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”