I asked many common men on the streets today about Salman Khan’s hit-and-run verdict. They all felt justice doesn’t serve the masses. They are all convinced there’s a ‘neta’ behind every criminal who gets away. How cynical have we become!
It’s a ‘burey din’ moment for India today. We live in a country where the famous are almost always innocent in their “booze-up and bump-off” binges. Case after case of drinking and driving and killing seems to be a class privilege some are thoroughly enjoying. And we are letting them. Here’s what we just taught our young drivers – killing underprivileged people is not a crime. You can get away with it. It’s called being human. As if rash driving wasn’t bad enough.
No one killed anyone. Then why is somebody called Nurullah dead? We clearly have a legal system where we are all innocent until proven guilty. Great. Then how do you explain that famous headline “No One Killed Jessica”? Wasn’t that a glaring travesty of justice?
Why did it take the outrage of an entire nation for our Lady with the Insaaf ka Tarazu to actually put on her blindfolds and hear the case again? With no offence meant to her or any judge, it seems that if you are a high profile culprit in India, chances are the law will see you for who you are on page 1 or page 3 first and if you feature in either, you are more likely to get away with it. No wonder PR agencies flourish. Be visible to be invincible.
Benefit of the Legal ‘Loophole’
Sometimes I wonder why we even bother to have a police force, in
the first place if we are only going to end up with misreported crimes and
mishandled investigations. Or is that the job brief?
The judges look at facts. The public looks into their own hearts. See how many high profile people are in jail or escaping it by a whisker and will not serve the sentence they deserve. Some who have landed up behind bars because the evidence was just too compelling, have cushioned cells and peons. Some enjoy prison with climate control. Some even get special cuisine.
The ‘Special Citizens’ Category
People who can afford expensive lawyers and, dare I say, the protection of cops, should probably be in a special citizens category. Perhaps their Aadhaar cards can carry an ECNR stamp much like the ones in their passports. Only here the ECNR would stand for Equal Citizen-status Not Required. Cruise through your crime First Class.
If we just decide to fast-track such obvious cases into a mini drama series rather than a decade-long daily soap opera, at least the others in this country stand a chance of justice. And everyone will know where they stand in a situation of law and order. Ordinary victims will get served and ordinary criminals will get an appropriate sentence. The poor sometimes spend a lifetime trying to get a voice in court but they are almost always unheard, their voices too feeble and blunt to make to the altar of justice in a sharp decibel.
An Ode To Lawmakers!
Dear lawmakers. If you decide that fast track cases are for first class pass holders, they’ll get through the line (which they will anyway) and leave you to do your jobs.
Don’t shake our faith in the justice system over and over again. You may not have enough evidence in every case but I am sure you have enough of a conscience. If rich men and women are going to pay crores to lawyers and others in the food chain and buy themselves out of crimes, they might as well pay the victims and their families the same amount instead. Or let the money flow back into the public justice system so that those who get wrongly convicted or never receive justice at least stand a chance for a new life with your money.
Since it’s all about the money in the end, let’s link the crime’s price tag to your earnings and your credit card ratings. Ok how about 10% of your bank balance? It won’t bring a dead man back, but it will give his family hope. As on date, no one killed Nurullah. But we killed all hope of justice. And we are all poorer now, in need of justice perhaps!
(The writer is a media professional)
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