“Ours is a society of people full of emotions & knee-jerk reactions. The moment a horrendous crime is committed, our hearts beat for the victim, & the moment the trial is over & the accused is convicted, our hearts beat for the convicts,” said Justice V. Ramasubramanian of the Top Court here on Saturday.
Addressing a national conference organised jointly by the Madras HC & Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy (TNSJA) on ‘Speedy & effective trial of offences against women & children,’ he went on to say: “Judiciary & law enforcement agencies often get caught in between these two types of heart beats.
“Unfortunately, we, judicial officers & law enforcement agencies, are supposed to work through our heads & not hearts. There is a complete disconnect between the hearts of society & the heads of the law-enforcement agencies & the judicial officers. This is where I think the conundrum lies.”
Disha Act
The result of the craving for instant justice was the enactment of laws such as the recent Disha Act, passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature after the brutal gang rape-cum-murder of a young veterinarian, prescribing seven days for completing investigation & 21 days for delivering the judgment in heinous rape cases, he said. “We don't know whether it is actually possible, given the way crimes are committed these days, to complete investigation in seven days & deliver judgment in 21 days. As rightly pointed by the Chief Justice [Amreshwar Pratap Sahi of Madras HC], the accused has a host of remedies under other laws. Therefore, it is impossible for us to match the demands for instant justice ... When we are caught in between these two extremes, delays occur & society blames the law-enforcement agencies & the judiciary for such delays without realising that anyone who steps into our shoes will also face the very same problem,” he added.
Justice Ramasubramanian said, the cry of the Indian judiciary & investigating agencies had been aptly summarised in a plague placed outside the headquarters of Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The plague contains excerpts of a letter written by FBI’s legendary director J. Edgar Hoover to the President of his country.
Piqued over the US Senate turning down his repeated proposals for allotment of more funds to the investigating agency, Mr. Hoover wrote: “We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. But we have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.”
Impressing upon the need to strengthen the support systems, such as training & recruiting highly qualified forensic science experts, the judge said govts should actually concentrate on establishing world-class forensic science departments in universities & colleges & shift their focus to digital forensics & other emerging fields.
“I don't know how many of you have watched the Hollywood movie Taken... The statistics show that in Europe, if a girl child goes missing & if you are unable to trace her within 48 hours, you can never trace her back. But that is not the situation in India. Therefore, when we emulate western models, we should also think of our strengths,” he added.
In her address, Justice Indira Banerjee of the Supreme Court expressed shock over a criminal appeal that came up before her Bench recently regarding a crime committed in 1978. She said as many as seven accused in the case had died & the lone survivor was now seeking suspension of sentence on the ground of age.
Justice R. Subbiah, chairman of the Board of Governors of TNSJA & Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, member of the Board of Governors, expressed satisfaction over judges from 18 HCs & judicial officers from the length & breadth of the country showing keen interest in attending the national conference.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan said the Tamil Nadu govt had always been in the forefront when it came to supporting the judiciary for speedy & effective trial of offences against crime & children by creating a number of special courts. Despite best efforts, cases get dragged for years together, he said.
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