That the concept of retributive justice which inevitably leads to a vicious cycle has its tremendous flaws is true, but one can’t help but ask, “What should one do in the aftermath of rape and murder in a country that has repeatedly failed to mete out justice to the victims?” The law has been amended. Fast-track courts have been brought into the arena. But the convicted rapists remain free to perpetrate more brutalities.
People keep debating upon what constitutes justice and what doesn’t, but they have failed to realise that the common woman cares nothing for the theories of justice. The only thing she cares for is timely punishment. And when that fails to come forth from the correct source, she rejoices in receiving it from a different source, perhaps one that had no legal authority to give.
Today, the actions of the Hyderabad police are being seen in a light of disapproval for them having taken the law into their own hands. But what does one do when the law isn’t appropriately implemented?
That in the Hyderabad rape and murder case, the focus has shifted from gaps in the judicial system that resulted in the killings to actions of the police alleged to be of dubious legality is proof enough that the government is yet again intent on bypassing the core issue.
The responsibility of extra-judicial killings lies with the judiciary itself. It is the failure to suitably punish rapists in the past that has led to the present escalation of the situation. Police killings are no laudable matter. But in the present scenario, where victims of rape/intended rape have to frequent the police station simply to file a complaint and be told in return to come back when the rape has actually taken place, actions of the Telangana police are turning out to be a necessary evil.
Neither the police nor the layman should take the law into their own hands. But more importantly, they should not ‘have to’ to take it into their hands.
Riya Mallick,
Kolkata
Instant justice has no place in a decent and functional democracy. There may be flaws in our judiciary; however, it never justifies killing people based on suspicion — and suspicion alone (Editorial page, “Constitutional justice is non-negotiable”, December 9). It sets a dangerous precedent. Indeed, the police who have carried out the shooting need to be brought before the court of law. However, it would be imprudent to fix the responsibility only on them — forgetting about all the situational forces that prevailed on them at the time of the incident. As Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology, Stanford University, said: “Situational variables can exert powerful influences over human behaviour, more so that we recognize or acknowledge.”
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchirappalli
