Given below is a passage with five blanks (A-E). A word written in bold is given against each blank. If the given word is inappropriate, choose the word from the options which fills the blank most appropriately, else select ‘No improvement’ as your answer.

The witness protection programme is at last in place. Pending legislation by Parliament, the Supreme Court has asked the states to implement a scheme framed by the Centre to protect witnesses in criminal trials from threat, ____(A)____ [solace] and undue influence. Given the abysmal rate of convictions in the country, it is inexcusable that it took so long. The need to protect witnesses has been emphasised by Law Commission reports and court judgements for years. Witnesses turning hostile is a major reason for most ____(B)____ [impeachments]. In the current system, there is little incentive for witnesses to turn up in court and ____(C)____ [evident] against criminals. Besides threats to their lives, they experience hostility and harassment while attending courts. The ____(D)____ [tardy] judicial process seldom takes into account the distance they have travelled or the time they have lost in attending court, only to be told they have to return another day. As Justice A.K. Sikri points out, the condition of witnesses in the Indian legal system is “pathetic”, as it takes them for granted. It is gratifying that the court has played a ____(E)____ [lackadaisical] role in getting the Centre and the States to come up with a concrete proposal. The Centre deserves credit for coming forward to suggest that its draft witness protection scheme be introduced by judicial mandate instead of waiting for formal legislation.