When it comes to a juxtaposition of politics and judiciary, India and Pakistan are poles apart. The Indian judicial system rarely acts tough against those who held high offices in government, while the Pakistani judiciary has been a nightmare to the top politicians there. The scenario in the two countries presents two extremes. The 10-year-jail sentence awarded to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday by a Pakistan court, in the Cipher case, follows a familiar pattern. The charge against the two was principally that they made references, at a public rally in 2022, to a “classified cable” message sent to Islamabad by the Pakistan envoy from Washington after his meeting with the US officials, who suggested Khan’s removal from the prime minister’s post. Notably, the rally was held a month before Khan’s ouster from government, his arrest and jailing. The convicts can go on appeal, but the immediate prospect is also that Khan and his party can be banned from contesting the polls.
Popular Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been sentenced and hanged to death by a court in 1978 on charges of plotting the murder of a political opponent. The arrest happened in the run-up to parliament elections; and so is the case now. Top Pakistani leaders, at the receiving end of military rulers or courts, have often faced exile and their life was ruined thereafter. Exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead during a street show upon her arrival from abroad in 2007, weeks before the parliament elections in which she was planning to lead the Pakistan People’s Party founded by her father. While the three power centres in Pakistan are the political leadership, the Army and the Judiciary, it is often that the military and courts maintain the upper hand and politicians are at a disadvantage. The judiciary as such might not be immune from temptations, pulls and pressures there. The scenario in India is relatively “better” perhaps.
Unlike in Pakistan, Indian politicians have been having a smooth sail. Most corruption and other cases against senior politicians have never led to their conviction or jailing. A notable exception was the Allahabad high court conviction of then premier Indira Gandhi in an election malpractice case in the 1970s. She avoided resignation and instead clamped Emergency, lifted it in 1977, ordered parliament polls and was defeated. Second-line leaders like George Fernandes, Bangaru Lakshman, Lalu Prasad, VK Sasikala and some AAP ministers were among the few politicians here who faced court punishments. The rest are having a gala and enjoy impunity.
