The case that is now making headlines in the news hungry Indian press & TV media is that of a 14 year old girl Ruchika Girhotra's. Some 19 years ago, she was sexually assaulted by SPS Rathore in 1990s Haryana (a police inspector). Rathore was found guilty after a long and delayed trial and was awarded (or should I say rewarded) 6 months sentence and Rs.1000 despite having an eye witness. To add to his achievements, he got out on bail without serving that 6 months sentence. 3 years after the incident, the girl committed suicide successfully (had she failed, she could have been sentenced to a max of one year in prison, what an irony!!).
After 16 years of protests and fights by the victim's friends and family, Indian govt has woken up and has informed the case will be re-opened to punish all that are involvedand used as a model case. Hope only the punishment to be meted out is used as the model and not the delay! Please google for other atrocities he did to her family in the aftermath of the incident.
Cases like this shake up the very basic pillar of our judiciary system. I can understand the lack of food, lack of medicines, lack of schools/colleges in a developing country but why is there a lack of justice. I am not worried if my country's GDP goes down, stock markets crash, banking system collapse,health care system fails but I am very much concerned if the law and order is not preserved by serving justice in the right measure at the right time. Otherwise, there is nothing in the country that is worth for people in the right mind to live for. They might as well begin to break the law.
Case 1: Sentence served and revoked
Just two years before I entered my college life (in 1996/97), a ragging case shocked college asiprants like me to the spine. The murder of Navarasu, a first year medical student in a gruesome way. His body parts were distributed through out the city, allegedly by his senior John David. After a speedy trial (around 15 months), John David was found guilty and a deserving sentence was served. Note that there was a packed court during the sentence.
Not sure how many of those people know that John David is now out in the society, free as a bird. Apparently, evidence was not sufficient, so this happened in 2001.
What is it that changed in between 1998 and 2001? Hmmm, as far as I know, the Tamilnadu government. I know what you are about to ask. Were the police officials who were recommended for CM award in 1998 for solving the case returned their medals (assuming they got it) in 2001? Sorry, I don't know about that valuable piece of information.
Case 2:Sentence was served, is being served and will be served...
Indian Parliament was attacked by L-e-T and J-e-M and Mohammed Afzal was convicted in 2004 and given a death sentence to be executed in 2006. So, is he dead now?
Oh boy, don't be so fast!! The execution was stayed and a mercy plea has been submitted. Indian Govt needs to send its recommendation to the president for all such mercy plea requests. According to a news report (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/decision-on-afzal-gurus-mercy-plea-may-take/482987/), Afzal is number 22 in a list of 28 mercy pleas pending and the home ministry is planning to handle only one such petition every month. So, it will be at least June 2011 before the petition moves to the president's hands. May be if the attacks had involved killing the prime minister or a bunch of cabinet ministers, they wouldn't take so much time acting on mercy plea. It seems that the President has no time bounds to act on such requests. Why would the President run the risk of losing her second term (around 2012) by taking any decision on this?
Result, the mercy plea will be hanging in the air for some merciful president to come along and mercifully reduce the death sentence to life sentence. And, a couple of years later, he will be released on 150th birthday of some merciful leader.
Case 3: Will the sentence ever be served?
Lalu Prasad Yadav's efforts of turning around Indian railways was planned to be made a study for Harvard graduates. If there is a course on how to embezzle government money in a smart way, Lalu's multi-million dollar fodder scam in 1996/97 could very well be the fodder for it. It was the one of the most elaborate and lengthy scam in Indian history and deservingly it will get a lengthy trial as well. Around 200 people have been convicted till now and sentenced to 2 to 7 year rigorous imprisonment with some puny fines levied.
I wonder when the cases against Lalu will come to judgement day and I hope it is sometime before he grabs a post in the central govt or state govt. He is already 62 and by the time they hand out a sentence, he may not have enough life left in him to serve it out.
These are just few that have caught our attention through the media coverage. There are many more such unsolved, in-trial cases that were once the talk of the nation. Last but not the least, the trial of 26/11 terrorist attacks are continuing into its 7th month and the only accused suddenly revealed the truth. That he did not take part in the shootings, he is being wrongly accused and he came to Bollywood to act in movies. (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/41937/i-came-mumbai-act-films.html)
Sure you did, and may be 26/11 was a movie shooting for you and just that you happened to use a real gun by mistake, we understand and we thank god there were no re-takes. Remember, you are living out of our tax money, now just don't take us for fools, Okay?
To summarize, unless we more special courts or add judges to clear the pending cases (around 54000 in supreme court alone), law breakers will not think twice before committing a crime. Our neighbor China is very fast in serving criminal justice, around 7000 death sentences ordered every year and 1700 executed. Now, I am not saying that is good, I just wanted to point out the contrast.
