Look Who is Silent

The youth of India has once again taken to the streets in New Delhi. Tomorrow, the crowd will be bigger. The Police who barely move a baton against rampant eve teasing raised their lathis seven times on the protesters today. It looked like scenes out of the Arab Spring revolutions. The politicians from the ruling party act hurt and offended by the street demonstrations. They seem to be asking, “who the hell are they to protest against us… we are the Gods who rule this country, our women are safe and among us, the worst of the lot are already in parliament… FxxxK the people. They will make some noise over the weekend and go back to their middle class slumber.” The opposition leaders give the right statements of sympathy, empathy and moral outrage. Every time I see one of them on the TV screen, I feel like puking, but then, who the hell will waste costly hard earned food on them, so I let it be.

I hear young India blaming everybody. The policemen, the politicians and the porn sites, everybody is being blamed for the frequent rapes and violence that seem to be happening across the country. Five year olds are being raped in sleep, women are being abducted and raped by young teenagers as a pastime. Tourists are being drugged and raped by politicians and the kids of powerful policemen. But you know what… the real criminals are going scot free. They do not come up in conversations, nor in TV debates or in slogans by the agitating youth of the country. And the real criminals are silent, aloof, distant, cut off, untouched, infallible. They wear black robes and we call them “Your Honour.” The real criminals are those that man our judiciary. The so called courts of law of this country. Even as we blame the paltry paid, highly overworked beat constables who really don’t know why they do what they do, except for the sake of their families and a possible better tomorrow for their own kids.

Sample this:

1. There are about 30 million cases pending in the various courts of India
2. There is an oft quoted statement by an eminent member of the legal fraternity whish says that the Delhi High Court itself will take about 466 years to clear its cases at its present rate
3. The Transparency International report states that corruption is rampant in Indian courts. As evidence of corruption, TI cites a high-profile case, wherein 9 people, including a politician's son, were acquitted of their alleged involvement in the murder of Jessica Lal (2007, 215). However, following extensive media exposure, the case was reopened and the son of a senior Haryana Congress leader was convicted of the murder, while two others were convicted of conspiracy and destruction of evidence (Rediff.com 18 Dec. 2006). Though TI indicates that the upper judiciary "is relatively clean," it states that "[i]n the broader justice institutions corruption is systemic" (2007, 215). Specifically, TI indicates that "[t]here is a high level of discretion in the processing of paperwork during a trial and multiple points when court clerks, prosecutors and police investigators can misuse their power without discovery" (2007, 215). TI additionally indicates that corruption is often caused by case delays and judge shortages, explaining that civilians "seek shortcuts through bribery, favours, hospitality or gifts" (2007, 215-216).
4. The Supreme Court Judges CTC in modern corporate terms will be about 50 lacs per annum. This will include the 12 lac they take as salary plus the numerous freebies that comes free. In return of this, the effective mandays (8 hours of worktime is one man day) will be about 180 days.

Our Lords and “Your Honours” won’t work additional days, forget do double shifts. They would not fill the vacancies that exist in the judicial system, and fiercely protect their turf with their awesome contempt laws.

Now sample this:

1. The National Crime Records Bureau showed that between 1953 and 2011, the incidents of rape went up by 873 percent.
2. In a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters' Trust Law Women, a hub of information and support for women's rights, India ranked with Afghanistan, Congo and Somalia as one of the most dangerous places for women.
3. Delhi city has accounted for 17.6% of Rape cases, 31.8% of Kidnapping & Abduction cases, 14.0% of Dowry Deaths and 10.1% of Molestation cases among 53 cities.
4. From 2007 and 2011, Delhi saw 2,620 rape cases. Comparatively, Mumbai had 1,033, Bangalore 383, Chennai 293 and Kolkata 200 cases.
5. In three of the four cases of rape, the culprits went unpunished between 2002 and 2011 in Delhi.
6. Of the 5,337 rape cases in the last decade, in 3,860 the culprits were either acquitted or discharged by courts for lack of "proper" evidence.
7. The conviction rate for the country as a whole, on the average, between 2001 and 2010, in rape cases was 26 percent only.

Now think hard. In India today, if you rape, your FIR comes to the court in 3 to 4 month, your case goes on for about the ten years and your chances of getting sentenced is about 26%. In pure HR terms, rape is a very rewarding activity in India today. Of course, there are some minor risks, but trust our courts to aid these criminals by giving them numerous adjournments and convenient bails. Someday, if they are actually sentenced, the politician and our honorable President will commute their death sentences to a full long filth life sentence at the cost of the tax payer. No Death Sentence, live in Tihar, it is wifi, has internet and entertainment facilities. 

I had read somewhere that abatement of crime is just as serious a crime as conducting the crime. Who is actively encouraging these crimes? Is it the poor policeman on the street of the Judiciary of this country.