Do laws through arbitrary application dispense fair and equal treatment to all citizens? There are two current cases that present a glaring refutation of this principle, says Rajinder PuriJustice is defined in the dictionary as justness, fairness. The first principle of justice, therefore, should be equal treatment for all. Do laws through arbitrary application dispense fair and equal treatment to all citizens? There are two current cases that present a glaring refutation of this principle.
In Bangalore recently the Carlton Towers caught fire and several people died. There was gross violation of safety norms due to neglect in observing building by-laws. Corridors in this high-rise building were too narrow. There were drums of inflammable material placed on the roof. The builder, who is also the president of the owners association, Anurag Jain, was charged with culpable homicide. Till the moment of writing he is untraceable. To evade arrest, he disappeared. He certainly deserves to be tried under law for the alleged criminal negligence that cost several lives. If he is guilty he certainly deserves to be punished according to law. If nothing, his punishment would deter others from being similarly negligent.
However, had the fire not occurred, he would have been like millions of others who build houses or high rise buildings and neglect observing building by-laws. If there had been no fire, he would have been one of us ignoring laws, cutting corners, and seeking easy profit. He may have been greedy, but was he murderous? Did his building not have a completion certificate? Was the building not inspected annually to ensure that there was no illegal construction, that safety norms were being observed? Was authority also remiss by not doing its duty?
Everything was overlooked because there was no fire. Everything is being overlooked for countless others living peacefully because no fire has broken out in their buildings. Nevertheless, because of the fire Jain is a hunted absconder accused of culpable homicide while many others like him, but spared the accident of fire, are not. Well, this is fate. This is the price of a permissive justice system.
Consider another current case. Sajjan Kumar is accused of inciting mobs to kill innocents during a genocidal assault 26 years ago. The case against him is still pending. During the interregnum, he has lived a full and comfortable life. He has been an MP. He has been given high-level police security. Recently, because of public pressure, he was arrested. But he could not be apprehended because he was untraceable. His police security guards apparently succeeded in protecting him from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He decided to surface after he was given bail. Consider these two cases involving two accused. Do things appear to be fair and just?
India has a President under oath to preserve and protect the laws. It has an elected Parliament with over 500 legislators. It has the Supreme Court, High Courts and thousands of courts spread across the country. It has a nationwide police force. It has a free press. And yet the prevalent conditions in society are more cruel, unjust and primitive than they were in the England of Charles Dickens or the France of Victor Hugo centuries ago. Think about it.
