To

The Honourable Justice Verma

Honourable Sir,

            Having seen your email address, in today morning’s newspaper, I venture to put forth the following submissions:

            

1. Setting up of truly fast-track courts in thought, word and deed. 

              

 (a) Some of the parameters may be as follows:

                        (i) Counsel for both sides, particularly the prosecution, should be clearly instructed that no adjournments will be allowed, and they should make themselves available for daily conduct of the case, till both sides rest.

                        (ii) Counsel will be penalized for absence (since that will be without the court’s leave) for a sum that will be at least twice the cost of running the court for the day.

                        (iii) The police should be allowed no more than 30 days for their entire investigation, and another 15 days for the filing of the case in court.

            

2.  To negate the shortage of qualified judicial personnel, specifically judges, a separate  Judicial Services Recruitment Board should be established as fast as possible, with two levels of Examinations within six months of each other, and the results to be announced within 60 days of the second examination.

          

3. All law syllabi should contain specific material for the quick conduct of cases.

           

4. On par with the above, medical education syllabi should increase weightage of material, tests/examinations, and if necessary, papers, on forensic studies.   If not already there, a separate PG diploma course in Forensics should be created.

            

5. Concurrent with the establishment of fast-track courts, all/increased appointments to forensic analysis postings should be made in an equally fast manner.

In spite of my utmost care, if any of the wordings or phrases appear peremptory, please do forgive me.   I apologize most profoundly if such is the case.

Thanking you for your patience

Yours truly

D.T. Mohan

Since most of the above have to be carried out by the Govt. of India, we can relax in the confidence that they will not be implemented in the near future.

     

You don't have to lose hope, however.   You can also be confident that a plethora of committees will be appointed as late as possible covering each of the various facets of this phenomenon, and over time the reports, when submitted, will not be available for public scrutiny.  Being a democracy, we can use the RTI, and we will be encouraged by officialdom to go right up to the Supreme Court.  

      

VANDE MATARAM!

   

 If all that sounds very pro-inactive, here's what we can really do, so as to not allow this fire of fear in our abdomen go out!

1.  It is time all of us thought about a women's sector and a youth sector. We have the public sector, private sector, bureaucratic sector (which after Independence, was upgraded to Re-Inforced Steel frame, as against the iron frame left behind by our erstwhile masters),  so why not the women and youth sector outside the control of the political sector?  As a wag recently suggested, what happens if all the women in India, (or even just our cities)go on strike for just one day?

     

2. Women NGOs should consider 

(a) publicising the necessary protocol of forensic tests required, on a rape victim all across India.

      

(b) Setting up medical laboratories dedicated to examination of rape victims, at least in State capitals for a start, and in all District Headquarters.  The laboratories should be independently certified about their unimpeachability.

Worried about funds?  For Heaven's sake and the 'khap panchayat's' sake, don't ask the government.  Just anything up to Rs.10 from women & girl students only should work wonders.

But do make sure accounts are maintained well.  A raid from the I-T Department and the ED will not be a surprise, but almost a certainty.  

       

NGOs should set up data centres with teams of activists to keep track of complaints of rape etc in every district HQ, and feed such info into a central database.

Once a month a report on outstanding cases to be released to the media, high-lighting extreme delay in the procedures.  This is in the fond hope that there will be at least one national newspaper and/or TV channel willing to spread the news around. 

Time to start thinking?  Please do, if possible.

Regards

Mohan

P.S.  I was born a year after Independence,  but seriously regret my continued existence to this day, which will never stop talking about its ancient and wonderful heritage.  I always wonder how all this could happen today with such an ancient and wonderful heritage.  All this talk about India and Bharat is just that much bilirubin.

    

Come on, let's do something rather than talking or standing with candles in the night.

      Has there been any decrease in the reports on rapes appearing in the media?

      How about ad companies stopping use of female models for selling peanuts?

      How about self-regulation by film producers to cancel  all 'item numbers'?

      How about political parties in both the India Shining and Incredible India colour asking their legislators          accused of rape/molestation/outraging women's modesty' to step down on the grounds of guilty under proven innocent?

     

In case their service to the nation is indispensable, how about releasing all under trials in all the prisons in India, who have been there for more than a month?

The money that can be saved thus can be so admirably utilised to completely renovate all the restrooms in all the ministries and other institutions a la the Planning Commission of India?

PS to PS.:  Sorry Viji, too much bile accumulated;  no signs of abatement.