Did Ruchika Girhotra finally get justice?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

It is often said “Justice delayed is justice denied” but finally some justice seems to have been done in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case as former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for having molested the girl almost 20 years back in 1990. The molestation had become a mental trauma for the budding tennis player who committed suicide three years later after her family was being harassed by Rathore and his men.

The bigger question now arises is has justice been done in the case? Rahhore getting 18 months of imprisonment for forcing a person to death seems too less to be just. But that’s the judicial system in India and a person can be tried just on the charges that can be proven. But this system seems a fair judgement considering that Rathore was awarded just 6 months of imprisonment for the same offence in the month of December and had got bail in just 5 minutes! This had led to a national outcry resulting the case to be reopened which many people has termed as “Trial by the Media”

Ruchika’s family though is happy with the verdict as they finally can have faith in the legal system of the nation. Rathore is accused of abetment to suicide and the family is hoping that he will be awarded a harsher punishment on that count too. There are also another 22 cases pending against Rathore who had used all the bureaucratic and political influence to escape punishment in the case regularly harassing the family after it has tried registering a complaint against him. He had falsely charged Ruchika’s brother in many cases and had tortured him time and again forcing Ruchika to justice.

Although many accuse the media of trying the person outside the court room but the fact remains that it is only due to the media that the government and judiciary got into action and reopened the case leading to this judgement. Would this have been possible without the media? Be it a Nitish Katara, Jessica Lal or Priyadarshani Mattoo case the media forced the judiciary to deliver justice after the accused had used their influence to get off the clutches of the law.

In case of Rathore, the court should award him a harsher punishment for forcing the young girl into misery and finally to suicide. 18 months is too less to be a penalty for someone’s death.

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Rang De Basanti in Rathore's case?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

What happens when there is delay in justice, the society creates more criminals. This was proved once again today when a youth attacked former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore today in Chandigarh court premises. The 24-year-old youth was a student of National Institute of Design (NID). The youth identified as Utsav Sharma was pursuing post-graduate diploma in animation and film design from National Institute of Design and had no direct relations to the case.

The 68-year-old Rathore is accused in the molestation of Ruchika Girhotra. Rathore had molested the girl 19 years ago after which she was led to suicide after her family members were harassed by Rathore and his men when they filed a complaint with the police. Rathore also got Ruchika rusticated from her school for non-payment of fees which finally led Ruchika to the extreme step of ending her own life.

14 year old Ruchika Girhotra a budding tennis players was molested by Rathore in 1900 when he was the President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association. Ruchika who was initially reluctant to files a case did it after a lot of hesitation. Her entire family was harnessed by the police and her brother was arrested in some false car theft case. This compelled the family to sideline the case and subsequently led to Ruchika committing suicide in 1993.

Rathore with his political and bureaucratic influence had almost escaped punishment until there was huge hue and cry in the media which led the government to initiate re-opening of the case and also filing of fresh FIRs. Now the question arises what action does the system take against the youth who took this extreme step against Rathore? Or should the question rather be, who made the youth take such an extreme step?

Ruchika Girhotra's case is a example of how the powerful can do crime and escape punishment bending the laws. The entire police and the judiciary was found sleeping in this case involving a highly decorated cop who used and abused his position causing pain and agony to the Girhotra family. Why was the administration including the CBI sleeping over the case? Had it not been for his 'smile and wave, Rahtore could have escaped punishment.

The step taken by the youth is definitely condemnable but hasn't the state machinery failed enough in this case to even question the intent of a youth in this case. Why are people being forced to go the Rang De Basanti way to get justice. This incident should not be just seen as an isolated case but from a larger perspective of people loosing the faith in the executive and the judiciary.

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Govt. should deliver justice, not boosters

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

One country, one law but it seems to take different course from time to time. Dhananjay Chatterjee is sent to the gallows for raping and killing a girl but for the same offence Santosh Kumar Singh is still doing rounds of the Supreme Court. This after Santosh was given a 'benefit of doubt' by lower court until the media virtually pressurised the government, the courts and the police to take up the case. But it has been three years since he was awarded the death sentence but the case still looms in the corridors of the magnificent structure of the the Supreme Court of India.

Similar has been the case of Ruchika Girhotra where the media blow up has meant that the Home Ministry, the Law Ministry, the Police and the Courts all have swung into action. Decisions and judgements are being pronounced in advance and former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore has been be stripped off his medals and awards. This is what the system has done to console the family and friends of Ruchika who have been victimised for 19 long years by it. Does stripping medals and awards give peace to Ruchika's soul? The government might have an answer after having delivered such a booster.

Now a bigger question arises, thousands of cops in this country await their trial for molestation, rape, murder, corruption etc., what does the government do with them? Former Punjab DGP KPS Gill who is a role model for policeman in this country might have to be stripped off his medals too. He too is convicted of misbehaving with IAS officer Rupan Deol Bajaj in 1996. So will the Government strip the most decorated police officer of all his medals? Will it do same to the thousands of other cops and armed force personnels charged with cases? If not why such a cosmetic cover-up to the administrative failure?

The argument here is not for Rathore to be not stripped of his medials but the the grossly shady act of the government. Rathore deserves the harshest of punishment possible for not only having molested Ruchika but having molested every level of the administration. From having harassed Ruckhia's family, delivering faulty electricity bills, ouster her from the school and finally forcing her to commit suicide, Rathore has to be tried for all his offence. He deserves to be sent to the gallows for having molested the entire system.

The government should stop give judgement like in reality shows. When it had slept for 19 long years why is it setting precedents like stripping him of his medals knowing very well it will not be able to do the same to other men in khaki people convicted of crimes. The government should act and not enact what public sentiments in the country want it to. It has to ensure that justice is delivered rather than trying to deliver such cosmetic boosters.

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Will Ruchika Girhotra get justice?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

As the government gears up to reopen the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case after huge public outcry some questions linger; Will Ruchika Girhotra get justice finally? Will Haryana DGP S P S Rathore finally get the punishment he deserves? Will all those involved in the case from cops to policeman be charged? What about Ruchika's school the Sacred Heart Convent which might have been the final nail in the coffin? Will all those responsible be brought to book?

Although there is a huge public outcry at the moment, there is very little expected out of the case as Rathore will be most likely be tried for molestation and not murder although he crime was murderous. What will the maximum sentence that he will get for this, a few years behind the bars at the maimum. Even if a verdict is delivered against him he will surely approach the higher court and getting a bail is a matter of few minutes and few thousand rupees.

There was huge hue and cry about the Nitish Katara, Jessica Lal and Priyadarshani Mattoo cases. Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav who had been awarded life sentence in the Nitish Katara case have appealed in the Supreme Court. Jessica Lal's murderer walks out on a parole and is spotted watching a cricket match. Santosh Singh who raped and murdered Priyadarshani Mattoo has been awarded death sentense but he too has appealed to the Supreme Court.

Can we say that justice has been delivered in the above cases? The family and friends of the victim have just been able to take the case from one court to the other technically. Why is the Supreme Court of India sitting over the judgement? Backlog of cases will be cited a reason but if it is so we need drastic measures to make sure that there is no backlog. We have been talking to Law reforms, what are those reforms and what are they?

Why should we call ourselves the largest democracy of the world when we cannot deliver justice on time? Why should people approach the court and the police when they are victims of a crime? A criminal case in India takes an average of 5-10 years from a lower court to a High Court verdict. This is enough to demoralise a victim or his family. Every case in India should come with a time frame and if the schedule time is extended there should be a valid reason to it. Media outcry and public outbursts won't be of any help in the law is not in its place.

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Ruchika's school deserves punishment

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

The news of Haryana DGP S P S Rathore getting a term of six months for molesting Ruchika Girhotra and leading her to suicide has shocked the nation. More shocking is the fact that Ruchika was rusticated from her school the Sacred Heart Convent School ostensibly because she didn't pay her school fees. The school authorities did not even give her and her family any notice before taking this step shattering an already demoralised girl.

This trauma was too much for Ruchika to bear who was already reliving the bad memories of molestation as her entire family was being harassed by the police. The reason she had dared to raise complaint against a top cop. A teenager who was a budding tennis player and might have earned laurels for state and the nation was poisoned to death by the society with her school playing a pivotal role.

The last thing a girl would have wanted was to be harassed by her own school. This finally led her to the extreme step in her life. A motherless child might have taken her teachers as her mother but what did these people do, dump her out of the school? This makes Ruchika's case even painful than others we have seen in the recent years. In most of those cases colleges and institutions have stood by the victim but that wasn't the case with Ruchika.

This needs to be investigated as to why no notice was issued to her before she was rusticated from the school without being served any notice. Was there Rathore behind all these? A person who could get Ruchika's bother arrested on false charges and harassed her entire family might have easily lobbied with people to get her rusticated from the school. A molester who can become a DGP can do anything in this country.

Now in case the school authorities are found guilty what will their punishment be? 6 days or two weeks of imprisonment? That should be ok if the molester who leads a girl to commit suicide is handed six months imprisonment on top of which he gets a bail in six minutes. Justice delayed is justice denied, where was the justice delivered in any case? Wonder if the mediaeval ways of punishment in Gulf countries is better than our great judiciary. We believe in killing crime and not criminals but the truth is we do neither.

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Ruchika's case is a slap on India's face

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

Judiciary is considered one pillar on which Indian democracy stands but time and again we see how fragile this pillar is. Time and again our judiciary has set bad precedents, be in in the case of Priyadarshini Mattoo, Nitish Katara or the Jessica Lal case. The latest in the series of bad presidents is the case of Ruchika Girhotra where former Haryana DGP S P S Rathore who molested the teenager and forced her in committing suicide roams freely in the streets and smiles to the camera.

14 year old Ruchika Girhotra a budding tennis players was molested by Rathore in 1900 when he was the President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association. Ruchika who was initially reluctant to file a case did it after a lot of hesitation. Thereafter her entire family was harnessed by the police and her brother was arrested in some false car theft case. This compelled the family to sideline the case and subsequently led to Ruchika committing suicide in 1993

19 years later this criminal the judiciary has finally Rathore found guilty. The punishment is so severe that it can send chills down spine! Believe it or not Rathore has been sentenced for six long months by the court. If that joke was not enough to amuse you Rathore got a bail in just 10 minutes to deliver a slap on the face of Indian judiciary. The law also felt that whopping fine of Rs. 1000 imposed on him will send out a message to the society!

Is the price of a young girl's life compelled to commit suicide by a man just six months? How is it that Rathore a criminal who committed that crime in police uniform and escape justice for 19 years was rewarded with promotion after promotion? Why is it that no action was taken against the police which pressurised and threatened Ruchika's family. Why should any Indian citizen approach the court or the police if this is what criminal justice system in India delivers?

Why is it that the lower courts in India aren't able to deliver speedy justice? If the system of the justice system isn't good enough to nail criminals why isn't it being replaced? Why is it that no time frame is set for any case to end? Where is the accountability factor in our justice system. Even if Rathore was punished Ruchika wouldn't become alive again. The courts could at least have given some solace to a grieving family. Should we be proud Indians?

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Should we allow mercy killing?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

Should we or should we not? The debate has started again after the recent case of Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug came into light. Social activist Pinki Virani is fighting for 'mercy death' of a rape victim who has been in a vegetative state for 36 years. Aruna who was working as a nurse in Mumbai's KEM hospital, was sexually assaulted and sodomised in Nov 1973 by a ward boy. The rapist strangulated the then 24-year old Aruna with a dog chain cutting off blood supply to her brain, leaving her blind, paralysed and speechless.

The law of the land in India does not allow Euthanasia, or mercy killing. It may be recalled that in 2004 Andhra Pradesh High Court today rejected an appeal by the mother of a 24-year-old patient seeking mercy death for her son K. Venkatesh so that she could donate his organs. The former chess champion was on life support system and the disease had no cure, according to his doctors. Venkatesh finally died after a futile wait for the courts to accept his plea for euthanasia. There have been high profile case of Euthanasia including freedom fighter Veer Savarkar and English king George V.

Mercy killing is banned in India as this can be grossly misused by people. Considering the fact that we are still a country of lawlessness allowing Euthanasia might open doors for legalised murders. But time and again cases emerge where mercy killing seems to be the most merciful act. For 36 years now, Aruna has been kept alive by the hospital staff who have force fed her crushed food. It is a painful and completely useless life she is passing through.

As the debate rages on her lawyers question the very Article 21 (Right to Life) of the constitution which is being seen as a major road block to allowing Euthanasia. Article 21 ensures right with dignity but isn't keeping a woman in persistent vegetative state by force feeding a violation of one's dignity. The Supreme Court is now hearing a plea on her behalf from Virani who is seeking direction for Aruna's life to be ended.

Is making Euthanasia legal the solution? No, certainly not as this can be grossly misused. The Government can set up expert panels at state level which include medical practitioners and legal experts to take decision on cases of Euthanasia. Considering cases like that of Aruna's mercy killing seems to be a better thing that mercilessly keeping a human being alive and making him of her go through all the sufferings.

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Another MMS scandal shocks the nation

In another shocking incident an MBA student in Noida sent out a video clip of his 23 year-old-girlfriend doing striptease for him to his classmates. The girl had allegedly refused to marry him. The clip has now become one of the hottest searches on the internet and is available on most MMS sites. The incident has reminded us of the DPS MMS scandal some years ago.

Now a chain of blame game will start from the educational institute to the person who invented camera phones, all will be blamed. Many 'custodians of culture' and 'over caring parents' will even demand the banning of camera phones and internet among ADULTS (at 23 these people were no youngster). Now the questions is technology to be blamed here?

No Sir, technology is for use and not for abuse. The culprit here are two individuals and not the entire students community. I don't want to sound like an anti-feminist but I blame the girl more here for her act. Was stripping the only option left for her to express love towards her boyfriend? Now the guy will surely be booked under cyber crime and other acts of the IPC but for the girl she had already been booked under shame and disgrace.

Being born in India the girl would have surely heard the phrase “for a woman her honour is her most precious ornament” but modernity has made many of us insane. The girl in question is just another example. She was the first custodian of her honour and dignity but she didn't care enough for it. Had this same girl been manhandled on the road the entire government and the police would have been blamed. Can the government or the police protect the honour of such individuals?

The point is police and the government are not always responsible for our sufferings. We individuals should me more responsible for ourselves before pointing the figure at the government. Many of us should shed away lifestyle which invites trouble in the name of modernity.

It is very important to evolve both culturally and socially but the pace for such things have to be set right. The society is no culprit for the shameless act of two individuals. They have just abused both technology and their freedom. To be honest the society is biased towards the darker sex so woman need to put in that extra effort not to invite trouble.

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