DNA Edit: Unnao rape case - Shows why judicial activism is critical

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine, goes the traditional proverb. One can only hope that it is doing so in the case of the Unnao rape victim, who needs justice more desperately than anyone else in the world right now.

Why judicial activism is critical to this country becomes evident from this case, which has continued to grab headlines in the last couple of days. The government machinery has become so slack, corrupt, partisan and rusty that if there is no judicial intervention, then it might come to a complete halt.  

Worse, it may openly take sides with the lawbreaker, as is now coming to light in this sordid case. It can be said with certainty that if the Supreme Court had not intervened in the Unnao case, the murderers and rapists would have got away.

A pro-active Chief Justice of India (CJI) wants an update on the case by Friday noon. In doing so, he is asking tough questions of the UP administration as well as his own registry. A letter written by the victim and her family to the CJI narrating the threats was sent on July 12 but brought to his notice only on Tuesday.

He has indicated that the court may transfer the four cases linked to the accused MLA Kuldeep Sengar from Lucknow to Delhi. The criminal justice has become so inert that the letter from the victim was also sent to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, UP Chief Secretary and UP DGP, stating that the kin of accused MLA had threatened them to settle the case or be implicated on false charges.

The Unnao rape victim and her lawyer Mahendra Singh are in a critical condition after they met with an ‘accident’ on the National Highway 232 near Raebareli on Sunday. Justice has been delayed; hopefully, it would not be denied.