CORRUPTION IN INDIAN LAWBODIES

THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Today was a busy day for me.After the India- Pakistan match which was comfortably won by india ,i resumed a bit of quants .Had my dinner quite early around 2000 hrs and now while writing this post i m feeling quite hugry.Still what prompted me to write this piece right here and right now are two instances in my life when i found myself feeling really guilty about the state of indian law.
No.1 : A friend of mine told me a story which i will talk about a bit later and
No.2:My tryst with a policeman.

Firstly, I will like to tell you about the story which one of my friends narrated to me about 3 years ago.My friends father is a criminal lawyer and it was just by a chance that when we were discussing about law in india,my friend was also present.I am forced to use my friend everywhere because it might not be appropriate to name him here i will call him A for the sake of anonymity.So,now A begins to reciete us a story which was a real life incident which he faced in his 8th standard.One beautiful morning A was excercising in the lawn of his home when he noticed three police jeeps halting in front of the gate.He witnesses a 40 year old inspector get off from the jeep and walk towards his home.He quickly opens the gate and lets them in.The inspector asks him about the whereabouts of his father.He runs inside calls his father and requests the police party to make themselves comfortable.His father steps out of the door and is immediately accosted by A. A was in 8th standard at the time of incident and so was bewildered by the routines of policemen.So, now he runs to his father and quietly starts to pay attention to the talk between the inspector and his father.
The inspector informs his father ,who is a criminal lawyer by proffession that there has been a murder few weeks ago and that they desperately need someone to acquit.He also tells A's father of his motive to acquit a few small robbers they had caught hold of just last night.A's father just smiles and says "That will be fine".Then inspector is again concerned about what weapon he should present in the courtroom (the weapon with which the victim was murdered).A's father tells him to run into the house and bring him a big dagger hanging on the wall of thier drawing room.A returns with it and gives it to his father who in turn gives it to the inspector and says "Here you are,a perfect weapon.Dont worry about the rest of the thing,I will take care of it".The inspector departs with a grin on his face.

The second incident concerns me as a subject.I was returning from Delhi in a car after taking the main examination for IITJEE about three years ago.I live in Ambala and the highway from Delhi to Ambala is a very good one where cars easily touch 100ks/hr.We had covered more then half of the journey and just near Kurukshetra we came acroos a police crossing where our car was stopped.The driver was not using the seat belts and that was his crime.So its me ,my mom and the driver in the car.Although i was 18 years old at that time but i myself hadnt ever tried to manipulate a policeman or bribed anyone.As the car halted a policemen quickly marched towards me.Before i could even open the door of the car he was standing right next to it.He starts off in a fashion which is quite usual to bollywood movie and says "Do you know what all we can do for this carelessness on your side.Not only was the driver using seatbelts he was also driving above the valid speed".I was numb and did not know how to react to the situation when suddenly he softens his stand and says "Dont worry it will be a fine of 800 bucks.I should get the receipt".I say allright sir and wonder that what a bad day am i having.Then i am a little baffled when he says again "Dont worry i should get the receipt"and then almost without a pause he says"I am going to get the receipt".When he uttered that third time a voice from a lonely corner of my mind shouts out "U fool what are you doing..offer him a bribe..".I take the bait and offer him a bribe of 400 bucks and so its settled.

So guys that was that.I really wonder how poor my friend would have felt and how much it would have affected him as a child.And the point is that things like these happen everyday.Its just that we people do not realise it until it happens to us or to someone close to us.But then its too late.Everyday some directors will come out with movies like satya,apaharan etc etc but we just seem to enjoy the fizz of the cola and crack of the pop corn much more than asking our souls about what should be done and how it should be done to free ourselves from this double cancer of crime and corruption.Personally,when i reached home after the incident I felt like I have cheated myself like never before.If someone will force me into a situation which is benefitial but not justified..will i take it?I thought that how petty a sum of 400 bucks is and still I just corrupted myself to save them.Maybe it was because it was a very small fault on part of the driver but still i couldnt justify my actions then and i cant justify them now.It is said that one cannot cheat himself or herself but everyday in some way or the other we do it.We go to restuarants and ask them for kacha bills because we know we will save 10 percent of the money this way.What we forget is the state is loosing that amount of money and more.Also one other thought that leads us to this kind of behaviour is the governments inability to perform and deliver.We hardly look forward to something fruitful being implemented by the government and hence shy from our duties towards the state.But i ask all of the people reading this piece that how can we justify our actions on the pretext of inability of a few people.We are a nation of 100 million and counting but how many of us feel responsible for our country.When we watch a cricket match each one of us is like supporting India and feeling good about it but when a decent man stands up to fight up againt a group of impostor politicians or bereaucrats we seldom step up.I can go on with this post forever and wont be able to affect mind of people,but the people who will matter would have already been affected .Closing it here,may add a few more thing later.