The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Serial blasts case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 06, 2007
ePaper

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Serial blasts case

The TADA court that tried the Mumbai serial bomb blasts case should have taken into consideration the circumstances in which those sentenced for the blasts acted. The blasts were the outcome of the communal riots that followed the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. Unless the minorities are provided a secure environment, such sentences are unlikely to have the desired effect.

Nitin Jagtap,
New Delhi

The sentencing of actor Sanjay Dutt to six years in prison will have a deterrent effect on all those who think they can escape the justice system. At the same time, we sympathise with Sanjay who has paid heavily for a youthful excess. Let us hope he is brave enough to weather the storm. He does not need to be told that tough times do not last but tough people do.

B.F.M. Abdul Rahman,
Dubai

Those who sympathise with Sanjay should give a passing thought to the victims of the 1993 blasts and their family members who grieve every day over the demise of their loved ones.

Ruchi Jha,
New Delhi

Many have contended that Sanjay has already spent 16 months in jail and suffered for 14 years as the trial was on. Except for 16 months, he was free shooting for his films and travelling at will. The sympathy for him is misplaced. He has committed an offence and the judge has sentenced him.

K. Venkataraman,
Chennai

The argument that Sanjay’s crime is minor or that his sentence is disproportionate is strange. We know that politicians and celebrities often escape punishment. They are given privileged treatment compared to the common man. Does the system show any lenience to ordinary people who commit crimes? Even delinquent children are sent to juvenile correction homes. The law should treat everyone equally.

It is only fair that Sanjay undergoes the sentence served on him.

Meenakshi Mony,
Kottayam

In what way is Sanjay different from others who are sentenced for similar crimes? Why are those who have come out in support of him reluctant to support other criminals? Are the laws of the land different for celebrities and the common man?

Naresh Kumar Jain,
Bangalore

Not to be left out of the list of those sympathising with Sanjay are Ministers Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and Kapil Sibal who feel it is their duty to stand by him and his family. This gives the impression that the jail term awarded to Sanjay is disproportionate to the crime he committed. People at the helm should not create different classes among convicts. Democracy and the rule of law should be allowed this moment of triumph.

Ushadevi & S.B. Rao,
Ruwi, Muscat

Let us pause for a moment and spare a thought for those undertrials who languish in prison for years before being acquitted. A classic case is that of Abdul Nasir Maudany whose right to freedom was taken away from him for nine long years. There are hundreds of Maudanys in prisons across the country. When will the media and our lawmakers usher in a new dawn for the helpless undertrials whose cry for justice can be heard only within the four walls of their prison?

C.P. Prasanth Gopal,
Chennai

Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced for breaking the law. That senior Congress leaders have found it fit to extend their sympathy to him for no other reason than the fact that his father and sister were/are party MPs is strange.

Cdr. Arun Visvanathan (retd.),
Chennai

Though many are sympathising with Sanjay Dutt for the six-year sentence, almost all the citizens are unanimous in appreciating the judiciary for not differentiating between a celebrity and a common man. It is humane to show sympathy to any individual who is in distress. But the way the television channels are treating Sanjay is most uncalled for. One channel has even given details of his routine in jail. Is he a national leader fighting for the welfare of the people?

J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda

It is shocking that the media have started giving publicity to people involved in criminal activities. Sanjay Dutt has himself accepted his guilt. But the media, it seems, have decided to make him a hero.

Kunal Prakash,
Jharkhand

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

A sound and honourable 123

Globalisation and legal education

Of books, authors and bibliophiles

Women spaces — the only answer to harassment?

“There was nothing inherently wrong in Partition”

Iraq: pre-war warnings disregarded