Can you imagine this happening anywhere else?

A judicial magistrate’s court issues a non-bailable warrant for the ninth time. This means that similar warrants issued on eight earlier occasions were ignored. That is pretty obvious and these happen fairly regularly in cases involving habitual offenders or absconders.

In this particular case, it is not as if the accused is a habitual offender and is absconding and that the police are moving heaven and earth to find him. The gentleman in question happens to be the tourism minister of the state and is seen and heard on a regular basis.

The case, filed against him on the basis of a private complaint, may not be that serious. However, a court order is an order and it is difficult to come to terms with the fact that a minister, who ought to uphold the spirit of law and be an example for others, did not have the time to appear before the court, despite the issuance of the non-bailable warrant.

In one sense, this amounts to a breakdown of constitutional machinery. After all, if the state government that is supposed to adhere to law allows a cabinet minister to flout court orders with impunity, there is a serious problem.

By not persuading Janardhana Reddy to keep to the right side of law, the government seems to let an important functionary defy the norm that applies to everyone else. The government certainly cannot claim it is unaware of the case in question, nor can it claim it did not understand the gravity of the issue — not the case itself, but defiance of court processes.

Surely, there are several legal steps that Mr Reddy could take to avoid appearing in court. He may have pursued those courses as well. Anyone in his position would consider it best to comply with the legal processes rather than reinforce the impression that some people are above law.

If ordinary citizens try to beat the law, they can, rest assured, be proclaimed an offender and then face consequences that are avoidable. The power of a political office allows one a leeway that is not available to others. We can keep pointing out that this is not right and that leaders ought to set an example for good conduct. If you do that, you would be considered particularly naïve and old-fashioned because today’s legislators are anything but role models. It is no longer surprising to find elected representatives behaving imperiously in a political system in which everyone is supposed to be equal before law.