<p>Last week’s verdict by a Mathura court convicting and sentencing 11 policemen, including a DSP, for killing Raja Man Singh of the Bharatpur royal house in Rajasthan in 1985 shows the country’s criminal justice system as the proverbial glass, half full and half empty. The conviction might show that even policemen, who usually get away with their crimes, cannot always escape punishment. If that is the positive message from the verdict the downside is that it has taken 35 years for justice to be delivered. Even that might not have happened if the royal’s daughter, who is a former MP and minister, had not doggedly pursued the case. Man Singh, who was an independent candidate in an election, was shot dead by the police on the street after he had damaged an election rostrum of the Congress party the previous day. The then chief minister, SC Mathur, had to resign the next day. That also raises the question whether any chief minister would have to resign today after a fake encounter. </p>.<p>Encounter killings are more common now but only some of them, like the killing of four alleged rapist-murderers in Hyderabad last year or that of UP gangster Vikas Dubey recently attract attention. There are frequent reports of encounters from all parts of the country. Custodial killings also take place regularly. In June, two persons were killed in a police station near Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. There is increasing official and public support for encounter killings and there is open defence and advocacy of instant justice. The long-held dictum that no-one should be punished without the due process of law is no longer accepted in practice, and the system is short-circuited to enforce a wrong and false idea of justice. </p>.<p>So, a rare case of delivery of justice, happening 35 years after the commission of the crime, may be taken as an exception proving the rule. It underlines the need for a correction of the flawed system. The correction has to start from the police, which is on the frontline of the system of justice. India’s policing system needs comprehensive reforms to turn it into an efficient, democratic and modern law enforcement force which respects the rights of citizens. The nexus with politics and criminals, which has grown over the decades, has weakened the police. Police reforms have been discussed for years, many reports have been submitted and proposals made, but no real and genuine reforms have been implemented. All parts of the justice system need an overhaul, but the main challenge lies with the police. That is why a case of victory of justice, though delayed, is also a reminder of its failure. </p>
<p>Last week’s verdict by a Mathura court convicting and sentencing 11 policemen, including a DSP, for killing Raja Man Singh of the Bharatpur royal house in Rajasthan in 1985 shows the country’s criminal justice system as the proverbial glass, half full and half empty. The conviction might show that even policemen, who usually get away with their crimes, cannot always escape punishment. If that is the positive message from the verdict the downside is that it has taken 35 years for justice to be delivered. Even that might not have happened if the royal’s daughter, who is a former MP and minister, had not doggedly pursued the case. Man Singh, who was an independent candidate in an election, was shot dead by the police on the street after he had damaged an election rostrum of the Congress party the previous day. The then chief minister, SC Mathur, had to resign the next day. That also raises the question whether any chief minister would have to resign today after a fake encounter. </p>.<p>Encounter killings are more common now but only some of them, like the killing of four alleged rapist-murderers in Hyderabad last year or that of UP gangster Vikas Dubey recently attract attention. There are frequent reports of encounters from all parts of the country. Custodial killings also take place regularly. In June, two persons were killed in a police station near Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. There is increasing official and public support for encounter killings and there is open defence and advocacy of instant justice. The long-held dictum that no-one should be punished without the due process of law is no longer accepted in practice, and the system is short-circuited to enforce a wrong and false idea of justice. </p>.<p>So, a rare case of delivery of justice, happening 35 years after the commission of the crime, may be taken as an exception proving the rule. It underlines the need for a correction of the flawed system. The correction has to start from the police, which is on the frontline of the system of justice. India’s policing system needs comprehensive reforms to turn it into an efficient, democratic and modern law enforcement force which respects the rights of citizens. The nexus with politics and criminals, which has grown over the decades, has weakened the police. Police reforms have been discussed for years, many reports have been submitted and proposals made, but no real and genuine reforms have been implemented. All parts of the justice system need an overhaul, but the main challenge lies with the police. That is why a case of victory of justice, though delayed, is also a reminder of its failure. </p>
