Swift justice for rape

The public response to the rape of a Maulana Azad Medical College MAMC student in late 2002 was unprecedented. The fact that it took place in the heart of the Capital in daylight seemed to have touched a raw nerve and the spirited response of the students of the college served to keep the public spotlight on the crime. On Thursday 8212; a little over two years after the crime was committed 8212; a sessions judge convicted the two men accused of that rape, a judgment that was widely welcomed. Certainly the promptness that had marked it deserves special commendation.

The case comes as a reminder that it is the certainty of punishment that is crucial when it comes to fighting a crime like rape. Conviction rates of rapists have always remained abysmal, largely because of complex criminal-justice procedures that are often extremely harrowing for the woman who has been attacked, and an investigative machinery that is lackadaisical, corrupt or both. The most formidable barrier to justice being done in these cases, however, is the general lack of empathy for the raped woman. This marks every stage of the case, from the filing of the FIR and the forensic examination of the woman to the cross-examination of judges. The MAMC case is one of those rare ones that seem to have broken the mould and that is all to the good.

The point is this: can we ensure that such a resolution occurs even in cases that are less high-profile? Consider for a moment this very same case, but with a reversal of the cast of characters. Suppose, for instance, the rapist had happened to be the son of a powerful politician and the woman who was raped, a resident in a local slum. Could we then expect such exemplary expression of public outrage over the crime; such sympathy and thoroughness in terms of investigation from the police; such promptness on the part of the judiciary? Likely not. And therein lies the conundrum. How do we ensure justice in these cases, whenever and where ever they occur and whoever they involve? The system continues to await serious reform.