The defamed suffer forever

Some time ago the Supreme Court observed that “trial in most sensational cases does not start till the witnesses are won over”.

It also stressed the need to deal with the menace of hostile witnesses. Then the court infused confidence among the consumers of the justice system saying, “Be you ever so high, law is above you.”

These observations were heard, of course, during the various proceedings in which politically- or financially-influential people were involved. In almost all those cases, the accused got reprieves at the time of trial. The moral: There are inbuilt deficiencies in the law-enforcing agencies and the code of criminal procedure makes the task of a section of the accused to “get justice” easier.

Unfortunately, the criminal law doesn’t recognise a “victim”, nor does it empower him or her to be a party in the criminal proceedings. A victim or a complainant, in other words, silently suffers.

That’s what the survivors of heinous crimes such as irreparable murder have in store for them. But the person done to death in cold blood suffers repeated assassinations in broad daylight on TV channels and in the cold inks of newspapers.

Much has been said about Aarushi and her parents, too. My lawyer friend Kamini Jaiswal was deeply hurt when the inspector general (IG) of police made unsubstantiated and baseless accusations against the helpless child.

He couldn't remember the name of the murdered kid during a press conference. Jaiswal immediately demanded the IG’s dismissal and disciplinary proceedings against him so that the dubious tribe of cops dares not play with the reputation of the most vulnerable victims of crime, the deceased, in future.

The Aarushi tragedy has in fact not only strengthened the suspicion against the law-enforcing agencies which are responsible for a dismal 6% or less conviction rate in the country, it has also raked up a serious debate on the need for empowering the defamation and libel laws so that the victims whose reputations have been maligned with impunity during investigation could have a recourse to at least sue the delinquent.
b_rakesh@dnaindia.com