The modern thinking Indian

Somehow, the polity in India has accepted two major concepts: If you are a politician (and especially a Minister), there is a minimal chance that you will be prosecuted for anything; secondly, that the threatening and taking of human life in the form of a homicide or murder is not all that big a deal. However, recently there has been a trend that both of these theories are getting challenged. For the second one, there are many cases where ordinary people have challenged the almost casual investigation into murder and forced the Government and police into doing major investigations (such as into the Jessica Lal case and the Priyadarshini Mattoo case). As regards powerful people, courts in recent times have not hesitated to move against politicians, many times forcing investigating agencies to do a better role (and even though we have had shameful cases such as the Congress Government ordering the CBI to so little that both Mayawati and Shibu Soren have got off); still there have been many cases of prosecutions such as the case of Shahabuddin, Anand Mohan, and a few others who have been prosecuted and sent to jail (and maybe scared the others facing court cases).
One case that has shocked Uttar Pradesh has been the case of the poetess Madhumita who was having an affair with the politician Amarmani, and Amarmani's wife Madhumani did not appreciate this affair, eventually leading to the brutal murder of Madhumita (and since she was pregnant, the murder of her unborn baby as well). The investigations went through highs and lows, but today the verdict is out, and should give more criminal politicians cause for thought.

Four years after poetess Madhumita Shukla was murdered, a special court here on Wednesday sentenced to life former UP minister Amarmani Tripathi, his wife Madhumani, cousin Rohit Chaturvedi besides contract killer Santosh Rai in the high-profile case.
The poetess was found murdered at her Lucknow flat on May 9, 2003. She was murdered at the behest of Madhumani, who was opposed to her affair with her husband.

Such judgments not only scare politicians that they can be prosecuted for their misdeeds, but also go a long way in reassuring people that the law is the same for the commoner and the high and mighty.

Labels: Court, Governance, Judicial, Law, Punishment