Delay in the hanging of Nirbhaya convicts and interminable wait for justice

The morning of December 16, 2012, seven years ago, was not at all like another morning for India. We together as a country of over 100 billion had tears in our eyes and anger in our hearts.

What has happened the previous night was unimaginable - it was difficult to believe that such a harrowing incident has happened in the heart of the capital.

A girl was raped on a moving bus - we as a country have stopped reacting to rape news as it has become the new normal. But the scale of brutality which Nirbhaya faced jolted us and brought us out of our deep slumber.

There were hue and cry across the country, parents of daughters were scared and didn't know how they could protect their girls - by the way the situation is still the same.

Media played its role by giving non-stop coverage to the case. The culprits were arrested. Confessions were made. Fast -track court was set up. We thought that 'justice for Nirbhaya' is not far off.

But we were proved wrong and then began the mockery of the Indian judicial system. It's been seven years and two months and the date to hang the four convicts is set for the third time in the last 42 days.

At 6 in the morning on March 3, Nirbhaya's culprits will be hanged till death - only if all goes right in the court of law and no other mercy petition is filed. One out of the four culprits is still left with legal options to explore and further delay the hanging.

This case has exposed the loopholes of our judicial system to an extent that there seems to be no respite soon.

The lawyer who is defending the convicts in the case is being shamed for delay tactics. But is he actually to be blamed? He is, after all, somebody who is doing his job.

If we keep our sentiments aside and try to understand the deep-rooted flaw in the judiciary then we would realise that the infamous lawyer is bringing the loopholes to the limelight. Now, the onus is on lawmakers to take cognizance and introduce judicial reforms in the country.

Another such case was the 1990s Ruchika molestation case in which the verdict came after 26 years of an endless wait during which the victim committed suicide.

The punishment given was one and a half years of rigorous imprisonment while the family faced the trauma for more than two decades, and lost their child. There is no dearth of such cases in our country - but there is a lack of political will to dive in this realm and look for solutions.

We owe an apology to not just Nirbhaya, or Ruchika but to all those who are in an unending wait for justice.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)