The conviction of Manu Sharma, the son of an influential member of the Congress who was found guilty on Monday of murdering model Jessica Lal in 1999, in a retrial that had transfixed the entire country, is a welcome development and follows similar convictions of Santosh Kumar Singh, son of a former IPS officer in the sensational case of rape and murder of Priyadarshni Mattoo. Coming as it does after many years of trial and retrial; this verdict will no doubt give a ray of hope to many others who are fighting protracted legal battles to get justice for their slain near and dear ones. Noteworthy as well is the fact that the conviction of a murderer, no matter his ‘high status and connection’, should go a long way in restoring people’s faith in the criminal justice system.
There is no doubt that all of a sudden the courts are closing in on a number of cases, be it model Jessica Lal’s case that involved the son of a politician or the judgment in Shibu Soren case involving a political heavyweight. However, it is noteworthy to observe that it is the higher echelons of the country’s judiciary, which is doing justice and one is left wondering at the credibility of the Indian judiciary at the lower levels. After all Manu had been acquitted earlier this year by a lower court, raising widespread protests from the public and media who saw the initial verdict as evidence that the rich and powerful are beyond the reach of justice. Similar has been the case in the Priyadarshni Mattoo murder case involving the son of an IPS officer. The recent verdict by a Delhi Session’s Court of life imprisonment for union minister Shibu Soren in a conspiracy and murder case is a rare exception. It is also a fact that corruption at the lower levels of judiciary has allowed cases to be dragged on for eternity. Neither should people have the elusion that all the recent welcoming judgments are total vindication for the legal system that has failed to instill faith in the judiciary for the vast majority of ordinary people.
It has to be borne in mind that notwithstanding the euphoria over major convictions, the country’s justice system is in dire need of a major overhaul especially at the lower level steeped as it is with corruption and criminalized beyond recognition. There has been countless number of acquittal orders passed by the lower courts which would truly have ‘shocked the conscience of the judiciary’ and destroyed the credibility of the judiciary in the eyes of the common man. Such unhealthy trends need to be reversed and for this, it is equally incumbent on the High Courts across the country and the Supreme Court to step in and correct any anomaly in the pursuit of fair-play and justice. As far as the role of the media is concerned, as the Fourth Pillar of democracy, it has to continually play the role of a watchdog and to ensure proper checks on both the judiciary and executive.
