The country has been witness to crime and brutality most foul and vile against a young woman, a veterinary doctor, Disha recently. It is a shame that such crimes are being reported with an eerie regularity. What is disgusting in almost all of them, is the cumulative sum total of several heinous crimes perpetrated by a group of inebriated, illiterate and intemperate sschizophrenics on unattended, unarmed and unsuspecting women. There are several laws to punish the guilty in the country. Are they really effective? It is a reflection of the times that we live in, that an amendment that included new offences like, acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking had to be incorporated into the Indian Penal Code, thereby amending the criminal law 2013, necessitated by another reprehensible crime, on another unwary woman Nirbhaya on a dark night, seven winters ago. Even as the curtains on that crime are yet to fall, we are witness to new savageries almost every other day.
The United Nations defines crime against women as any act that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in private or public life. Is it time to re-visit these attributes of crime for each one of them have been stretched to the extreme?
Disha had to endure inhuman behaviour by four blood thirsty and vicious goons, before she was burnt to death. The national outcry put the Telangana police under extreme pressure to deliver. They did catch four of them within 48 hours. The public anger was at its peak. The wheels of justice were slow to move and there were procedures to follow. The criminal justice system is notoriously slow and does not inspire confidence even in normal times. This was an extraordinary event and no one was willing to give time. For the police, it was hard to get any evidence. They found no mobiles and no tell-tale marks. Unfortunately for them, the crucial parts of the CCTV cameras were also not legible.
They did identify two of them actually driving the two wheeler of the hapless Disha to a petrol pump to buy petrol that was probably used by them later to burn her body. The burnt body effectively meant no forensic evidence was available either, to the investigating team. Proving a case of this magnitude beyond doubt, reconstructing the crime, using circumstantial evidence, was just not feasible. It is reported that one of the two confessed to the crime and turned approver. Using only his confession to nail the other three, would have required skills and perseverance of the highest order and a great amount of time, often of the order of decades, on the part of the police, fast track courts notwithstanding. The outcry the case would have generated, with activists breathing down the neck would have been unbearable. This case would have been extremely tough to prove for the police, besides having to contend with numerous appeals and adjournments in the trial to sessions to district to High Courts and then the Supreme Court. If after all this, a death sentence is awarded, the perpetrators would still have had the President’s court to appeal.
All this as it may be, the police did take them to the crime scene for a reconstruction a day later. It is again reported, the alleged criminals tried to snatch the police guns while on the ground, and were in retaliation gunned down. If they had perpetrated the heinous crime as alleged, an instant or even poetic justice indeed. What if the allegations were just allegations? Herein lies the complete failure of the criminal justice system and a loss of faith of the people in it.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply said 43.55 lakh cases were pending in the high court and out of these, 18.75 lakh relate to civil matters and 12.15 lakh are criminal cases. As on June 1st 2019, 58,669 cases were pending in the Supreme Court. ‘Under trials’ account for two out of three prisoners or 67% in India’s prisons, third highest in Asia and far higher than other democracies around the world. In many instances, the Judges are not interested in finishing the cases because the lawyers ask for too many adjournments, with vested interests playing a part many times and the plaintiff giving up the fight altogether at other times. Effective, quick and fast turnaround of cases is the key to justice. Currently, there are 24 High Courts with 443 Judges less than sanctioned to man them. A functioning judiciary is the guarantor of fairness and a powerful weapon against corruption and crime.
Filling the sanctioned numbers, and appointing more judges may be a way out but is easier said than done, though there is no guarantee that the pendency of cases will actually come down.
It is very necessary that cases like that of Disha or Nirbhaya culminate in punishing the guilty in the shortest possible time. If respect for law, fear of punishment and awe for both are missing, more of the same will continue to happen. However, the words of wisdom of the Chief Justice that justice can never be instant must be heeded. Why can’t the number of appeals be reduced to two or three and adjournments curtailed drastically? Justice delayed is justice denied is an age old adage. Judicial reforms is as important as meeting justice. Why at all British time customs and practices still prevail, whether in leave or working hours must be relooked at. Independence of the judiciary is directly linked with human rights and liberties of the society. They would be reduced to just laws if not enforced by courts. At the same time, the judicial systems must be safeguarded, protected, strengthened and streamlined starting with the lower courts. Judiciary and the judicial process must be insulated from the political.
Probably the Cyberabad police have closed the Disha case. Several questions remain However. The Apex Court recently directed the Telangana government to propose a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the gunning down of all the four accused in the rape and murder of Disha. A thorough enquiry may reveal the truth whatever that is. But if the broken criminal Justice system is not mended early, we would have to hang our heads many more times.