21st century Satyagraha - Blow Whistle On Crime In Power

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) Advocating a 21st century Satyagraha, President A P J Abdul Kalam today gave a clarion call for large numbers of whistleblowers in powerful institutitions-- politics, bureaucracy, judiciary-- to expose and fight ''the criminal process in power.'' ''This is the new satyagraha... required for the 21st century India,'' Dr Kalam told a national seminar on Delay in Administration of Criminal Justice.

Its goal, he said, was to make ''a fundamental difference to the common man by effecting systemic changes at all levels.'' The day-long meet to focus on Transparency and Accountability in administration of Criminal Justice System and Access to Criminal Justice to the Poor was addressed among others by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and Law and Justice Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj.

Experts say the Indian Constitution-- Article 39A-- commits the State to a legal system that promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity and providing free legal aid by legislation or other ways to ensure that no citizen is denied opportunity to secure justice by economic or other disability.

Articles 14 and 22(1) make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all.

But such commitments suffer in absence of timely adjudication and accountability and schedule of fees for lawyers-- with frequent adjournments and appeals adding to costs.

The President delivered some home truths to the audience made up among others of judges, lawyers and scholars.

''Those who are in power and are enjoying power... by themselves do not have any reason to change the system. They will even resist changes.'' ''Ordinary powerless citizens by their very nature of lives...

cannot do much, because the very power system will punish them if they raise their voice.

''When occasionally few young whistle blowers who are keen to correct the system bring out the facts, the powerful nexus of criminal elements systematically eliminates them.'' The reference was to such whistleblowers as Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath Shanmugham.

''Therefore what is the solution?'' he posed and then went on to say: ''Those who are in the powerful system and have power but think that it is wrongly used should now come out and be ready to face the wrath of others.

''They have to assert that the system has to be changed in the interest of one billion people of the nation.

''It is not enough to have one or two like this, we have to mobilise hundreds and thousands of them at various levels as genuine societal reformers.

''It has to come from political system, bureaucratic system, judicial system, police system and various other government and non government agencies that wield power should be ready to expose the criminal process in power and ready to fight it and bring out a fundamental difference to the common man by effecting systemic changes at all levels.'' ''It may need lot of sacrifice and I am sure the people who sacrifice today will be remembered by the posterity for centuries to come.

''This is the new satyagraha which is required for the 21st century India for the sake of our youth, who rightly deserve a prosperous, peaceful and safe India well before 2020.'' Chief Justice Balakrishnan acknowledged the need for a ''speedy trial system''-- as have most of his predecessors for decades.

The Law Minister acknowledged the need for more judges and efficient police work and suggested ''more settlements outside the court (and) plea bargaining.'' Kalam asserted that dispensation of justice becomes a mockery if it gets delayed. ''If real criminals in our society are left without punishment for many years, because of delay in criminal justice for various reasons, it will indeed result in multiplication of number of people taking to criminal act.'' Kalam described how crime and criminal elements enter various segments of national life-- from economy and business to politics.

He listed: -- Historically conditioned political problems which simmer unresolved which attract ''certain foreign elements'' and result in violence, extortion, abduction, drug trafficking, arms trade, brutal killing and massive attack on innocent people; -- Economic and socially conditioned crimes such as smuggling, illicit liquour, land grabbing which enter such activities as real estate, film and other business and even obtain political patronage through money power and muscle power; -- Business rivals obtaining services of criminal elements shape into a nexus between business world and criminal world; and -- Political competition which uses money power and criminal elements, resorting to financial and other forms of servicing by criminal elements.

''Over the period, all the four elements develop various forms of linkages and societal unrest due to the invisible nexus between and among them.

''In this process all forms of administrative machinery also drawn into these problems knowingly or unknowingly.'' The President offered the event sponsor, Indian Law Institute, which is celebrating 50 years of existence, tips on how to conduct research.

''The Indian Law Institute can take up 20 criminal cases decided by Supreme Court, 40 cases decided by High Courts and 100 cases decided by district courts for research. They can go into the case from the time of the crime committed till the final judgement and study with reference to following aspects.

-- Identify the time of reporting of the crime from the site and the gaps if any between the occurrence and reporting; -- The time when the FIR was filed and delay in filing of FIR if any, with causes for the delay; -- Dynamics of witnesses with reference to time delay in court proceedings; -- Dynamics of advocates in obtaining adjournments and the impact of public interest litigations; -- Time delay in leading the witnesses and the arguments by the prosecution and defence; and -- Time delay in judicial process leading to final delivery of judgements.

He assured ILI officials: ''Research findings of these cases, I am sure will definitely provide an insight into multiple causes of delay and suggest methods for procedural and legal provisions needed to be modified in our criminal justice system.'' UNI