Why delivery of justice is difficult in India

THE rape-murder of a young trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has led to a justified hue and cry not just in West Bengal but across the nation. The ruling party in the state and the police are being blamed for not acting fast enough in investigating this horrific crime. The ruling dispensation at the Centre is blaming the state government and vice-versa. A political blame game is going on in which the police are being treated like a football. And now that the case has been transferred to the CBI under considerable public pressure, the ruling party in the state is demanding the conclusion of the investigation within a matter of days. In a bid to save the party from political harm, its members took to the streets to demand death penalty for the accused.

The Supreme Court has made scathing observations after taking suo motu cognisance of the Kolkata rape-murder case. It has sent a notice to the state government, set up a task force for recommending security at hospitals and suggested some

other measures.

Kolkata witnessed more trouble on Sunday after a Durand Cup football match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal at Salt Lake Stadium was cancelled due to the non-availability of police personnel in view of the serious law and order situation elsewhere in the city. This led to protests by the young crowd. A lathicharge ensued and many protesters were arrested.

The molestation of two schoolgirls at Badlapur in Maharashtra has added to the nationwide disgust. Appalling crimes and political mudslinging are nothing new in our country. These have been happening for years and will continue to happen, as nobody wants to cure the disease, but only treating the symptoms. The disease is that in the states, the police have become the private army of the political party in power as they are accountable to the executive under the Police Act, 1861 — that means being accountable to the leaders of the ruling party. It goes without saying that all political parties are more than happy exercising this control over the police. This is true of all states and of all parties in India across the board. That’s why there is no justice for the ordinary citizen as the police mostly act as per the directions of the party, especially when it comes to high-profile crimes. Action is taken depending upon the interests of the ruling party.

Of course, the police leadership is also to be blamed for not doing its job efficiently and quite a bit of it is also compromised unfortunately due to corruption and career interests, due to which many policemen join hands with politicians, primarily because the latter can reward and harm them in many ways.

We are still stuck with the 1861 Act. Once the police are made accountable to the law and Parliament, the situation will improve drastically. The force will function independently in accordance with the law without any fear, as in many other countries. Though the Model Police Act was framed many years ago by the Soli Sorabjee Committee, nobody wants to follow it, not even the Central Government.

Curiously, the Supreme Court, which gave a historic judgment in 2006 on police reforms, is not even keen to issue a contempt notice to state governments for not acting on its directions in letter and spirit. States have merely done an eyewash on those directions. Look at the British who gave us these laws and the procedures for the police. They are nimble-footed and change fast according to the need of the hour, with the political parties being apolitical in this matter, delivering speedy justice. In the recent riots in the UK, a few accused have been sent to prison for 20 months within days of the crime having been committed with no political interference! Can you imagine this happening in India?

Another problem is the pitiable conditions of the police force in the country. The police are mostly

ill-equipped in many respects to handle serious crime. The force is short

of manpower. There are about five lakh vacancies to meet challenges like cybercrime, besides infrastructural shortcomings with regard to buildings, vehicles, equipment, etc… the list is endless.

The old-fashioned laws and procedures are another impediment to justice delivery. The new criminal laws that have recently come into force have many lacunae, and the sad part is that police officers, lawyers and judges who deal everyday with criminal cases have not been consulted while framing these laws.

Furthermore, over the years, the state police forces have been neglected at the cost of the Central police forces; the responsibility lies partly with the state governments as the police is a state subject.

Everyone who matters has also been talking of judicial reforms, meaning quick justice, like the British, but nothing is happening on the ground. With about five crore cases pending in judicial courts and increasing by the day, there is no hope for the common citizen. Nobody is doing anything in this regard.

So, justice in India for the common man is difficult to get unless the needful is done fast enough. Given our track record, this is not likely to happen anytime soon.