- At the best of times, the Indian judicial delivery system stutters at an agonizingly slow pace isstating the obvious. Indian citizens are quite accustomed to discerning how the wheels of justice chug along in the country, where recourse to justice, relief, hearings, and delivery often takes years, if not decades. Reams and reams have been written about the fallacy of the Indian justice delivery system, where reliefs are often welcomed after decades of waiting despite approaching various levels of the judiciary. Of course, no less than the Supreme Court has made earnest attempts at addressing such a glaring anomaly through concerted efforts to speed up the process of justice delivery for the last man standing and the lower strata of society. Not enough, though.
PC: Madhyamam
- Unfortunately, lakhs of pending cases across the various levels of the judicial system speak volumes about how little progress we have achieved in clearing those mind-boggling cases with no signs of speedy disposal in sight. The number of undertrials languishing in jails makes for a dismal understanding of the situation that has not seen much improvement despite the Apex Court initiatives. And another worrying trend observed in the justice delivery system is the number of acquittals, especially in rape cases, due to poor prosecution, rendering the victims and their families completely devastated. Recently, a Kerala trial court freed an actor of conspiracy charges, hiring goons to abduct and sexually assault a woman actor and filming the crime.
PC: Sabrang India
- Of course, the state will appeal. Wheels of justice will continue to grind for no one knows how many more years. Justice may be blind, but even a slight sniff of the to-and-fro since 2017 in this high-profile case shows that the free pass doesn’t quite pass the smell test. Surely, the trial court wasn’t blind to that? Mind you, it’ll be nine years since the actor, who waived her right to anonymity, complained to police. In this period, the accused actor’s lawyers were arrested for destroying crucial phone evidence. Prosecution sought a change of trial judge more than once. Prosecutors and investigators were transferred. Around 40 witnesses turned hostile. Repeated adjournments became a ritual, with multiple petitions by the defence, a major reason.
PC: Greater Kashmir
- The accused actor spent 84 days in custody, was removed from, then returned to, industry positions, and allegedly pulled levers of power at any big actor’s disposal. The victim actor herself was vilified, suffered a smear campaign, and every hurt & injury was heaped on survivors who dared complain, with early supporters soon abandoning her fight. What plight would the lady actor have endured? A woman’s collective, formed after the brutal case, led to a govt inquiry into sexual abuse and harassment in Mollywood. It resulted in the explosively revelatory Hema Committee Report, chronicling the highly toxic industry, appalling pay and living conditions, and no safety standards, let alone a safety net, for women. The fight for justice for the lady continues.
