Safeguards or Snares?

Laws meant to protect women, marginalized groups, and the vulnerable often end up misused, creating injustice. India needs safeguards against false complaints without diluting protection for the genuinely oppressed

- VK BAHUGUNA

Law is the expression of the will of society and its supreme power. Society is run and governed by law. The governance systems enact laws to give justice and fair play to different segments of the population. But the laws more often than not do suffer from frailty. International conventions, laws and agreements are equally suffering from frailty as in domestic affairs. India is a country of more than 142 crore people with a colourful variety of cultural biodiversity. Laws are made to ensure dignity, justice, equality and protection, and welfare of marginalized and vulnerable sections of society. However, on several occasions, these laws are more often than not misused and become a serious problem for the lawmakers and the judiciary. The medicine is becoming a poison, doing more harm than justice in many spheres of law enforcement. In this article, I am dealing with the misuse of laws enacted for protection in India, such as those addressing women's maltreatment and the protection of the Scheduled Caste and Tribes against discrimination and atrocities. Similarly, there are parallels in international laws like those under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the way caucus-type administration of world bodies like the United Nations.