Legal Terrorism
What is Legal Terrorism? When laws are used in a mischievous manner to settle scores, to harass others - it is Legal Terrorism.Best described with examples:
- A woman filing a dowry harassment case against her husband to teach him a lesson, by citing section 498A, which makes it pretty much mandatory for police to arrest the husband. ( Manoj Prabhakar's wife files dowry harassment case against her husband after 16 years of marriage, Dowry law is a shield, not be an assasin's weapon : court, Guilty until proven Innocent.)
- Police harassing eyewitnesses of accidents and crimes, citing an important act, while refusing to deal honestly with the perpetrators of the crime itself (Browbeating the Witness, MLA is free behind bars! ).
- A doctor refusing to treat an accident victim, citing the absence of a police case - is there even a law in this regard? !!! (Helping Accident Victims).
- Govt. departments hounding honest tax payer's citing important rules and regulations. (Complicating Saral! , Perils of a Honest TaxPayer).
- State govt. machinery gearing itself to harass a top actor citing a animal protection law, while refusing to act against mob goons or provide enough protection for legitimate showing of the actor's film in the state. (Aamir Khan summoned by Gujarat Authorities.)
- A sealing drive that does not target corruption in Administration with an equal force, - which gave rise to the present unfortunate situation. (MCD can't wash its hands off).
The law said: A Cat must never kick a sick Dog. Cat slaps the Dog instead. The law is amended to state: A cat must never kick or slap a sick Dog. The Cat nurses the dog to good health, then slaps and kicks it. The law is amended again: A Cat must never kick or slap a sick Dog or one in good health. The Cat digs a hole and offers it to the Rabbit for stay, and then makes the Dog chase itself. The Dog falls in the Rabbits hole. The Dog is put behind bars because it broke the law which stated: Trespassing into burrows of Rabbits is punishable. The Cat is free. This simple story illustrates the difference between spirit and letter of the law.
When mischief may be the goal or common sense takes leave - laws can be used for Legal Terrorism. When righteousness is the goal or common sense prevails - laws can be great catalysts for the progress of all.
posted by Apun Ka Desh @ 12:18 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
hehe, the cat-dog story perfectly captures the present day law system (not just of India, but even USA)
legal terrorism gets multifaceted as the surpanakhas are equipped with the boon of hiranyakashyapu from 26th oct 06.
that boon is the great indian, loosely drafted "Domestic Violence Act".
now no sita, ram, dashrath, kaushalyas will be spared and just not surpanakha but even manthras, kaikais and puthnas are empowered.
that is the future of apun ka desh.
Awesome Post!.. great examples, perfect li'l analogy :).
But it IS becoming more of a menace these days. the netas and goonda alike employ lawyers who specialise in interpreting the law in a crooked manner. At the end of the day, its the honest, law-abiding common man who suffers.
I wonder what would be a practical way to reverse this trend..
Well written.. the cat n dog story is jsut too perfect...
pavan: unfortunately in such a scenario, the merits of the case are only as important as the lawyer you engaged...
jinesh: if this is not mischievous vote bank driven politics.. what else is it. How can laws be gender specific.. but thats nothing - we also have caste specific and what not.
Kiran: Thats the point - what is a practical way to reverse this trend. You can keep creating zillion laws - that will solve nothing when the intention itself is wicked. Jokers and Crooked men should not win elections - that is one way - but how? You too become a vote bank.. declare yourself as a Progress Driven Vote Bank - and say it aloud - perhaps it will start making a difference when this vote bank is large enough.
vin: yeah though - this problem needs to be addressed, else we will be blogging about it years from now - and nothing would have changed.
We need good administrators/leaders. Not caste and mischief driven.
,jinesh,kiran,vin >
Hi Apun,
Much appreciated your effort in highlighting these sort of problems. Very well written and very impressive.
But these sort of things are also present all over the world from developing countries to developed countries. Its just a shame...
If the law is properly and promptly implemented, and if (a very big one) the implementers of the laws are unbiased and fair, then we will never face the situation of so many loopholes and need to keep on amending laws.
Good post.
if laws are used for such purposes .. then they are not laws anymore (sadly this happens all the time in corrupt nations)
you have made a very imp point here.. thank ou for highlighting this!
Post a Comment
<< Home