The tragic incident of gang rape and murder of a young girl in a running bus in Delhi has shaken entire nation and sensitized it to the need of speeding up the process of justice and punishment in cases of rape and molestation of women. Unfortunately, the graph of incidents of sexual crimes against women has shown upward trend in recent times, which is a matter of anxiety for all sections of society. There has been country-wide resentment against it, and the Supreme Court, too, has taken serious note of this criminal tendency. The administration is under pressure to bring about administrative reforms so that occurrence of these crimes is prevented. But taking a serious note of this situation, the Supreme Court of India, too, has moved to discharge its responsibilities. The Chief Justice of India has, in a circular to State High Courts, conveyed some steps that could be taken by the judiciary for prosecution of the culprits in rape and molestation cases. One recommendation made by the Chief Justice is that there should be Fast Track Courts in the States that would exclusively dispose of rape and molestation cases. Owing to large pendency of court cases and shortage of judges, it normally takes a long time to dispose of the cases in accordance with the law. In the process, rape and sexual assault cases remain pending for too long a time. Thus delay leads to denial of justice.
A few High Courts in the country have taken up the question of creating Fast Track Courts for this purpose in accordance with the instructions of the CJI. J&K State High Court is one of these that have taken up the issue of creating Fast Track Courts. The Chief Justice of State High Court has taken the initiative and ordered creation of five Fast Track Courts in the State, four in Kashmir and one in Jammu. In order to cut short the time of creating these courts, the Chief Justice has designated some of the existing district courts as Fast Track Courts for exclusively trying rape cases and bringing justice to the victims. In a sense, Honourable Chief Justice desires that prosecution of rape cases should proceed on war footing and justice is done without delay. The Court of the Additional District Judge, Jammu has been converted into Fast Track Court and directed to take up rape cases expeditiously.
In a televised conference with the five judges who are designated to preside over Fast Track Courts in the State, four in the valley and one in Jammu, the Chief Justice instructed them to complete the process of all the sexual crime related cases at the earliest possible. According to available information the number of rape and sexual crime cases pending in both the wings of the State High Court is sixty-one. With the designation of some district level courts as Fast Track Courts, all cases falling in this category will be shifted to them for proper handling.
These steps are an assurance to the civil society that all the organs of the state including the judiciary are deeply concerned about the crime against women. It has brought us disrepute. The parliament may or may not take up the case of how to provide foolproof security and safety to women, but the judiciary has reacted to its responsibility much ahead of the parliament. Generally the culprits of the crime take shelter behind the complexities of the law and the time consuming factor which dominates prosecution of rape cases. The CJI has put his finger on the precise malaise and that is why he has suggested fast track courts. Not only, the Chief Justices of State High Courts are also advised to monitor the progress of prosecution, they are also required to keep the Apex Court informed of the progress in prosecution.
In yet another PIL case hearing, the Divisional Bench of the Supreme Court has said that there is no safety for women in Delhi and asked the National Capital and Delhi administration to restore the safety especially to the working women. It has also been suggested that there should be a mechanism of making proper compensation to the victims of rape and gang rape and molestation. Establishment of a Criminal Injuries Compensation Board is also one of the recommendations that need to be considered.
The public will highly appreciate the initiative of the Chief Justice to put an end to a major social aberration. However, the people are as much eager to see a culprit punished according to law of the land so that it serves a deterrent to others who take liberty with law.
While the judiciary and the executive are deeply involved in addressing this social malaise and steps are taken as fast pace, it is also to be reminded that initial training of an individual has to come from his home and family. Environs and family atmosphere play vital role in shaping the mindset of an individual. Therefore the first and foremost responsibility of preventing the crimes like these rests with the family. We cannot boast of inheriting rich culture if we are not able to preserve and perpetuate human values. Crimes against women are a phenomenon that goes against Indian civilization. Our ancient history and cultural manifestations all tell us that women have always been held in high esteem by Indian society. These historical and cultural values need to be re-kindled and reinforced. Additionally, in modern world, the eyes of entire world are focused on the vital issue of giving women their proper status. World will not ask nor care what laws we have and what is the mechanism of implementing the laws; it will make a judgment by looking at the ground situation.
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