Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Gang Rape or Rape or Molesting Girl occurs Daily , Government NEED to Be More Effective, Judiciary To be Made Effective, Politicians,Need To Be Above Board




Delhi gang rape row: Justice delivery can be expedited if government arms stop suing each other

The government is deservedly on the back foot for its ham-handed handling of public outrage against the gang-rape of a young paramedic in the capital.

That must not take attention away from the immediate need to improve law and order, in particular the safety of women in India. A key element of any such effort must be to fast-track our justice delivery system.

It is no secret that our dismal record - more than three crore cases pending before High Courts and subordinate courts - is one of the main reasons why cases, including criminal charges, drag on for years and often end without a conviction.

The consequence? A rise in the crime rate. When criminals know they can get away with murder (no pun intended), there is no reason for them to fear the hand of the law.

So, how can we expedite the delivery of justice? Suggestions range from filling up vacancies at all levels in the judiciary to video-recording court proceedings, to setting an outer time limit for completion of hearings and so on.

While each of these deserves to be pursued, a relatively easy way to reduce delays, one entirely within the government's domain, is to curb litigation between various arms of government.

Today, the government is a litigant in about 70% of pending cases. Around 60% of these are between central and state governments, local authorities and public sector undertakings.

A simple way to reduce pendency in courts would be for different arms of government to resolve their disputes through alternate channels like arbitration.

The 2010 National Litigation Policy suggests as much. It urges that the government, government bodies and undertakings become responsible litigants and not resort to litigation for its own sake. This will reduce the cost to the exchequer (lawyers, even those who take governments briefs, don't come cheap). It will also reduces wastage of courts' time.


Delhi gang rape row: Policing in Delhi needs an overhaul, start by firing the police chief

The brutal rape and violence on a 23-year old woman on the evening of December 16 revealed the lax standards of policing in Delhi.

Events thereafter indicate that the police force is incompetent, brutal, venal and untruthful. A magistrate questioning the rape victim was allegedly pressured by the cops to alter the line of queries according to police diktat.

When this was revealed, the questioning had to be done once more, despite the fact that the victim is critically unwell. Peaceful protests from Monday, December 17, by people anguished by the crime, did not elicit any sympathy from the establishment.

On Saturday, December 22, the police inexplicably allowed the protestors to march up Raisina Hill, which houses India's most sensitive ministries and the president's estate.

Equally inexplicably, the cops suddenly unleashed beatings, lathi charges, tear gas shells and water cannon bursts on what was a peaceful crowd. The violence was justified by saying that terrorists could have sneaked in with the protestors.

If so, why did the cops allow the assembly at the Hill? Later, police sealed all approaches to India Gate, restricted public transport and caused enormous problems for people just trying to make a living. The state of siege continues.

The police insisted that constable Subhash Tomar was killed by protestors and arrested eight alleged 'perpetrators.' Now that claim, too, is being demolished: two witnesses who saw him collapse, tried to revive him and took him to hospital say he had a cardiac arrest and was not injured by stone pelters.

Nor had he been kicked and stomped on, as the police claimed. Hospital officials also say there were no major injuries on Tomar. If this is true, then it is clear that the cops are trying to frame the eight people it has arrested.

At the centre of this web of brutality and deceit is Neeraj Kumar, the commissioner of Delhi Police. He must be sacked immediately.

After that, the management of Delhi Police must be handed over to the elected state government, as is the case in all other states. The effete and inept lieutenant governor Tejinder Khanna, who heads the police force on behalf of the central government, should also be given marching orders.

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