Has Justice been Delivered?

Last week the Delhi high court announced a death sentence for Santosh Singh, the man convicted for the rape and murder of a young law student Priyadarshini Mattoo. The accused, son of a Police Inspector-General, was earlier acquitted in 1999 by the Sessions court. It was only a nationwide public outcry that brought about a retrial

In the meantime Santosh Singh got married and had kids. For the Mattoos it has been a decade long wait. And going by the mood of the defence team, there will be an appeal in the Supreme Court. So maybe another 2 years atleast before we hear anything. And even if the Supreme Court upholds the High Court order, going by today's trend, there will a clemency petition.

While all this happened, there are a few who are voicing their concern for the accused. What's his wife's fault? What's his kids' fault? Well to be very honest, this was a much publicised trial. And the girl marrying Santosh Singh knew well about his past while getting married. So while I would feel sorry for the wife of the accused, that definitely would not bring about any change in the way I feel about the judgement. Rape is the worst crime that can be perpetuated on humanity. Worse than murder. Murder may still have its justifiable reasons, but rape by all means is an act committed by a sick and pervert mind. And no punishment is apt for such a crime other than a "death penalty".

But has justice really been delivered? Had there been no public outcry, the accused would have walked scot free. Ponder over this- delivering the judgement in the trial court proceedings in 1999, the Additional Sessions Judge. J.P. Thareja said of Santosh, that though he knew that "he is the man who committed the crime," he was forced to acquit him, giving him the benefit of doubt. And 10 years is just too long to bring the guilty to the book. And we know very well that "Justice delayed is justice denied". Who better to tell us about it other than the Mattoo family. Imagine what they would have gone through all these 10 years, fighting not only powerful criminals but also a corrupt government machinery. Had it not been for the media pressure and public outcry, our man Santosh would have been enjoying life.

Does public opinion determine punishment to the guilty? Because Priyadarshini Mattoo, Jessica Lal & Nitish Kataara are the ones that we know about. What about the countless others who have no voice? Will they ever get justice? Probably not!