The morning begins today with a quick view of all the daily Indian newspaper, the headlines read like this….
“A quarter century after Bhopal, seven sentenced” and then below “Former UCIL officials granted bail” – Indian express.
“Justice Delayed, Denied” and then below “Convicted Get Bail Pending Appeal to HC” – Times Of India
These headlines refer to the Bhopal Gas tragedy which happened in the fateful night of December 2/3rd 1984 with leakage of Methyl Isocyanides. The leakage of the gas killed thousands of people and left many others adversely affected by the gas. The court case ran for a record of 25 years ended today ( June 8, 2010) with the few of them involved in this getting convicted for a period of 2 years and an immediate bail.
The papers also state that “the sentence was reduced because of old age of those convicted, also because of their absence on the day of the tragedy and also one of them cannot be prosecuted by the Indian judiciary because he belongs to a foreign land.” No one even questioned the fact that today the Old age factor is due to the prolonged period this case has been fought in the court battle. No one questions that of course when you are responsible for a culpable homicide you will definitely not be there in the place to bear the consequences. You will obviously ensure that you are in the safest corner of earth.
This is the so far from the justice that our judiciary should have given to the victims of this tragedy. This is the not the justice that the poor people affected for 25 years of their life actually waited for. The judiciary cannot/ did not see the dead bodies, the emancipated limbs of the children, starving and suffering of the remaining people, the broken hearts, and hope of the thousands who still remained after the tragedy, with a hope that one day they will get Justice. It can only see the facts on paper as evidences produced, forgetting every human emotions and values. The Non-living constituted a far greater proof of innocence. And the death given to those thousands could not/did not constitute a stronger enough evidence for a tougher sentence. Today those who survived the tragedy would think that all the hardships they faced and all the perseverance and patience that they showed in all these 25 years to gain justice were in vain and that we no longer live in a world where we can expect to get justice especially if you are a poor victim.
Was it just the Bhopal Gas Tragedy that the courts mishandled – NO, there have been many more such cases and some popular due to the media attention and some of them unheard of, some waited for the justice and died. For some the justice came so late that they forgot that it actually mattered – it only mattered to the officials who would mark the Case as Closed. Justice delayed is denied – is actually a famous phrase but the profoundness of the statement is hardly understood by the law makers of this land and also not understood by the judiciary of our land.
If the courts of our country and the people have not realized so far, they will soon realize that sooner or later the younger generation of our country will soon loose all trust that they have in law abiding country where justice (was supposed to prevail) prevails and was supposed to be one of the most independent pillars in the democratic government setup. They will learn that an ideal just society cannot / does not exist. They will know from the day they are born that they have to survive and even if that means forgetting all the morals and just be guided by the animal instinct of survival. Sooner or later the selfishness of we humans will destroy this world and there will be no civilization and mass destruction everywhere.
Justice does not lie in those 440 articles that are there in Constitution but in the very heart of every human conscience. Human conscience, which is free from all the corruption in the outer world. It can only see the truth. Its voice speaks louder to you when you are alone. Allow the truth to prevail and judge everything based on this truth and guided by the moral values of humanity.
Justice should not be measured based on mere facts on papers of evidence but they very result of an action, circumstances and should have a human value (read this twice). Human value should not be decided by the number of degrees one has, or the property one owns. Every human life is valuable for this nation. Can you for sure say that the children who are suffering today would not have been the best of the youth of today and on whose eyes we could have seen a progressing India?
Lastly, I can only pray that we be guided by the best in us, and live our life with conviction to the ideals that is in us. Let us not snatch away the hope from our future generation, but let us learn from the mistakes and create a just society and every individual has his/her part to play in it. Rise above the selfishness of gaining your ends when your opinion is asked on any matter and in the true spirit be guided by your conscience and fight for which you think is right.
