Commentary/Vir Sanghvi
Justice and Kanshi Ram
What do you suppose would happen to you?
Assuming for a moment that you were able to get past the phalanx
of security guards and actually land a punch on Kanshi Ram's chin,
the immediate response would have been for Kanshi Ram's 'aides'
to beat the daylights out of you.
But suppose -- for the purposes of argument, at least -- that
there were no security guards around and that Kanshi Ram was alone.
In that case, he would certainly have registered a complaint. The
police would have arrested you and you would have ended up in
jail.
The chances are that you would have been accused of attempted
assassination of a VIP, the policemen who were supposed to have
been on duty would have been suspended, security cover would have
been strengthened for all VIPs and the government would have urged
the courts not to give you bail.
It is not my case that you shouldn't have gone to jail. Kanshi
Ram is a citizen of India and entitled to the protection guaranteed
to all citizens under the Constitution.
My point is simple enough. In this case, it is Kanshi Ram who
has committed the assault. Why isn't he in jail?
If the current outbreak of judicial activism has demonstrated
anything it is that, in some basic sense at least, we're all equal
before the law. Kalpnath Rai and H.K L Bhagat have spent time
in jail, so have K L Chugh and Jagdish Sapru. Even Narasimha
Rao is fighting for his freedom.
It strikes me as bizarre that with such a mood sweeping the country,
Kanshi Ram can get away with an assault on a defenceless citizen.
Moreover, the man whose ribs were broken was not just any ordinary
citizen, he was a member of the media, supposedly an influential
and powerful group in our society.
Even the defence that the incident has been exaggerated out of
all proportion is not available to Kanshi Ram. Television cameras
captured the assault. There is footage of Kanshi Ram actually
punching a man. There are shots of the attack he instigated. All
his hireling are there on videotape.
And yet, nothing happens.
The Delhi police behaved shamefully and registered a case of rioting,
thereby putting victim and attacker on par. Any fool -- even a
station house officer -- can see the videotape and know there
was no riot. But if you register a case of rioting rather than
assault then you can claim that you have registered a case and
still get around having to arrest Kanshi Ram.
The prime minister muttered pointless platitudes and refused to
do anything about the attack. Even Home Minister Indrajit Gupta
-- a man for whose integrity I have the utmost respect -- has
behaved disgracefully. It is nonsense to refer the matter to the
Press Council. The issue is not about press ethics. It is about
assault.
Given this kind of gutless behaviour by politicians, can anybody
blame the public for cheering each time the magistrates put a
politico in jail? It is clear that in this case, at least, politicians
have decided to look after their own, law and justice be damned.
It is not my position that Kanshi Ram should be locked up without
trial -- he is also entitled to his day in court but the police
must register a case and effect Kanshi Ram's arrest.
That is how they would have treated anybody else. And that is
how they should treat Kanshi Ram.
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