Black vs.Khaki - Rule of Law under cloud

BLACK VS. KHAKI

Rising intolerance and Indian democracy

The recent spate of violence witnessed inside the premises of Madras High court orchestrated by lawyers and policemen has exposed not only the lamentable lack of mutual respect and confidence between the two professional fraternities so integrally associated with our legal system but also the consistently falling standards of behavioral propriety in general. Though the honorable Supreme court while taking a serious cognizance of the case has appointed a retired judge of the apex court to inquire into the what ,how and why of the brutal lathi charge (assaulting lawyers, their unsuspecting clients, staff members and end even our honorable judges) resorted to by the police, it is secret to none that the whole drama of disturbing misdemeanor on either side of the fence involves questions larger than what appears on the face of it.

Any dispassionate probe into the incident that is free from any passion, prejudice and presumption would demand appreciation of the sequence of events beginning from physical assault on senior advocate Mr.Subramanium Swami and ending with police excess, interspersed quite significantly with equally, if not more condemnable act of burning of police station by lawyers. No doubt, vandals in khaki as well as black displayed remarkable uniformity in one respect that is scant regard for the supreme law of the land (more particularly freedom of speech and expression under art.19 and right to life with human dignity under art.21) and the criminal violation of the canons of respective professional conduct.

If there is any administrative agency in India which has failed quite miserably to orient its structural and behavioral profile in sync with the ethos and spirit of a modern democratic state, it is police. One after another incidents since long have kept on suggesting the imperativeness of bringing a multi-pronged reforms in the most important law enforcement machinery encompassing quality training, proper psycho-behavioral orientation imparting sensitivity towards human rights, better service conditions, amendments of obsolete laws regulating the overall power and functions of police, greater operational autonomy, more sophisticated technological paraphernalias to name a few, but the successive governments have failed to reflect genuine political willingness for reasons better known to them. In Toto, Indian police system is yet to go a long way to resuscitate itself from the colonial legacy of the past in so far as its thinking, method and style of operation is concerned.

Nevertheless, we just can’t afford to single out our police system when it comes to criticize lawlessness,intolerance,insensitivity and undemocratic mien. The l’affaire Madras high court has given ample testimony to the fact that the lawyers are not far behind in their subversive propensity towards the accomplishments of not-so-well placed objectives.

The remarkable promptness displayed by the Supreme Court to identify the police officers responsible for ordering lathi charge did not find any judicious extension to locate those vandals who secured permission from nowhere to set the police station on fire which actually preceded the extreme police action.

Further, the issuance of order by the apex court regarding the transfer of senior police officers out of Chennai and appointment of retired Supreme court judge of the apex court B.L.Srikrisna to probe into incident smack of some sort of implicit presumption and pre-occupation in approach against the police. We have yet to come across any concrete measures emanating from honorable courts or bar council directed towards disciplining their unruly brethrens.

The larger question in front of us today is to address the consistently increasing tendency of general intolerance, violent expression of interest and invasive pursuance of them, thus challenging the very spirit of democracy. Though it may appear in different form or degree, when the members of Ram sene assaults women to protect bharatiya samskriti; when hapless workers and vendors are beaten up to protect the cause of Maratha manus; when police men in the most adverse service conditions are humiliated and when the sacrosanct corridors of justice is subjected to man-ordained storm- the one who dies the first death is democracy and democracy. No doubt, a price which is too unconscionable to be borne by a nation which has achieved and retained its democratic credentials against all odds for long.

- Sajjan Singh