12-25-2006, 06:16 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Judiciary is the lone warrior </b>
Pioneer.com
Arun Nehru
We have had a spate of judicial verdicts, which is welcome news. The first decision was given in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, in which Santosh Singh was sentenced to death. And now a High Court bench of Justice RS Sodhi and Justice PK Bhasin has found Manu Sharma and two others guilty in the Jessica Lall case. While Manu Sharma was awarded life imprisonment, his two other associates were sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment. Hopefully, the decision in the Nitish Katara case will come in the immediate future.
We are witnessing a miracle of sorts from a judicial system bogged down by delays. <b>Hopefully, the three high profile cases - the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, the Jessica Lall case and the Nitish Katara case - will result in major reforms in several fields connected with the criminal justice system. </b>We all know how the criminal justice system works in India,<b> but these three cases, revived after years, defeat the VIP syndrome. Criminal elements are isolated, as many dedicated, honest and committed people in all three wings of governance have an opportunity to make the system work. There are no simplistic solutions. In fact, there are strong vested interests in all three wings of governance. Let us examine the case for reforms by taking these cases as an example</b>.
The lower courts had acquitted the accused in both the cases and interestingly they drew flak of the High Court each time. Why did this happen? The facts and the evidence have not changed in these cases. The lessons that we draw from this are that there is an in-house inquiry within the judicial system in all cases of this nature.
According to media reports, <b>Justice SL Bhayana, whose trial court acquitted Manu Sharma, was elevated to the High Court after the Jessica Lall verdict on February 21. </b>The adverse comments made by the two-member bench on the trial court decision raise some very disturbing questions that need clarification. The police personnel, too, have much to answer for, and unless punitive action is taken, grave miscarriages of justice in hundreds of thousands of cases will continue to take place.
The media has performed a great service in pursuing the cause of justice, and there is much debate taking place on these cases everywhere. Clearly, the criminal justice system is not the monopoly of a few, but is subject to normal checks and balances within a democratic system. We have passed our judgement on many crucial witnesses. Let us take Ms Bina Ramani, a well-known socialite, for example. There are quite a few people who have commented on her lack of nerve. In reality, however, she and her daughter showed more nerve than everyone else. Moreover, is this fair to them and to many others under this situation,<b> where there is no protection from the state to guard them against the VIP syndrome? How many of our prominent citizens had the courage to even express an opinion, much less appear as a witness? How many of our political leaders even today are willing to give an opinion on the subject in public?</b>
The fear syndrome is very real, but these three cases will change the system and this will happen sooner than later. We have seen JMM leader and former Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren going from the Cabinet room to Tihar jail after being convicted for murder of his private secretary, and an ACP sentenced to death for custodial killing. These cases cannot be seen in isolation and will influence events in a positive manner in the future.
The New Year is knocking the door and we select the winners and losers for the year. This time, however, there will be massive competition in both categories. There are hundreds of winners. Look at the remarkable people who can be considered for this category: <b>Narayana Murthy, Ratan Tata, Sunil Mittal, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, to name a few</b>. But my choice must be the family members of Jessica Lall, Nitish Katara and Priyadarshini Mattoo.
We all have our role models and for inspiration we look at the "successful" people around us. But look a little deeper and one will observe the courage, grit and determination of the simple people who are fighting against impossible odds without any physical or material resources. Despite their losses and grief they persist. See how Chaman Lal Mattoo, Sabrina Lall and Neelam Katara have coped with the situation. We do not have to look very far for the "winners" of 2006. We wish them well and no words, no matter how eloquently expressed, can ever lessen the grief for the loss they have suffered. The constant media attention - which is largely responsible for shaping public opinion and attitudes - would have been extremely difficult for them to handle on an emotional level.
The "losers" of 2006 need not be named. The media has exposed them. We must concentrate on the positives of the situation and press for reforms. The cases are not over, as many will go to the Supreme Court and the due process of law has to run its course
The Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence to Mohammed Afzal, the mastermind of the terrorist attack on Parliament House. Sadly, the media campaign by "activists" and human rights organisations against the sentence and raising questions against the apex court's decision have created a massive wave of adverse public reaction against the Congress-led UPA Government. This was aptly manifested when the families of the victims of the Parliament House attack returned the gallantry medals awarded to the nine martyrs.
<b>The UPA Government has failed to read the severity of the reaction and a string of minority appeasement measures at the expense of security considerations have added to the complications. The credibility of the Government is at stake and it will be difficult to postpone a decision on the fate of Mohammed Afzal</b>.
There are several people who oppose the death penalty on moral and ethical grounds; we must respect their views. At the same time, our commitment to fight terrorism - Islamist or otherwise - cannot be compromised at any cost.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer.com
Arun Nehru
We have had a spate of judicial verdicts, which is welcome news. The first decision was given in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, in which Santosh Singh was sentenced to death. And now a High Court bench of Justice RS Sodhi and Justice PK Bhasin has found Manu Sharma and two others guilty in the Jessica Lall case. While Manu Sharma was awarded life imprisonment, his two other associates were sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment. Hopefully, the decision in the Nitish Katara case will come in the immediate future.
We are witnessing a miracle of sorts from a judicial system bogged down by delays. <b>Hopefully, the three high profile cases - the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, the Jessica Lall case and the Nitish Katara case - will result in major reforms in several fields connected with the criminal justice system. </b>We all know how the criminal justice system works in India,<b> but these three cases, revived after years, defeat the VIP syndrome. Criminal elements are isolated, as many dedicated, honest and committed people in all three wings of governance have an opportunity to make the system work. There are no simplistic solutions. In fact, there are strong vested interests in all three wings of governance. Let us examine the case for reforms by taking these cases as an example</b>.
The lower courts had acquitted the accused in both the cases and interestingly they drew flak of the High Court each time. Why did this happen? The facts and the evidence have not changed in these cases. The lessons that we draw from this are that there is an in-house inquiry within the judicial system in all cases of this nature.
According to media reports, <b>Justice SL Bhayana, whose trial court acquitted Manu Sharma, was elevated to the High Court after the Jessica Lall verdict on February 21. </b>The adverse comments made by the two-member bench on the trial court decision raise some very disturbing questions that need clarification. The police personnel, too, have much to answer for, and unless punitive action is taken, grave miscarriages of justice in hundreds of thousands of cases will continue to take place.
The media has performed a great service in pursuing the cause of justice, and there is much debate taking place on these cases everywhere. Clearly, the criminal justice system is not the monopoly of a few, but is subject to normal checks and balances within a democratic system. We have passed our judgement on many crucial witnesses. Let us take Ms Bina Ramani, a well-known socialite, for example. There are quite a few people who have commented on her lack of nerve. In reality, however, she and her daughter showed more nerve than everyone else. Moreover, is this fair to them and to many others under this situation,<b> where there is no protection from the state to guard them against the VIP syndrome? How many of our prominent citizens had the courage to even express an opinion, much less appear as a witness? How many of our political leaders even today are willing to give an opinion on the subject in public?</b>
The fear syndrome is very real, but these three cases will change the system and this will happen sooner than later. We have seen JMM leader and former Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren going from the Cabinet room to Tihar jail after being convicted for murder of his private secretary, and an ACP sentenced to death for custodial killing. These cases cannot be seen in isolation and will influence events in a positive manner in the future.
The New Year is knocking the door and we select the winners and losers for the year. This time, however, there will be massive competition in both categories. There are hundreds of winners. Look at the remarkable people who can be considered for this category: <b>Narayana Murthy, Ratan Tata, Sunil Mittal, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, to name a few</b>. But my choice must be the family members of Jessica Lall, Nitish Katara and Priyadarshini Mattoo.
We all have our role models and for inspiration we look at the "successful" people around us. But look a little deeper and one will observe the courage, grit and determination of the simple people who are fighting against impossible odds without any physical or material resources. Despite their losses and grief they persist. See how Chaman Lal Mattoo, Sabrina Lall and Neelam Katara have coped with the situation. We do not have to look very far for the "winners" of 2006. We wish them well and no words, no matter how eloquently expressed, can ever lessen the grief for the loss they have suffered. The constant media attention - which is largely responsible for shaping public opinion and attitudes - would have been extremely difficult for them to handle on an emotional level.
The "losers" of 2006 need not be named. The media has exposed them. We must concentrate on the positives of the situation and press for reforms. The cases are not over, as many will go to the Supreme Court and the due process of law has to run its course
The Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence to Mohammed Afzal, the mastermind of the terrorist attack on Parliament House. Sadly, the media campaign by "activists" and human rights organisations against the sentence and raising questions against the apex court's decision have created a massive wave of adverse public reaction against the Congress-led UPA Government. This was aptly manifested when the families of the victims of the Parliament House attack returned the gallantry medals awarded to the nine martyrs.
<b>The UPA Government has failed to read the severity of the reaction and a string of minority appeasement measures at the expense of security considerations have added to the complications. The credibility of the Government is at stake and it will be difficult to postpone a decision on the fate of Mohammed Afzal</b>.
There are several people who oppose the death penalty on moral and ethical grounds; we must respect their views. At the same time, our commitment to fight terrorism - Islamist or otherwise - cannot be compromised at any cost.
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