Criminal procedure aims to maintain an orderly legal system that
is most effective in the pursuit of justice in light of the
truth. Criminal Defense attorneys who specialize in criminal
procedure are very careful to review how evidence is collected.
They will be very specific in regards to their client’s right
and privileges under the law. A criminal defense attorney will
ensure that the ideal of “innocent until proven guilty” is
maintained through the investigation and presentation process.

The second type of criminal law is substantive. Substantive
criminal law focuses on crime and punishment. Criminal Defense
Attorneys involved in the substantive area of criminal law will
be working with individuals accused of a crime. They will begin
work when sought out by a client accused of a crime or appointed
by the court, as in cases of financial need. Criminal defense
attorneys will meet with clients and hear the details of events
from their point of view. Everything shared between a client and
his or her criminal defense attorney is confidential. A criminal
defense attorney will not turn a client in if the client admits
guilt, but will continue to help the client achieve success in
the courtroom.

A good criminal defense attorney understands that everything is
relative. The law is not black and white, but leaves a lot of
gray room for interpretation. A criminal defense attorney will
gather all of the facts of the case, both from the client and
from the state or federal investigators. Armed with the facts, a
criminal defense attorney will begin to build a case that
presents the client in the best possible light. IF the client is
guilty, the criminal defense attorney will try to present the
facts of the case in such a way as to maintain a doubt of guilt.
The jury, as the criminal defense attorney knows, is instructed
that a person on trial must be proven guilty and does not need
to be proven innocent. They will begin to comb through possible
witnesses and will divide witnesses into character witnesses and
witnesses to the actual events in question. A criminal defense
attorney knows that character witnesses to present the person
standing in trial in a good light will go a long way in the
minds of jury members.

When a criminal defense attorney is defending a client, they
will also seek to ensure the punishment fits the crime if their
client is found guilty. A criminal defense attorney will utilize
relativity to demand proportionality of punishment to crime in
their client’s best interest. A criminal defense attorney stands
by their client until the trial’s end, ensuring the outcome is
as favorable as possible for their client

    India is a huge country not only in terms of its geography but also its population, which has various religions, customs and practices. However, India has two main personal laws i.e. Hindu law and Muslim Law. Before moving ahead, I would like to define the Law – ‘Law is a large body of rules and regulations based mainly on general principles of justice.’

      Hindu Law is a personal Law (Law of Marriage, Divorce, Adoption, inheritance etc) evolved through long period of time from many sources (mentioned below) by Hindu religious community of India. Therefore, I love to call it ‘Sedimentary Law’ because Laws from various sources Sedimented and consolidated into Hindu Law. The important sources of Hindu Law are:

     1)  Ancient Source

     2)  Modern Source

          Ancient source is the main source of Hindu Law, which further subdivided into viz –

a) Sruti: the literal meaning is – ‘what was heard’, and it is originated from Vedas i.e. Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas. Basically, it is praise in the forms of hymns of the earliest Hindu tradition which deals – types of marriage, adoption, partition etc.

b) Smriti: literally means – ‘what is remembered.’ It is also known as ‘Dharma Sutras’ and available in the prose from. The important Smritis are ‘Manu Smriti, Yagnavalkya Smriti, Narada Smriti etc and, it deals the civil and criminal law, procedural law, marriage Law etc.

c) Commentaries: the discrepancy between above two gives rise a third one i.e. ‘Commentaries, which later on beget two schools i.e. Mitakshara (Vijyaneshwara school) and Dayabhaga (Jimuthvahana school) associated with particular areas.

d) Customs: it is a set of rules and norms, practice by particular society for a long period of time. However, ‘customs arise whenever a few human beings come together as no association of human beings can exit permanently without adopting consciously or unconsciously, some definite rules governing reciprocal rights and obligations’ (Vinogradoff, Collected Papers). “Indeed custom is coeval with the very birth of the community itself.” (Jurisprudences).

      Modern Source refers to the rules and regulations established through legislation by educated and intellectual people. These laws almost codified laws such as –

a) Hindu Marriage Act (1955),

b) Hindu Succession Act (1956),

c) Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956) and

d) Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956)

After independence (15 August 1947), India constituted its own Constitution, where India defines itself as a secular country, like this given space to flourish all religions with its own customs and laws. Therefore, the Indian Legal System is a Common Law-cum-Civil Law. Apparently, Hindu Law is a personal law and applicable to person and family relations only.