Thoughts, Comments & Views on our existing legal system - Part 1

Thoughts, Comments & Views on our existing legal system - Part 1

Of late, the Raja episode has once again provoked public outrage, and prompted several articles, interviews, discussions, etc. on the same. Like all of us, I also have multiple thoughts on the same. We should not look at it as an isolated case, but look at the macro picture by looking at the legal system as a whole.

• The way many of the TV channels have been pouncing (not only on Raja, but also on the various accused persons in most other such involving high profile cases ranging from rape of young women, caning of errant kids at school, misappropriation of public funds - be it Adarsh or CWG, etc.), it almost appears that they simply want the courts (or better still, the media themselves) to actually decide on the punishment to be given to the accused, without bothering about such nuances as a due process of law.
• When someone in authority (whether the investigating officials or politicians in power) say that "We're investigating / looking into the matter. The Law will take its own course", the media (and often the general public as well) comes to the conclusion that the intentions are almost exclusively a strategy to bury the whole matter forever.
• Many political parties, when questioned about a specific allegation, throw another allegation on a completely different matter on their rivals. Since when did two wrongs make a right?

There's no point in merely looking at just an individual case and trying to bring the same to its logical conclusion. Of course, it must be done. But that should be at best a first step.

In addition, we ought do several other things (including changes in the laws, the way the judicial system operates, etc):

1. When a crime (or alleged crime) against a minor occurs, NO MEDIA should publish the names (or any clues giving hints about the identity) of either the victim or the alleged perpetrators TILL a court convicts someone for the crime. Even then, the victim's name and other details should be made public with the GENUINELY INFORMED CONSENT of concerned parties. In spirit.
2. When there's an allegation (especially one of financial impropriety) is made against a person in power - whether a bureaucrat or politician,
   • The allegation must be accompanied by appropriate evidence. If no evidence is provided, a case must be filed against the person making such allegations immediately for defamation. People certainly don't have any business to make baseless allegations.
   • A 3 member team consisting of an opposition politician, a retired bureaucrat and a serving judge should be formed in every state and at the national level. The sole purpose of this team will be to evaluate the existence of a prima-facie case worth investigating. The time allocated for them should be a minimum of 3 days and should not exceed a maximum of 30 days from the receipt of such allegation. The findings of this team should result in either:
     • Filing a case for defamation against the person making such allegations in case no investigation is recommended or
     • Suspending the accused person from his / her current position to enable investigations to proceed. A publicly tabled report must be submitted on the findings at the end of every month from the date of beginning such investigations.
   • If the person making such allegations wishes to file a case even before the completion of investigation, ideally, no permission should be required for prosecuting bureaucrats. However, permission from the appropriate authority (Governor / President) should be obtained to prosecute ministers. However, such request for permission to prosecute must be decided within a maximum of one month from the date of receiving such a request. In every case where such permission is denied, a case must be filed for defamation for making such baseless allegations

Point No. 1 above will ensure that both the accused and the victim will have adequate protection of their privacy till the case is completed.

Point No. 2 above will ensure that while the genuinely corrupt and/or criminal bureaucrat or politician is brought to book, there is no "fishing expedition" by unscrupulous opposition members or publicity-seekers.

More of my thoughts will be posted in the coming days and weeks.

Regards,

N

---