Anupam- The Dreamer

What is justice? It seems easier to understand something yet difficult to put it into words. Justice bole to न्याय/इन्साफ. But what is it actually? When there is need of conceptual clarity, our beloved NCERTs come to the rescue. I clearly remember reading in Class XI Political Science NCERT during the Civil Service preparation days that Justice means “to give what is due to a person”. In other words, किसी को उसका हक़ दिलवाना ही न्याय है. What an incredibly beautiful definition indeed!

And what is “due” to a person is a deep concept traversing many dimensions. Infact, the Preamble to our Constitution defines the 3 dimensions of Justice, that is, Social, Economic and Political. When all the 3 dimensions are achieved, then only can we say that true and complete justice in all its manifestations has been achieved. Social justice (like eradication of untouchability) without economic and political, will serve limited purpose. Likewise, political justice (one person, one vote) will serve limited purpose without the other two. Similarly, economic justice (providing equal opportunity for education and employment) will not serve the purpose completely without any social recognition and political empowerment.

However, it is easier said than done! While we all know what is justice as a concept and how to achieve it, but still there is a long road to achieve justice! There are so many perilous impediments, vested interests of all sorts, and procedural hurdles on the way that makes it very difficult to achieve the destination of justice in an easy and smooth manner. Take for example, court proceedings in a case of rape of a woman. Both the parties know who is at fault- the rapist knows what he has done, the victim knows what she has gone through. But, the real trial is of the judge who has to decide the case and the authorities (like medical board, police, prosecution lawyers, defence lawyers) who have the duty to bring the perpetrator to justice.

There is only one way to reach justice in this case for the lady- When all the stakeholders involved in the process act in an impeccable way and with utmost devotion to their task! Even if there is a mischief at any one level, then the whole process of justice would get derailed and the perpetrator can walk free! For example, if the medical board doesn’t give a true report of their findings adhering to their professional code of conduct or the integrity of the doctors is compromised, then the true facts will not come out. Again, if the police doesn’t follow due procedure of law to register and investigate the crime under the relevant sections of the law, then it can lead to jeopardising the case before the court of law. Then, if the prosecution lawyers don’t argue the case to the best of their ability, then the adjudication process can lead to unintended outcomes. Then, finally if the judge doesn’t act as per his/her constitutional duty, then also there is a possibility that the perpetrator can walk free for the want of evidence or is given inadequate punishment. The use of money and muscle power in the whole process cannot be discounted. If the victim is poor and the perpetrator is filthy rich spoiled brat (lack of economic justice), then the odds are against the victim to get the justice, because everyone involved in the process may quote a price which the poor victim cannot ever pay.

What a double whammy to her! First, she is at the receiving end of the crime and then she has to fight the “system” to get the justice! This should have been the other way round, where the “system” must operate in a manner to get her justice without placing her to any sort of further trouble. But, the harsh reality is that the things don’t happen in that way more often than not! I would have hoped that the goal of justice should be there in the mind of every stakeholder, but I am afraid the impediments are too many! The vested interests act as a roadblock to justice! And they don’t care about anyone in the process, but themselves. The defence counsels are more than happy to delay or derail the court proceedings, the victim enjoys freedom on bail, etc etc. And what happens if the judge, who is actually at the helm of the trial to determine justice, is compromised? Many people involved on both the victim’s and defence side know what the justice is, but unfortunately justice is itself on trial to prove itself. It is a matter of grave concern that the justice has to prove itself but no questions are asked about the lies/impediments which derail the process of justice!

The road to justice is perilous, it has to overcome vested interests, and it has to be impeccable to reach the intended destination. There are still people who are committed to the idea of justice and are ready to pay the heavy price. We can start by strengthening the “system” which must be built to help the victims to attain justice in every possible way and without burdening the one at the receiving end to do all the firefighting. The victim has already much at her end to fight, we shouldn’t atleast make her fight the “system”. This is the idea of justice that we should envisage. Then only, we could be able to truly say that “Justice is not only being done, it is also seen to be done”!

Till next time….