About "bail" in India

13 Nov 2008
About “bail” in India

Previously I had mentioned about the wonderful thing called ‘bail’, by exploit of which convicted criminals can roam about freely, can go about their business as usual (including criminal activities) and can even become MLAs and MPs to be in good company.
A news item published in The Telegraph, Calcutta (13 Nov 2008) has drawn attention to this fact.
“A British journalist who was raped by a guesthouse owner in Rajasthan last year today spoiled attempts to promote “Incredible India” at the World Trade market in London by accusing the Indian government of not giving due attention to sexual crimes against women”
The facts of the case as reported are: The journalist was raped by one Parbat Singh alias Rana who ran “Pardesi Rest House” in Udaipur and Parbat was convicted by a fast-track court and given a jail term of 21 years. Now, that was quick justice of course! But hold on….. this Parbat alias Rana got out ‘on bail’ in a few months time (in July this year) and is roaming a free man. Now, how a convicted person serving a 21-year jail sentence can get ‘bail’ and not parole in a few months is something which beats me!
The story does not end here. The victim of the rape, the journalist fought back to have the bail rescinded. But lo, and behold, the government prosecutors who were supposed to oppose the bail just did not turn up at the Supreme Court hearing!!
Now, one wouldn’t say that this is exactly what we understand by ‘Rule of Law’, right? I refer to a speech by our Prime Minister: “Our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has declared (The Statesman:“India now a successful democracy: PM”; 20 Dec 2007) that India is “a successful democracy”, “a rigorously functioning democracy” “committed to the rule of law”.
One might say that I am not doing justice to our good and honest doctor by citing just one example, but the emerging facts in India do point to the fact that the governments in India, Central as well as the States, are equally bent upon being soft on the criminals and terrorists – in most cases out of consideration of vote banks. Most recent example is the activity of Raj Thekre (Thackeray by affidavit) who is shattering the edifice of national unity and integrity for his personal gain and the government is refusing to do anything to stop him.
There, your honour, rests my case of Rule of Law in India

A Cynic's Comment

Some Indians (like me) who still believe in the old-fashioned ideas of Justice, Rule of Law, Fairplay etc. would be elated by the news that the two rapist-murderers of Tapasi Malik of Singur, themselves big shots in the CPI-M, have been convicted and sentenced to Life Imprisonment.
But cynic as I am, I feel that this euphoria should be short-lived. Living under the CPI-M rule for the last thirty years, haven't we seen the subversion of the Rule of Law again and again, and again? Haven't we seen one Mandal, convicted of murder in a lower court, appealed to the High Court and became an MLA, and remained an MLA; the outcome of that appeal has never been known.
Also, more recently, we have seen here in Kolkata that a CPI-M 'leader' was reported to the High Court as 'absconder' and "could not be found by the police", while this "absconder" attended his office regularly in the Writers' Buldings as a Minister of the West Bengal Govt. closely working with Chief Minister who is also the 'Police Minister'.
These instances are only the tip of the iceberg, but they point to the distinct possibility that these two convicted murderers would move about freely even if their conviction is not set aside by the High Court. After all, there is this wonderful thing called 'bail' that gives complete freedom to the criminals to go about their business, and even become MLAs and MPs.
Contrast this with the case of Dr. Binayak Sen, the selfless worker among the poor tribals who has been in jail for more than a year without trial! So, how about Justice, Rule of Law and all that..?