Saturday, May 21, 2011

Respect for rule of law

So Dominique Strauss Kahn is out of IMF and is unlikely to be in the race for French presidency. The American law enforcement system has once again acted with celerity. This is in sharp contrast to what obtains in India. The New York police nabbed him just in time before he could depart to Paris, placed him on suicide watch and arraigned him before the judiciary in time. Status, wealth and political influence of the accused did not detract the investigating authorities from their job. Richard Nixon had to resign for committing a crime; Bill Clinton faced impeachment proceedings for a sexual misdemeanour. There was no escape from the long arm of the law.

Why is the situation in India different? The present Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justice Kapadia happens to be a bold and unbiassed deliverer of justice. Hence there are instances of criminals being caught and brought to justice, for a change. It is more than likely that his successor, whoever he is, will be less atypical and more amenable to political pressure. It will soon be business as usual in India. For example, it will not be too long before the accused in the 2G scam get back to their usual ways of skulduggery. The basic difference between India and America is that it requires a strong-willed person to set right the legal system in India whereas no one, however strong-willed, can crook the legal system in the US.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Respect for rule of law is absent in India. The new ministry in Kerala includes persons against whom corruption cases are pending. The chief minister of Karnataka carries on as if whatever he does is lawful.The former chief minister of Tamilnadu asserts that people from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas are carrying on a vendetta against his family ! He is confident that his daughter is totally innocent in the 2G corruption saga!

Anonymous said...

In America, the judges are mostly elected by the public. This necessitates or encourages the courts to take a stern (call it rigid if you like) view on instances of violation of others' individual rights.