Singhasan Chhupa ke Rakhkho ke Dhobi Aata Hai (Hide the throne, washer-man is lurking around)

Current situation reminds of the story of a king who wanted to go hunting. He asked his prime minister if it was a good day to be out in the wilderness. Seeing that the sky was clear, the wise man said it seems to be as good a day as any. On the way to woods, the king chanced up on a washer-man going with his donkey. The washer-man (Dhobi) suggested to king’s riders that it was going to rain and they should go back to the castle. The king ignored the advice and went to the jungle anyway. By mid-day it started raining heavily and the king had to abandon hunt and rush back to the castle. On returning the king called on washer-man and made him the prime minster because he was able to make a better weather prediction.

The kings and queens of Indian democracy are going through a similar situation here. Our deep disgust of all things political have convinced us that elected are unfit for the job by definition. (to channel Douglas Adam – anyone who is capable of getting himself/herself elected should not be allowed to rule.) Our disappointment in the existing systems is leading us to believe that we would be better off building alternate systems to support us. The feeling is especially strong in case of judiciary.

Judiciary has disappointed on more counts than one. There is no denying that. Powerful accused get acquitted. Cases go on for ages without conclusion. Honorable judges come under corruption scanner and lawyers have been unscrupulous butts of all jokes for ages. On top of all this, the inscrutability of legalese does nothing to improve the people’s opinion of the system.

So we seek a keystone that can restore our faith in justice. A group of certified social workers (certified by international awards that is) offer us solutions in terms of alternate judiciary – Lokpal (through Jan Lokpal Bill) and NAC (through Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence). These systems (at least in the mind of supporters) are committed to make the culprits pay.

Personally, I am not too eager to have this animal in the tent. I do not think this will be an improvement over the existing systems and here are my reasons-

1. Accountability (lack thereof) – thou art a female canine! Our unrestrained babus are answerable to government eventually. Governments are answerable to Janta every five years. By extension, judges appointed by presidents are also answerable in a very indirect way to populace of the country. Lokpal and NAC are accountable to a coterie of an autonomous body of social workers and that body in turn is not accountable to anyone else.So all the problems and frustrations we have with our government and bureaucracy being unaccountable will only increase in this new system. The argument would be that these are people with good intentions, the same material that paves way to hell. Mind you, Jan Lokpal Bill is requesting for powers similar to those of regular court.
2. Professional Expertise – we clamor for educated politicians. The idea that education improves your decision making or your ethics is not valid. But in case of legal decisions, a thorough understanding of the law of land and objectivity of mind is a pre-requisite for judges. Not being swayed by popular opinions is also a critical part of the job. Will Lokpal and NAC employ retired judges to these roles or will they appoint social workers for these very important roles? I think it will be a mix of both. A social worker taking important judicial decisions is akin to alternate medicine enthusiast performing complex brain surgery on critical patients. I wouldn’t bet on patient (justice here) making through the day.
3. Objectivity – these institutions are being built by and will mostly be run by activists. Activists who are committed to a cause. Do we expect these judgments to be impartial? Will an Arundhati Roy even listen to what Narendra Modi has to say? Will Kanimozhi get a fair treatment from people who brought 2G scam to fore? Don’t get me wrong. I respect activists and the important role they play in functioning of democracy. But I fear activists playing judges. They will hand out retributions not justice. They will be guided by what they have believed to be the truth of culprits rather than look at the evidence. The basic tenet of “innocent until proven guilty” is at stake here. That is the tenet that allows all of us the very freedom dear to us. Let’s not give it up so easily.
4. More heads to a hydra – I do not put much store by status quo. I am as disappointed as anyone when criminal politicians go scot-free. Admittedly, the vested interests control or at least very heavily influence the existing systems. Here’s the pickle though! How do we ensure the new system will be immune to this evil? It will still be run by people. Just because these people write in more refined language or give fiery speeches does not mean they will be more honest. So instead of creating a better system we are only creating a different system which eventually (and sooner than we would like) start mirroring the existing system. We just have one more avenue to hand our hopes on and see them crumble.

In the same breath, let me also accept that our judiciary needs some revolutionary changes. Justice by default is delayed and hence denied in most cases. That needs to change. Fast track courts focused on issues like corruption and targeted violence would definitely be a good idea. But that should be with-in the existing framework and umbrella. With qualified judges being responsible for unbiased and swift justice. And a well-defined accountability structure.

Social Activists play a much needed role of representing the marginalized. Their passion and commitment to causes they support is well spent on advocacy. Advocacy is where they belong.

My main contention is this. It is easy to build a new system. How will we ensure the new system is temper-proof, sacrosanct and objective?

Masjid to bana di shab-bhar me, imaan ki haraarat waalon ne,

Man apna puraana paapi hai, barso me namaazi ban na saka!

(Guardians of religion raised a mosque with in a night, but sinner that my soul is, could not become pious in ages.)