Sir,

What’s wrong with India ? A “Gang rape and Murder” can happen like any other crime! I am referring to the gang rape and murder of 26-year-old veterinary doctor in Hyderabad. Look at our Law, who is to be held accountable? The Accused, The Executive, the Legislative or the Judiciary?

The Law states, “Any act done by a Government servant is deemed to be done with good intentions.” Unless this privilege is removed by the Legislative, it is unlikely that these types of heinous crimes can be controlled. Even in this incident, look at the way the suspended cops have behaved with the family members of the Veterinarian.

Isn’t the Legislative, the Judiciary and the Executive aware about the dangers working women face when they have to travel alone without any choice? Why, in our country, the system starts deliberating only after such gruesome incidents take place? Why not before? As kids, we were taught “Prevention is better than cure.” Can’t our Legislative, Executive and Judiciary comprehend such dangers and change the laws to put in place safety measures?

When most of the leaders we have in the Assembly and the Parliament are not taught or have not studied Moral Sciences like you and me, but have acquired decision-making political powers on the basis of “Money and Muscle Power,” do we have any choice other than to suffer under this system?

It’s time we changed our laws to make “Qualification” mandatory to contest all elections in our country. Also to hold any negligent act of Government servants as a serious crime. Further, make all criminal proceedings in Courts transparent by telecasting them live. And most importantly, all criminal cases, specially “rape and murder”, must be decided within a time frame of three months, while in the Appellate Courts it should be decided in one month. Finally, the accused if found guilty should be hung in public which should be telecast “Live”.

May God give strength to the Veterinarian’s family to bear this inhuman tragedy and the loss.

– S. Arun Kumar, Advocate, Pragabhi Law Associates, Mysuru, 3.12.2019

Note: The suggestion by this correspondent to have a time-frame of three months within which a case of ‘rape and murder’ should be decided reminds me of how British in India decided cases of assassination of Britishers by the Indian revolutionaries. One, for example, is the speed with which the killers of Nashik District Collector Arthur Mason Jackson were executed by hanging.

He was killed on 21 December 1909. By the first week of January 1910 all of them (accused) had made their statement in front of Mr. Palsikar, a First-Class Magistrate.

The judgement in the case was delivered on 29 March 1910 by the Chief Justice of Bombay sentencing the accused to death by hanging. On 19 April 1910 the accused, Kanhere, Karve and Deshpande, were sent to the gallows at 7 am at Thane Jail. In just four months, the murder case was over.

It is said that the speed with which these serious crimes were dealt with and decided, actually deterred the Indian revolutionaries from gaining upper hand while the freedom struggle was pursued by the radicals and moderates eschewing political killings.

_ Editor-in-Chief

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