What sort of justice is this?

I am hurt when India judicial system fail to deliver justice. Be it the case of Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Matto, Nitish Katara Indian judiciary has failed the people. I wished to put words to my hurt on this but I found a very well written piece on Priyadarshini injustice case. I am reproducing it here _

"I am jsut rephrasing emails and information..couldnt write better than this .. but it is must read for every person in India and abroad who think Indian Judiciary can give justice. I really fail to understand how and when will the guilty be booked whether in this case or all other cases.

"Though I know he is the man who committed the crime, I acquit him, giving him the benefit of the doubt."

She was only 23. A Law student and the recipient of an award in 1988 from the then President of India for excellence in vocal music. She was a bright girl full of promises for the future - the future that she never got to see. Her life was brought to an abrupt end on January 23, 1996 by raping and strangling her to death. She was Priyadarshini Mattoo.

But, that could have been you!!! That could have been me!!! That could have been anybody. Priyadarshini was a girl next door.

The accused was her senior in college who had been stalking her for a year. She had even filed complaints against the accused Santosh Kumar Singh twice.
We feel so safe in the confines of our home, but are we? Priyadarshini met her untimely death in her Uncle's safe home.

“The evidence indicates that Santosh entered her house on the pretext of striking a compromise in their legal complaints. Subsequently he allegedly raped her, strangled her with an electric wire and then battered her face beyond recognition with a motorcycle helmet.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priyadarshini_Mattoo)

Priyadarshini did not get justice because the guardians of law chose to guard the accused. Santosh is the son of J.P. Singh, who was then Inspector General of Police in the Indian state of Pondicherry and in the course of the trial he served as Joint Commissioner of Police in Delhi, where the crime had been committed.

"The CBI in the matter of DNA evidence has not acted fairly. It tampered with the evidence of clothes of the deceased and also the blood sample of the accused. It even fabricated the documentary evidence and also the Malkhana Register of the CBI as is clear from the discrepancies." Excerpt from Justice J. P. Thareja's verdict

(http://www.justice4priyadarshini.blogspot.com)

The case ran over a period of 4 years in the court and finally on December 3, 1999 Justice J. P. Thareja passed the final verdict acquitting the accused with the words “Though I know he is the man who committed the crime, I acquit him, giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I will never forget the night of December 3. I could not sleep and I was jittery. Logic failed me because the circumstantial and scientific (DNA report) evidence had fixed guilt on the accused. What went wrong then?”

(http://www.indianexpress.com/story/843.html). Priyadarshini's father's anguish is quite evident from the above statement.

But, he did not give up. He appealed against the lower court acquittal on March 7, 2000. It's been six years now, and the appeal hasn’t even come up for hearing. Six years – thats how long it takes to translate three-year court records from Hindi to English—when the major chunk, the 449-page verdict is already in English. Six years and still counting.

What takes the case 10 long years (4 in lower court and 6 in higher court)?
The reasons vary from no lights in the courtroom to a judge on leave, from the case being transferred to another judge by mistake to lawyers suspending work to even the tantrums of the accused. (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/735.html)

They say “Justice delayed is Justice denied”. Priyadarshini is being denied justice. Are we going to watch it as silent spectators?

Some lines written by Sh. Chaman Lal Mattoo, father of Priyadarshini Mattoo, in his articles that touched my heart.

“My daughter Priyadarshini had a beautiful voice and often used to record her voice reciting poems and ghazals. Those tapes are kept with a family friend in Delhi as no one in my family and I have any courage to listen to them.” (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/843.html)

“If I meet Jessica Lall’s father, I will sit next to him and weep. On his fate, on my fate.” (In an article that was published on March 21, 2006, when Jessica Lal's father was alive, http://www.indianexpress.com/story/843.html)

“I also remember how my daughter used to unleash a spirited fight against injustice. I prepared myself, so that my daughter in heaven should not feel that I have lagged behind in getting justice for her.”
(http://www.indianexpress.com/story/843.html)

"When the media started writing about the Jessica and Mattoo case, I started getting threat calls. Earlier this month, I got a call asking me 'tum abhi bhi zinda ho'? I have no fear of death but I do not want the case to die with me," (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1500750.cms)

"I want to live to the day when I can see him (Santosh Kumar Singh) behind bars. I will fight till I can."

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1500750.cms)

“I am already almost dead. This is my afterlife.”

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1500750.cms)

After reading this, most would say what is the Judicial System doing? What are our politicians doing? What is CBI doing? But, we might as well ask, what are we doing? Don't we have a responsibility towards the safety of our womenfolk?
Are we going to allow a rapist to walk freely on the roads because he was born into a bureaucratic family? Are we going to do nothing to protect our daughters against such daemons?

How long are we going to dig our head in the sand and think that such things don't happen to us? She was one of us, a regular third-year student.

Now, the big question. What can we do?
A lot. July 23 is Priyadarshini's birthday. Lets join hands on that day to help her get justice. Please join and support the justice4priyadarshini rally being organized on July 23, 2006 at India Gate, New Delhi at 4:30 p.m.If you are a Delhite, this is your chance to stand up and do something for the nation.

For all other, the least you can do is help spread this message wide and far.
One line in an article titled “Middle class angst” published in http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1024820&CatID=19 says

“There is a Shayan Munshi in each of us.” (Shayan Munshi had retracted from his initial statement in the Jessica Lal case.)

It's time to come out of our shell and demand for our right to live and live with dignity. "

Posted by khaqsar on his blog - http://suttlenotes.blogspot.com/.