Delhi gang-rape: Friday the 13th judgment and lessons to learn
Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network
Sep 15: Considering that Friday the 13th is regarded as unlucky day by many countries of the world, it was ironic that a judge of the fast track court had reserved the decision on the quantum of punishment to the four Delhi gang rape victims. And lo, it proved to be the luckiest day for the entire nation which rejoiced in unison at the death sentence awarded to the four for the sheer barbarity of their act. It can be said that it was the first and only incident so far that touched the collective conscience of the sensible citizens of the country. The incident had proved to be a rallying point for the people of this country to take a united stand to vent out their aggravation and anguish denouncing the beastly and hair-raising behavior and demanding justice to the victim.
While many feel that by awarding death penalty justice has been done to the victim and her family and also the for the victim’s male friend, there are many who believe that death sentence is too less a punishment to these beasts. There were suggestions that they should have been castrated and allowed to languish in jail for the rest of their lives. While public opinion per se may not have a role to play in awarding punishment by the judge, people’s reaction is a pointer to the bottled up frustration and angst, condemning the incident for its very brutality and cruelty.
The families of the four convicts are naturally depressed and have said that the punishment was too harsh for them. They even said that the court verdict was due to pressure from people from across the country. They have also blamed the media for the death sentence. What was more shocking and even unbecoming was the reaction of the defence lawyer who termed the court verdict “as politically motivated”. It is true that the Delhi government had taken the Delhi rape case with the seriousness it deserves but the court judgment cannot termed as politically motivated. The judge in his verdict had clearly said that he has award death penalty to the convicts because he wanted to send a strong deterrent message so that people dare not commit such crimes on women.
While ours is a democracy where every person has the right to seek justice, a comment like the one given by defence lawyer A P Singh, neutralizes the very purpose of awarding death sentence to the perpetrators. All the six beasts had together behaved in such despicable and heinous manner which a civilized person would never do to another human being. They inflicted unfathomable cruelty and violence on a hapless girl that has no parallel in a civilized society and had showed no pity on her even when she pleaded with them repeatedly to spare her. They did not even express remorse for their act. And now they wanted the court to be lenient and the public to show mercy on them. What a pity!
I think the public had so much anger and frustration following the beastly act (it is an insult to equate their action to a beast because even beasts would not have behaved or acted like the way these six perverts and behaved). If these men were left scot-free the public would have lynched them by according a treatment similar to the one they had perpetrated on Jyothi Singh. It may take another month or so for the Delhi High Court to confirm the judgment and further delay can be expected in the execution of the judgment.
Even after the judgment there is dissatisfaction among the public because another perpetrator of the crime, the juvenile who was the most barbaric of the six, has escaped from the gallows due to the age factor. The juvenile was the most brutal of the six who were partners in crime and even now there is a feeling that the juvenile who was 17 at the time when he committed the crime and was convicted of rape and murder also deserved a death sentence. The teenager who had raped Jyothi Singh, brutalized by inserting iron rods in her private parts and had pulled out her intestine, cleaned up the bus and made tea after the dreadful act will walk a free man after spending another 28 months in an observatory home. Due to the brutality with which this juvenile had behaved, people have questioned the very adequacy of the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) because he had committed an act similar and much more diabolical and brutal.
India being a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, had passed the JJ Act in 2000 and therefore has to enact a juvenile code wherein juvenile criminals are required to be tried under juvenile courts. The basic principle of Juvenile Justice is rehabilitation and not punishment and therefore this juvenile convict of the Delhi rape case has been sent to an observatory home. This leniency for juvenile criminals has its adverse impact in our country because juveniles who commit violent crimes on women have increased over the years. Though countries like US and UK are signatories to the UN Convention they have taken action to amend the laws after witnessing a rise in juvenile crimes. So when a juvenile above the age of 15 commits a serious crime the case automatically gets transferred to the adult court. This is what India has failed to achieve, sadly.
The leniency given to juveniles under JJ Act in India has led to a dangerous trend which is fast picking up. There are instances of terrorists and anti-social elements misusing the JJ Act especially in Kashmir and Kerala. In Karnataka too criminals and rowdies have deployed children below 18 years to pull off their crimes because of the lighter punishment involved to the perpetrators under JJ Act. This is indeed a dangerous trend and if left unchecked would have diabolical consequences for our country.