BY R.K.MISRA
Injustice is easy to inflict , what stings is justice.
And when the applause or censure has died down you are left to savour the pleasure or pain in private. If the abiding
sentiment is redemption for one, it is of
rumination for the other.
On
October 19,2023 the Gujarat High Court sentenced four police officers and men
to 14 days simple imprisonment for the public flogging of five muslim men for
their alleged involvement in stone pelting during garba last year. They were
also fined Rs 2000 or 3 days jail in lieu thereof. The operative part of the verdict
has been stayed for three month to appeal against it.
A benchmark
judgment delivered by Justice A.S.Supehia and Justice Gita Gopi has been
scathing in upholding the law and yet
softly mindful in giving ample time to
appeal. Published excerpts of the judgment sound a warning bell for the cops
who play to the gallery with an eye to pleasing those in power.
The verdict
took note of the fact that the accused cops” have defiled the human rights and
dignity of the complainants as if they were conferred with the privilege to do
so”. The court pointed out that the custodians of law and order” should not
become depredators of civil liberties for their duty is to protect and not to
abdicate and also that an accused person’s dignity cannot be allowed to be
comatose once the person is in cop custody.
The Bench
refused to accept the unconditional apology tendered by the accused cops
terming it a ‘barbarous act’ wherein videography was done and widely circulated
on social media. ”In the present case , it is not only the majesty of the court
that has been degraded but the self-respect of the complainants is blown to
smithereens. The apology tendered to this court only will not wipe out the
scars on the psyche of the complainants.
Even after
the declaration of the guidelines by the
apex court, it has on numerous occasions emphasised on following them but it
appears to have fallen on deaf ears”, the court noted. ”The insensate act where
they engaged themselves in committing an inhumane act with a horrific purpose
to humiliate in full public view is violative of the apex court guidelines
which seeks to protect human dignity, values and rights guaranteed by the
Constitution.
While
passing the order, the court orally opined, that it was not happy that this day
had come when it was passing such orders sending officers to jail. Earlier,
counsel for the accused cops had informed the court that the accused had
approached victims in the presence of their advocate and offered monetary
compensation which was rejected by the victims.
Five
Muslim men were beaten by policemen in Undhela village of Matar Taluka in Kheda
district of Gujarat in the presence of villagers and victim's family members in
public, for their alleged role in pelting stones on Navratri Garba and
disturbing communal harmony in the village.
Police had arrested at least 40 persons on suspecting their role in the
violence.
The
victim's family members had moved the
High Court pleading for action against the policemen for contempt of court. As
per the Supreme Court order in the case of D K Basu Vs State of West Bengal,
the court has laid down guidelines against custodial torture. During the case
hearing, the Gujarat Government submitted before the court that five policemen
including a police inspector were prima facie found guilty in the case of
flogging.
Based on
electronic pieces of evidence, Nadiad Chief Judicial Magistrate in his report
to the High Court had submitted out of the 14 police personnel, four were
identified as beating Muslim men.
This is not
the sole case of cops taking the law
into their hands, seeking to
dispense summary justice, there are at least two more- both involving people from the minority
community-awaiting judicial scrutiny.
Interestingly
The Gujarat State Law Commission in its latest report released in July 2023 has
stated “Custodial deaths in Gujarat is a matter of great concern”. The report is titled “Suggestions
to have proper control on the law enforcing agency for the prevention of
unwanted instances of custodial deaths”.
Citing
the Commission report, Gujarat Congress media joint convenor Dr
Manish Doshi said that Gujarat tops in custodial deaths with 80 people having
died in police custody over the last four years. The Supreme Court by an order of July 2015 mandated all state
to install CCTV cameras in all police stations. In Gujarat 130 police stations still remain without CCTV
coverage while in many others though installed remain non-functional.
According
to the National Human Rights report, some 24 persons died in police custody in
2021-22, which is higher, than in 2020-21's 17, 2019-20 (12), 2018-19 (13), and
2017-18 ,14 deaths. Even in states like Maharashtra custodial
deaths were 76, in Uttar Pradesh 46, in Tamil Nadu (40), and in Bihar 38.
One wonders
where the latest Gujarat High Court judgment and its scathing indictment of
public flogging, leave the Gujarat
minister who had voiced his appreciation of the ‘ act’ of the cops. As a
worthy put it “If you value your democracy, you cannot ration your justice!
This
syndicated news column was published in the respective newspapers edition
dated October 24 and 26 ,2023 respectively, whose links are
given below:-
https://epaper.lokmat.com/articlepage.php?articleid=LOKTIME_NPLT_20231024_6_5
https://odishapostepaper.com/edition/4687/orissapost/page/9
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