Process as punishment and deceptive closures

Our democracy has a lot to be proud of, but the opposite is equally true. Last week, we added a terrible outcome to the long list of our failings. It will rest heavily on our collective conscience for years to come. The stain will be hard, if not almost impossible, to remove. For now, though, we need to struggle to tackle our guilt. But can we? Most importantly, will we?

- Karan Thapar

Twelve fellow citizens, with the same right to justice and fair play as you or I, have spent 19 years in jail, accused and then initially convicted of a crime they did not do. They were punished when they were innocent.

And all the while we turned our backs on them and forgot their plight. We left them to the misery we inflicted on them till a high court intervened.

The verdict of the Bombay High Court that finally, though belatedly, acquitted them should shame us. “The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe the accused committed the crime.” This alone should make us bow our heads.

But the verdict goes further. It pierces the illusion of justice with which we had cloaked ourselves, believing self-righteously that their conviction was proper and fair. “Creating a false impression of having solved a case by presenting that the accused have been brought to justice gives a misleading sense of resolution. This deceptive closure undermines public trust and falsely reassures society,” the court said.