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Synthesis of reformist and deterrent punishment
I humbly disagree with Humra Quraishi’s views in her article “Compassion can win over
people” (Sunday Oped, Nov 4). Every time a death penalty is imposed, a hue and cry is raised about the human rights of the accused and the plight of his family members.
However, has any one considered the human rights of the victims and the miseries of his family members? Even some universities too ignore and just make a passing reference to the study of victimology and lay total stress on the study of criminology as a subject. The writer, quoting Dr Kiran Bedi, said “hanging is not the solution — rather, the accused should be imprisoned for the remaining years of his life and made to feel remorseful and repentant”. Though life imprisonment means imprisonment for life till death as laid down by the Supreme Court, the law bestows the power to the “appropriate government” to commute such sentence to imprisonment of either description for a term exceeding 14 years. It has been seen that the number of persons undergoing life imprisonment till death can be counted on fingers and in most cases, their sentence is commuted. Dr Kiran Bedi, in the same television programme, said that 100 per cent of the prisoners come out of the jails as reformed but only those prisoners who undertake the programme set out for their reformation. Then, the question is, how many of them undertake the programme and if at all it is compulsory aren’t we forcing them and abridging their human rights now? The writer has referred that there are hundred other means to put these erring human structures to shame or remorse, but has failed to highlight a few of them. It is not the Reformative theory of punishment alone but its synthesis with the Deterrent theory of punishment too which is going to fetch us a livable society. It was not Gandhism alone which brought freedom for us. It was also the contribution of extremists like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Udham Singh and other like-minded people who made us see the light of freedom. It is the cumulative effect of both the ideologies that we are living in free India. With the fast evaporating confidence of the people in the criminal justice system, the need of the hour is, as quoted by Gordon Hewart “… It is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. Dr AMAN A. CHEEMA, Lecturer,
University Institute of Laws, PU Regional Centre, Ludhiana
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