The Society for Nature, Education and Health (SNEH) organised a seminar on restorative justice here recently.
Guests Director General of Prisons Santosh Upadhyaya, former Additional Chief Secretary Dr Aurobinda Behera and retired District Judge Umacharan Mishra said the current system of justice in the country is in the form of retributive or punitive with provisions of punishing the guilty for crimes.
"While the state is responsible for penalising the criminal, the victim's pains and wishes are ignored. The restorative system of justice delivery in our country is limited to the compensation to the victims in the form of financial assistance in a few cases," observed the speakers.
Dr Behera underlined the need for restorative justice to reintegrate the offender with the community as well as restoration of normalcy in the relationship with the victim.
SNEH advisor Subas Chandra Panda made a comparative presentation on various aspects of the punitive and the restorative justice practices. He explained how the restorative justice is a comprehensive system of justice delivery which meets the needs of all stakeholders like the victim, offender and the community and helps restore the broken relationships and healing the harm caused by the crime.
The seminar, attended by social workers, police officers, members of judiciary and educationists, was chaired by SNEH president Subarna Ghosh.