Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Improve the justice delivery system' that was published in Newsband

Improve the justice delivery system

Two witnesses had turned hostile in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case. The court ordered their prosecution. That was a good precedent.

 It had become a habit for prosecution witnesses to lie under oath and not tell the truth. The 1999 Jessica Lal killing was actually an open-and-shut case, a murder in full view of several guests at a crowded, high-profile party. Since Manu Sharma, the man identified as the murderer, was the son of a senior Congress politician, he was acquitted by buying several witnesses.

Thus justice was once again subverted by the rich and the powerful. But the intense public pressure and a sustained campaign by rights activists compelled the court to sentence Sharma to life imprisonment.

 According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the conviction rate in India for murder and rape are shockingly low. Sloppy investigation, fumbling prosecution and poor criminal justice delivery system are responsible for this situation. Another problem is that the witnesses, who often have little to gain or lose personally from the outcome of a case, see themselves as being penalized for their willingness to speak the truth. They succumb to bribery or intimidation and turn hostile.

The whole sum and substance is that our trial courts and lawyers take immensely long to decide cases. Perjury is sometimes allegedly suggested by some of the counsels of the defence. Furthermore, even in Tihar jail Manu Sharma is said to be enjoying privileges which others cannot have. Is this justice?

Judiciary should take some strict action against perjury. It's high time that the loopholes in our justice delivery system are corrected and made at par with those of developed countries. It is due to the prevailing flaws in our system that the convicts and witnesses more often make mockery of the system and easily mend the system according to their wishes.

The questions commonly asked by those who commit perjury are: Who will protect the poor witnesses if they come and tell the truth? How will you protect them against a goonda or a strong politician. The courts or the Police cannot secure his safety. One way they are right. The witnesses deserve full security during the time of making statements in the court.

Until and unless the hammer of justice strikes hard on the charges of perjury, the needed justice is bound to elude. The people's loss of confidence in judiciary augurs ill for the society. That the witnesses in grave crimes could turn the tides in favour of the accused is odious and makes a mockery of the trials. Something drastic needs to be done to improve our justice delivery system.