Troll armies descending on opinion holders: Delhi HC judge

"Now we know that at a short notice a mob can assemble. It will want justice here and now. Society appears to be on a short fuse, and at times lacking a sense of humour," said Justice S Muralidhar said.

Justice S Muralidhar also said introduction of harsher penalties and harsher laws does not necessarily translate into deterrence.

A Delhi High Court judge Friday said society appears to be on a short fuse and, at times, lacking a sense of humour.

Speaking at the inaugural lecture of an annual series in criminal law, started by National Law University Delhi’s Project 39A, Justice S Muralidhar said, “Candle light vigils for rape victims, yes. But protests for rape accused, that too by lawyers? The police knocking at your door at the insistence of someone who did not like what he saw online. A funny standup comedy clip, a sarcastic remark against the government, a Facebook post — it could just about be anything. Now we know that at a short notice a mob can assemble. It will want justice here and now. Society appears to be on a short fuse, and at times lacking a sense of humour. The saner and sober voice of reason easily gets drowned by the high-decibel rabble-rousers dressed as TV news anchors, painting issues in binaries and whataboutery. Then there are the troll armies that descend on an opinion holder in cacophony of unreason. No sense, just noise.”

Project 39A draws inspiration from Article 39A of the Constitution, which talks about equal justice and equal opportunity, and works on issues of legal aid, torture, DNA forensics, mental health in prisons, and death penalty.

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Muralidhar also said introduction of harsher penalties and harsher laws does not necessarily translate into deterrence. “Despite the rape law being made stringent after the horrific gangrape in Delhi on December 16, 2012, there has been no palpable effect on lowering incidents of rape around the country… Stricter penal statute is supposed to a deterrent. We should have seen a decrease. On the contrary there is a marked increase in the number of rapes… A stricter criminal law is not going to ensure deterrence and we have to think about ways we work criminal law which is existing… Why do we believe a stricter criminal law will lead to deterrence when this has historically never been true?” he said.

Referring to David Garland’s ‘Culture of Control’, he spoke about the change in the criminal justice system, especially in the 21st Century, away from rehabilitation of an individual. “What Garland found happening in the UK and USA in 1970s is happening here now. We too are witnessing the fading of the correctionalist and welfarist rationales of the criminal justice intervention and a decline in the rehabilitative idea. Rehabilitation is a role of the crime control policy based on the understanding of criminality as symptom of a poorly adapted individuals in families. It is giving way to retribution, incapacitation and management of risk…. Focus is shifting from the criminality of the individual to the criminal event,” he said.