Instant Justice
I read this piece of news on indiatimes :
ALWAR: In one of the quickest trials ever, a fast track court in this Rajasthan city Wednesday sentenced B.H. Mohanty, son of a senior Orissa police official, to seven years' imprisonment for raping a German woman. "The court found Mohanty guilty of the crime under section 376 (of the Indian Penal Code) and has sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs.10,000 on him," a police official said. Mohanty's counsel Rajeev Bhargava said: "We are presently studying the case and would certainly file an appeal against the judgement in a higher court soon."
Mohanty, an MBA student in Delhi, had raped the 26-year-old German research student on the night of March 20. Police in Alwar arrested Mohanty on March 21 from the Khairthal railway station on a complaint by the German woman. He was produced before a local court the next day and was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days. On March 31 a medical report was presented before the court and trial began on April 1.
Last year in May, a 47-year-old German tourist was raped and robbed by two auto-rickshaw drivers in Jodhpur. The two were found guilty and given life imprisonment by a fast track court in 16 days.
Ok, so now we know it is possible to get justice in India in record time. Gee, aren't we so proud of our country?
But wait a minute. What has happened to those thousands of Indian rape victims whose files have been shoved under more files, dirty and untouched?
Yes, I'm quite pleased that the German women have got the justice they deserved. But what wrong have the Indian victims done? Maybe they should have been born German or something else.
I ask a simple question.
Why are processes delayed and justice denied when the victim is an Indian? Why do the perpetrators go scot free?
Is it because Indian women do not deserve justice? Is it because the judicial system is worried of a tarnished reputation when the victims are from another, more powerful nation?
We can only hope that Indian victims will be given equal importance as victims of other nationals.
ALWAR: In one of the quickest trials ever, a fast track court in this Rajasthan city Wednesday sentenced B.H. Mohanty, son of a senior Orissa police official, to seven years' imprisonment for raping a German woman. "The court found Mohanty guilty of the crime under section 376 (of the Indian Penal Code) and has sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs.10,000 on him," a police official said. Mohanty's counsel Rajeev Bhargava said: "We are presently studying the case and would certainly file an appeal against the judgement in a higher court soon."
Mohanty, an MBA student in Delhi, had raped the 26-year-old German research student on the night of March 20. Police in Alwar arrested Mohanty on March 21 from the Khairthal railway station on a complaint by the German woman. He was produced before a local court the next day and was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days. On March 31 a medical report was presented before the court and trial began on April 1.
Last year in May, a 47-year-old German tourist was raped and robbed by two auto-rickshaw drivers in Jodhpur. The two were found guilty and given life imprisonment by a fast track court in 16 days.
Ok, so now we know it is possible to get justice in India in record time. Gee, aren't we so proud of our country?
But wait a minute. What has happened to those thousands of Indian rape victims whose files have been shoved under more files, dirty and untouched?
Yes, I'm quite pleased that the German women have got the justice they deserved. But what wrong have the Indian victims done? Maybe they should have been born German or something else.
I ask a simple question.
Why are processes delayed and justice denied when the victim is an Indian? Why do the perpetrators go scot free?
Is it because Indian women do not deserve justice? Is it because the judicial system is worried of a tarnished reputation when the victims are from another, more powerful nation?
We can only hope that Indian victims will be given equal importance as victims of other nationals.
posted by Aparna S Mallya at 5:32 AM
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