bargain under provisions of law for a lesser punishment from court,” he added.Nagar pointed out that in certain cases, most of the accused preferred to plead guilty to fast track their hearings. “For instance, no one wants to contest cases where vehicles are impounded by police for traffic violations. The vehicle will remain confiscated unless the matter is disposed of. So, pleading guilty and paying a fine to end the case seems better than deciding to argue,” he said.Similarly, in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the accused are often encouraged by their counsel to plead guilty when the quantity of the contraband is less. Since the penal provision for smaller quantities of drugs is up to one year, the accused can bargain for a lesser sentence and secure release earlier than waiting for a trial, which may take several years.In NDPS cases, the punishment and chances of bail depend upon the quantity of contraband recovered. According to lawyers, the quantity of drugs is categorised as ‘small’ and ‘commercial’ for different substances. For instance, a kilo of ganja is considered ‘small’ while 20kg is treated as a ‘commercial’ quantity. But in the case of cocaine, 2gm is ‘small’ while 100gm is ‘commercial’.Ajit Handa, a defence counsel at the district court in Ghaziabad, pointed out that obtaining bail under the stringent NDPS Act was often difficult. “Usually, those arrested in such cases remain in jail for a longer period because of high pendency. But, if the quantity of drugs recovered is small, they can come out of jail early by pleading guilty,” he said.“Sahil’s case is a pointer to this. The court acknowledged he was the sole breadwinner in his family and accepted his plea,” Handed went on to addd. Introduced in 2006 as Chapter XXI-A in the Criminal Procedure Code, plea bargaining aims at reducing court backlogs and streamlining the judicial process. However, it’s not applicable in cases involving crimes against women or children below 14, those affecting socio-economic conditions, or repeat offenders.Utkarsh Vats, special public prosecutor (Pocso), said cases involving serious crimes were exempt from plea bargaining as well. “People accused under the Pocso Act cannot plead guilty for want of leniency by the court. Even if an accused pleads guilty, their case is heard in keeping with available penal provisions in the law,” he added.
