Stuck in the lanes of JUSTICE

The lanes which lead to an important destination called JUSTICE in worlds’ largest democracy are most often, murky, dingy and defective. And above all the legal system in our country is too lengthy, time-consuming and a painful process that it actually wipes out the very essence of the term justice. Malpractices, misconducts and techniques to linger on the cases have become an integrated part our complex legal system making the road to justice an invincible battle for a common man to win. Plus the rules governing the matters are completely transformed, twisted and turned if it involves a public figure.

The recent case of Ruchika Gihrotra which took almost 19 years, 40 adjournments and more than 400 hearings to deliver justice to a minor in a molestation case against a senior IPS officer SPS Rathore is a living example of our insensitive and overburdened legal system. Another important aspect of the case is that misuse of power by the IPS Rathore which actually lead to the displacement of Gihrotra family ,false charges against Ruchika’s brother Ashu ,her being thrown out from her school and which finally led to her suicide. And finally when Justice prevailed in the case against SPS Rathore ,he was sentenced six months imprisonment and Rs 1,000 fine which appeared as too little and too late.Ruchika’s case is just an example of thousands of cases lying and gathering dust in various courts of the country and exemplifies the fight and long –wait which the common man has to bear to find justice in the eyes of laws.While there have been other cases such as Jessica lall ,Priyadarshani Mattoo,Nitish katara cases which were also against the rich and mighty of the society only got justice due to media hype and public outcry for justice.

Another important feature of the law in our country is that the law is not at all the victim-friendly and fails to protect the whistle-blowers which strive for a better India.Brutual murders of Satyendra Dubey,Manjunath and RTI activist Shetty are examples of such individuals who fought for a clean and transparent systems but our legal system failed them.

Thus it is imperative for all of us to strive for a legal system which is proactive, checks overgrowth of power ,fast-paced , make our archaic laws match the needs of contemporary world, more victim friendly especially in cases which involves influential figures ,less time-consuming and simpler for common man to understand .But special emphasis should be paid to the time factor so that no more Ruchika, Manjunath die and others like them could be saved .And no more filing a case in court to seek redresses and justice becomes a curse for a common man and courts should no longer remain a tormented place and we should all understand that “justice delayed is justice denied”

The Forgotten heroes of our times

No in this blog i m not talking about some of my favorite stars born on reality shows or made out to cater the TRP needs of channels in this blog i talk about those two young men who lost their lives because they were taught that "there is no God higher than TRUTH"(by M.K.Gandhi) and their in their pursuit to out bring out the truth of our corrupt system they were murdered in cold blood and no one even talks or bothers about the real heroes or the whistleblowers of our times.

Satyendra Kumar Dubey ,an IIT Kanpur alumni,working with the National Highway Authority of India on project golden quadrilateral exposed high-level corruption within NHAI,detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project.From the higher officials of NHAI to the then prime minister A.B Vajpayee he left no stone unturned to bring the wrongdoers to the books and inturn just asked for anonymity .But his name was leaked which finally led to his assasination.But the larger question remains after his death that do we stand by those people who are upright,have the courage to fight the system and support them in their ventures or are we a society that just cribs and make huge hue and cry about the rising levels of inefficiency and corruption and do nothing about it.Or have we become so insensitive that this no longer boils our blood and what kind of a society we are heading towards?

Shanmughan Manjunath ,an IIM Lucknow graduate ,working with Indian Oil Corporation was murdered by oil mafia after he sealed three petrol pumps on charges of selling adulterated fuel in Uttar Pradesh.Another question that comes to my mind after examining both the stories is that why cant our law protect the crusaders of our times ,two young men who were the victims of exposing the deep-rooted and high levels of corruption in the system.Two young men who dreamt of a corruption free India and efficient use of public resources and who couldn't remain turn blind eye to all the crimes deserved this ?

But after so many years of their death no one even talks about Public Interest Disclosure (protection of informers' )Bill and many still stake their lives to protect the interests of people against many evils in our society be it corruption,scams,human rights violations etc.As this reminds me of the recent brutal murder of RTI activist Satish Shetty who exposed land scams in Maharashtra .Right to Information Act talks about INFORMED CITIZENRY to promote transperant and accountable system but i ask who will be accountable for the deaths as many manjunaths ,shetty's and dubey's even fight today for our better future and better tomorrow the society or the law?