Perturbed about the delay in investigation and trials of various crimes, former CRPF director general V G Kanetkar, retired IPS officer S P Karnik, former CBI director Mohan Katre, former Intelligence Bureau director V G Vaidya and former principal secretary, home department, Maharashtra Government, B J Misar have formed a group of retired senior officers.

The group, which conducted 43 weekly meetings over six months, has after deliberating over the current position proposed radical measures to ease the situation. They have sent these recommendations to the Union as well as State Government in August and published a booklet which is being distributed to the departments concerned, said Kanetkar at a press conference here today.

These recommendations would be discussed in a seminar on ``Recommendations to speed up investigations and court trials,'' to be organised jointly by the Rotary Clubs of Pune Riverside, Shaniwarwada, Shivajinagar and Uptown, on Sunday. The seminar would be held at at Garware College hall between 10 am and 1.30 pm, he added.

Pune district judge V G Munshi, High Court lawyers Dilip Bhosale, V G Gangal and Member of Bar council of Maharashtra and Goa, Shrikant Kanitkar, would participate in the seminar. Mumbai High Court judge Ranjana P Desai is the chief guest.

Kanetkar said the group has recommended that punishment by whipping may be imposed for eve-teasing of serious type which involves touching the victim's body, sexual abuse of children, rape or sodomy, profiteering in or hoarding of essential commodities and vandalising public or private property.

The group has also recommended using plea bargaining system. It has suggested that community service should be introduced as punishment for minor offences and that the authority to suspend sentences imposed by trial courts should be given to the sessions courts.

The retired officers have recommended that there should be only one appeal against acquittal or convictions in cases tried by magistrates and that should lie with the sessions court. The revision petition to the High Court against the appellate judgments of the sessions court should be only on a point of law and revision petition to the Supreme Court should be permitted only in cases where death sentence or life imprisonment has been imposed, Kanetkar said.

The group has recommended that the provisions regarding grant of anticipatory bail should be repealed and that the present mandatory provision regarding grant of bail to an accused if the investigation is not completed in 60/90 days should be modified.

The retired officials have suggested that system of licences should be instituted for gambling clubs and prostitution should be allowed only after obtaining a licence.

Among the other important recommendations were that the investigating officer should make careful record of the scene of offence instead of drawing any panchanama, tape recorders should be used to record statements of important witnesses and confessions of accused, signature of literates should be obtained on their statements and that police officials of and above the rank of deputy superintendent of police should be empowered to record confessions of the accused. They have also suggested that certain police officials should be empowered to hear and dispose cases pertaining to minor offences.