Orbit verdict, as expected

The acquittal of all the accused in the Orbit bus case is unlikely to surprise anyone familiar with the cosy police-politician relationship in Punjab. Efforts were made right from the start to win over the victim's family members and witnesses. None of the 34 witnesses the prosecution produced could be of any use in sending the accused to jail. It is a familiar, recurring story. In fact, a conviction would have come as a surprise. People in Punjab have over time got used to acquittals and clean chits in high-profile cases — prominent being those of the Badals (disproportionate assets case), Capt Amarinder Singh (Amritsar Improvement Trust case) and Bikramjit Singh Majithia (drug case). 

An obliging prosecution not only decides to lose the legal battle but also refuses to challenge an adverse verdict. Witnesses turning hostile are seldom proceeded against for perjury. To avoid the ignominy of an acquittal, the investigating and prosecuting agencies now choose to withdraw cases from courts. The Orbit case has raised issues which can have consequences for the justice system and public faith in it. A serious charge of murder and molestation of a minor girl was brought against the staff of a private bus. The Badals, then in power, used the money power to buy the witnesses’ silence and save their own transport company. If it was an accidental death since no one saw the girl being molested or pushed out of the bus, why was compensation as high as Rs 24 lakh awarded or is it the company policy to pay so much in every accident case? Is a government job offer made to the family of each accident victim or was it a special arrangement for cases involving Orbit buses?   

Anyway, the private company owners and staff have got away lightly even though a girl travelling in their bus met with a tragic end. A law of torts in a more civilised society would have imposed a hefty penalty on the erring company. Here private culpability has been covered with a private arrangement. The present dispensation did once talk of conflict-of-interest legislation but that was perhaps during the initial euphoria over government formation.