Kuala Lampur, March 15 -- Malaysia's main legislation relating to criminal justice and its process are based on Indian law. These include the Penal Code (Revised-1997) (Act 574), the Evidence Act 1950 (Act 56) and the Criminal Procedure Code (Revised-1999) (Act 593).

The present Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) is essentially the successor to the Federated Malay States' (FMS) CPC (Cap 6) which was applicable in the FMS in the 1920s. The CPC is based on the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (CrPC).

Courts (at all levels), prosecutors and defence lawyers have referred to and relied on the Indian commentaries on the CrPC as well as Indian decisions in support of their respective decisions and submissions on the corresponding law in Malay...