Justice lost if revenge takes place against injustice

CHIEF Justice of India SA Bobde in the context of the extrajudicial murder of four alleged rapists on Saturday said that justice lost its very character when it took revenge. The observation came as a top Indian rights group on Saturday launched an investigation into the police shooting of four rape-murder suspects after accusations they were gunned down in cold blood to assuage public anger. But in a country where violence against women is rife and an overburdened criminal justice system means attackers often escape punishment, many Indians also celebrated the suspects’ deaths.
The four accused were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the 25-year-old veterinary doctor on November 27 by smothering her and later burning her body, an incident that led to widespread outrage. Police claimed that all the four accused in the rape and murder of a young veterinarian near Hyderabad were shot dead in “retaliatory” firing by the policemen when two of the accused opened fire at them after snatching their weapons and tried to escape from the site where they had been taken for a reconstruction of events as part of the investigation. Though the murder in cold blood is the reflection of an idea of medieval mob justice, police officers are being showered with admirations. Amnesty cited the murder an extrajudicial execution while a politician called “savage Taliban-style justice… will make courts irrelevant.” More than 33,000 rapes were reported in India in 2017, according to the latest government figures, but vast numbers go unreported.
In Bangladesh, we witnessed around 500 victims of extrajudicial murder during the 2018 anti-drug drives by RAB and police. The sexual harassment against women and girls has become rampant in the years to clamp down the violence at least eight rape suspects were killed by ‘Hercules’ leaving a note in last February. However, police haven’t investigated into the matter. The bold statement of Indian CJ against extrajudicial killing is also self-criticising of the judiciary for its long procedure. In the country, extrajudicial murder by law enforcers is unabatedly undermining the judicial existence and the very spirit of Constitution. We reiterate our call to stop the extrajudicial killing in all forms by anybody and speed up the judicial process.