- The countrymen are most cynical when it comes to vexatious issues of politicians-bureaucrats-police nexus where the trio forms a formidable force to thwart the very existence of civilized order. In the bargain, the notion of upholding the virtues of the law and order that is so sacrosanct to assure the common man that each one of us is equal in the eye of the law of the land gets compromised/circumvented to suit the powerful as well as high and mighty. Sadly, it is not the question of one or two instances, but there is any number of incidents including some of the high-profile cases not reaching a logical conclusion for want of intent by the law enforcement agencies. We are aware of how print and electronic media never fail to highlight such cases.
PC: Tahir Yousuf
- Most often than not, the courts are forced to take suo moto notice based on media reports. No less than the Supreme Court is compelled to step in when certain matters of great importance demand immediate attention and address. Invariably, the reason for the courts to intervene is largely owing to stalling efforts of the ruling governments who fail to act despite the availability of glaring evidence to press ahead. One such incident recently occurred on the back of Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri incident when the state failed to make any arrests even three days after the grisly violence there, and speculation mounted as videos made their way to the social media. Mind you, this is no small issue as the entire nation witnessed a shocking turn of events.
- Since then, the SC has had to continue to prod the UP government to carry out its job properly, repeatedly voicing such concerns as to whether the state is not investigating properly, dragging its feet, going soft on the accused, all of which together suggest an attempt to turn the investigation into an unending story. People keenly following the case would have noticed the probing questions the court asked last week. The critical one was why the statements of only 4 out of 44 witnesses so far have been recorded before a judicial magistrate under CrPC Section 164. It is well known that India’s abysmal conviction rate under criminal laws owes a lot to such intentional/unintentional negligence in the early stages of any case.
PC: Legal Counsel
- Note that because of the extra evidentiary value of witness statements under Section 164, they help minimize the incidence of witnesses turning hostile later. As SC underlined, this is also linked to recognizing the most vulnerable witnesses and providing them witness protection to prevent them from being browbeaten. Make no mistake, the UP government should recognize that its actions over this case are under very close scrutiny by the public and SC. Notably, the ensuing assembly elections are too near to continue obduracy as anger about what happened at Lakhimpur Kheri might spread wide and far among farmers in Western UP and the adjoining Terai belt. Thus, the UP police must make up for past lapses with a timely and sound charge sheet to show it means business.
