When the Court suggested that we must “think in the larger interest of society” to curb organized crime, Guruswamy said:

“Tough criminal law will not act as a deterrent to reduce crime.”

The Court replied that when the accused knows that the onus is on them to prove their innocence, the same can act as a deterrent.

“If there is no effective law, it will have no impact… the toothless tiger will not help. You see in USA, people don’t dare to break the traffic signal or cross the signal when they are not allowed because they know they will be immediately handcuffed and (have) tremendous punishments“, he added.

Guruswamy replied that in the US, the conviction rate in white-collar crimes is 82%, but in India it is below 3%.

Finally, the Court asked counsel to draw up a chart showing what was added and deleted in the criminal laws.

The matter will be heard next on December 2.

Advocates Lavkesh Bhambhani, Utkarsh Pratap, Arunima Das, Aditi Tripathi and Tushar Jain assisted Guruswamy in representing Kataria.