Why justice is never on time

Why justice is never on time
SUKHMANI SINGH

Why do even our most high profile cases drag on forever, till they've almost faded from public memory? Most have forgotten about erstwhile Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassination near the VIP gate of Chandigarh's Punjab and Haryana Secretariat on August 31, 1995. From Day Two of the assassination, the case was entrusted to the CBI. The nine youths then arrested remain imprisoned in a special high security jail in Chandigarh. There were no eye-witnesses to the daring crime so the case rests entirely on circumstantial evidence. Five years and over 200 hearings later, the prosecution still has to complete its``preliminary'' task -- the examination of some 400 witnesses. About 200 have so far been examined. Interestingly, most of those to appear in court, have retracted or `resiled' earlier statements recorded by the CBI.

Although the case was supposed to be expedited through frequent hearings, for eight months in the first half of 1998, not a single hearing was held. It was left to retired bank executive, Tirlok Singh Chhabra, father of one of the accused -- 30 year old Navjyot Singh, an MA English store executive employed by Ranbaxy Laboratories, to press for speedy disposal of the case. To buttress his plea, he cited the Supreme Court judgement dated 8.10.1998 in the Rajdeo Sharma vs State of Bihar case, made by then Chief Justice M.M. Punchhi, ordering all high courts in the country to decide cases within three years.

Due to a petition filed by Singh and two other accused on February 5, 1999, Justice ML Singhal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the court to expedite the trial and hold 7-10 hearings a month. Despite another petition filed this July, these orders have still to be complied with. So much so that in August, just three hearings were held. Matters were further delayed by the construction of a thick grill in the prison courtroom, behind which the accused now appear like caged animals.

Surprisingly, the main accused, strapping Punjab police constable Balwant Singh, deputed as the second human bomb in case the first -- Dilawar Singh -- failed to explode, has openly declared his total involvement. He has pleaded for an early hanging, even donating his body organs in anticipation. Two others -- Jagtar Singh Tara and Lakhvinder Singh have also confessed their guilt. Like Balwant, they too have not even engaged a counsel for defense.

But for many, letting the case drag till eternity seems an infinitely lucrative proposition. Like Chandigarh-based lower court lawyer Amar Singh Chahal, counsel for five of the accused. A proverbial rags to riches story, he now owns a palatial White House clone, and wields immense influence as a Panthic lawyer fighting for Sikh rights.

Chahal actually feels that under a favourable government, the accused may become ``heroes or martyrs like the Indian National Army after the British departed.'' As it is, funds allegedly pour in for them from well-wishers in Canada and the US and many like the local SGPC unit gift them desi ghee and other items.

But for those like Navjyot who claims he is falsely implicated on the basis of flimsy evidence, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Over the years his father has despatched petitions all over the world -- in 1998 one was placed before the 105th session of the US Congress. He has also written to the National Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). Questions Chhabra,``If Navjyot finally gets a three year term, he has already spent five years in jail, and if the case is decided after 15 years and he is acquitted, what is the use? The prime of his life will be over.''