Delhi rape case : Headed for the gallows : Understanding justice beyond the penalty
- Sangai Express Editorial :: September 14, 2013 -

Death sentence. To be hung till death.

The verdict is out. So has justice been delivered ?

The Fast Track Court will certainly think that this is indeed justice.

To the hordes of people or protestors, who have been demanding nothing less than the death penalty for the four convicts, this would certainly be justice.

Nirbhaya was not only raped and killed. It was this and something much more.

Wordsmiths we are, but at times like this it becomes extremely difficult, nay impossible, to put to words the ordeal, not only physically but also psychologically, the young para-medic must have suffered while she was ravaged, physically, mentally and spiritually inside a moving bus at Delhi in December last year and then thrown out naked, along with her male companion.

Perhaps, it was the first time in the country that the rape of a young girl came to dominate the public domain and her death later only added to the pent up anger and fury of the people.

Anger and frustration directed not only against the rapists and murderers but also against a system, a system which has given birth to a culture where rape victims become the focus instead of the crime.

A culture where political babus and police officials do not hesitate to shoot their mouth off and come up with totally irrelevant and insensitive remarks.

It is against this backdrop, a shameful reality, that the question of whether justice can be seen to have been delivered by the death sentence has been raised.

It is not a case of questioning the verdict of the Court, far from it, for The Sangai Express is averse to inviting the contempt of Court, but it also stands true that the fast pace of the trial, the decision of the Government to constitute the Justice Verma Committee may not have come about sans the huge public outcry against the atrocious and beastly act.

Given the manner in which Nirbhaya came to dominate the public discourse, the death sentence awarded to the four convicts should not be seen only within a singular case. It should be seen and understood on a wider canvass, a wider spectrum-the victimisation of women in all spheres of life in the Indian society.

In the strictly physical sense, Nirbhaya is dead. Her mortal remains have been consigned to the flames and the last religious rites and rituals, according to her beliefs, must have been performed.

But metaphorically she should continue to live, live in the consciousness of the people. Going halfway to meet this, would go a long way in understanding the concept of justice, which seems to have just been delivered by the death sentence awarded on the four convicts.

The hang man’s noose awaits the four convicts but it is also equally important to note that there may not be a universal understanding of justice. Justice then may cut both ways.

With more and more countries abolishing the death sentence, perhaps it is time for India and her people to understand that the gallows may not exactly be synonymous with dispensing justice.

It should go beyond the quantum of punishment. Justice then should be about not only about punishment for the perpetrators of any crime but should also be about creating an ambience of safety and security.

The sentiments and emotions which drove the demand for the death sentence of the four convicts should be understood in its correct perspectives.

How far the law makers and the law enforcers and more importantly society as a whole have given a thought to this may lie in the realm of conjectures at this moment, but it is a point which should not be forgotten in the days to come.

Nirbhaya’s case should transcend a singular case, wherein a young para-medic was brutally raped and murdered, and extend to all the crimes and indignities which women folk have to face on a daily basis, on the streets of India and more importantly within the four walls of their homes.

This would be justice in its undiluted form.