After the Delhi rape case so much has been debated and discussed about the efficacy of the law and the justice delivery system. Supreme Court, Chief Justice, Altamas Kabir, has set up at least five fast track courts within the apex court to deal with cases of sexual violence. Policing or the lack of it has also come in for a lot of flak. Public outcry must remain constant or else the system will relapse and stagnate. This has been the problem with the Indian system of governance. It fails to perform ordinarily; it requires a crisis to make the wheels of justice grind. It’s natural for the Indian people to feel frustrated and betrayed by the justice delivery system. Justice is so delayed that every jail inmate has to spend at the very least, twenty years before his/her case is decided. An innocent accused of crime loses everything once he/she is inside a jail. All hopes of returning to a normal life are lost forever. Many find that their families have moved on and no longer want them as part of their lives. That is what most Hindi movies depict. And this cannot be far from the truth.
It is reported that the country has no funds to set up fast track courts. This is ridiculous. However, even where there are fast track courts, things do not move quite so fast. Meghalaya has fast track courts to deal with cases of sexual violence and rape but these too take their own time as the legal counsels are least interested in early disposal of cases. They stand to gain more from adjournments since the client has to pay them for every attendance. This is a crime in itself. It is judicial corruption. In fact judicial corruption is what has made criminals have the last laugh. They know very well that they can bribe judges and get bail easily. Once they are out on bail they are as good as acquitted. Superstar Salman Khan who was booked for running over some pavement dwellers several years ago is out on bail and keeps attending hearing after hearing. It’s almost as if the rich and famous cannot be booked for crime when theirs should in fact be exemplary indictments so that others are deterred from playing around with the law.
The Delhi gang-rape case has set some things in motion. People are vehemently demanding police reforms; they are asking that investigating wing of the police be separated from the normal law and order duties. Indeed there are so many anomalies in our policing system that if they could be addressed at this juncture, then crime itself would reduce substantially. One reason why crime is on the rise is because of bad policing, poor implementation of the law and a faulty judiciary. In many states the rule of law is simply absent. We can only hope that 2013 portends new beginnings for India.
