To
Dr. Manmohan Singh,
The Prime Minister of India,
Government of India,
New Delhi - 110001,
INDIA
Subject: Petition for intense review and radical reforms in the legal, administration and judicial system of India to align it with the 21st century needs
Dear Dr. Singh,
We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest concern and fuming grievance in regards to the current social environment and judicial status of India.
I am sure as a well-educated, well-respected and experienced political leader, you will definitely understand the core essence of our point and not get disturbed by undulating texture of the agenda.
We consider you to be in the most powerful role of the country.
We have been reading the oath of the prime minister of India from our childhood days at school. After the Delhi gang-rape incident, which epitomized the vulnerability of every 'non-political' citizen of India, we thought it would be a good idea to refresh our memories of that oath and try and relate that to our living experiences in the 21st century India.
Though we firmly believe that there is no need to remind you of the terrific oath, yet for the benefit of the people who read this petition before signing it off, sharing its content here is not a bad idea.
The oath is a very meaningful one and it goes something like this:
PM’s Oath
“I, Dr. Manmohan Singh, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as Prime Minister for the Union and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”
With reference to the above oath, we, as citizens of the India, have struggled to find any congruity between the words and the modern day India, especially when we focus on the following sets of words/phrases from your oath contents:-
"I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will"
While on the context of oaths, here are two more lines, extracted from the oath of the President of India that further pushes our perplexed grey-cells:-
- "will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law’
- "I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Republic of India."
Here are 2-3 examples from thousands happening each day, that confuses us as to what needs to get repaired and what replaced….what/who needs a boot out and what/who needs to be ushered in??
1. JESSICA LAL - 34-years old woman murdered over a glass of drink on 30 April 1999 in front of 300 people by Manu Sharma, the son of Vinod Sharma, a wealthy and influential Congress-nominated Member of Parliament from Haryana. It took 7 LONG YEARS to finally acquit him and that too when the judiciary was fast-tracked under immense media and public pressure.)
2. PRIYADARSHINI MUTTOO - 25-year-old law student who was found raped and murdered at her house in New Delhi on January 23, 1996 (Ironically Netaji’s birthday falls on the same date, who was famous for his clarion call…”DELHI CHALO”!).
Main accused, Santosh Singh, was initially acquitted untouched. This was made possible by the collaborated wrong-doings of the Delhi Police and CBI, in a monstrous effort to help the accused get free.
In a 450 page judgment the judge came down heavily on the role of Delhi Police, clearly stating that Lalit Mohan, the DP Inspector was instrumental in creating false evidence and false defense for the accused. The witnesses of the police including a Sub-Inspector deposed falsely". He added, “CBI also fabricated the DNA test in the rape case as it was not obtained in accordance with the judicial procedure and could not therefore be admitted in evidence in view of Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act.”
On October 6, 2010, the Supreme Court of India reversed the acquittal to life imprisonment of Santosh Kumar Singh, son of IG – Delhi Police.
Again, it took 14 LONG YEARS to get the desired verdict and too, only after the intense media spotlight forced an accelerated trial, which would have got lost otherwise amidst the unprecedented and tangled Indian court system.
3. ‘DAMINI’ – On the night of 17 December 2012, a physiotherapy student got gang raped in the country’s capital, where all the stalwarts of the country reside, including yourself and others cabinet ministers. The woman has been informally given the pseudonym "Damini" by the Indian public in homage to at least safeguard the social and legal identity, if not her health, mind and dignity. The victim, with a male companion, boarded a bus in South Delhi around 21:30 after watching a film, when they were assaulted by a group of six males aboard, including the bus-driver, who then raped Damini and brutally damaged her sexual organ and intestine. She finally lost the battle against death on 29th December 2012!!!!
Another crime, another protest, some more tear and that's it!!!! The menacing cycle seem to be going on perennially.
Again, a lot of assurances and promises tend to be slowly coming in from the administration, only when there is media and public outcry along with some pressure from International bodies like the UN!!!
Is this how it’s going to be?? Well, at least, that’s how it has been so far!! If media and public needs to hit the roads just to ensure the safety of a common citizen, then inevitably you are funnelling this whole issue to a wrong turn towards a very menacing future of lawlessness!!!
It’s practically impossible to get a decent job in India with criminal background but not that hard to get a seat in the respected parliament house of India! Cannot really understand, how and why? Would be interesting to know your thoughts on this. Like us, if it’s unacceptable to you personally, then would you mind sharing with us what has the government done to rectify this calamity in the system?
Corrupted administration, deadly political environment, ancient Laws and IPC, slow legal proceedings have all been contributing way too long to the social, financial, mental and physical destruction of way too many Indians.
Warning bells were gonged sonorously enough to tear through our eardrums, when we found one of our most popular prime ministers, Srimati Indira Gandhi getting shot on duty in her own house in Delhi, quite ironically by her own ‘bodyguards’.
Again, we had to wait 5 LONG YEARS to see the accused finally hung till death….that was 1989…and this is 2012…nothing has changed other than the names taking over the constitutional seats and roller-coaster of passing greasy baton.
A QUICK REQUEST
DAMINI is DEAD NOW!!! Helplessly died for the want of safety in the city that she used to live in, supposedly, the capital of the nation where all the top Law-Makers and Law-Keepers of India, reside.
If you still think that nothing needs to change, then do let us, the citizens of India, know about that thought of yours officially, be it in a written format or a declaration before the media.
However, if you sincerely feel that a change is required, then PLEASE ACT ON IT NOW!!
Whether it’s stricter laws or proper vigilance of law or higher remuneration for law-keepers or major social reforms or elimination of middle-men or what-have-you…..but NOW!!!
WE ARE WITH YOU IN THIS PROVIDED YOU ARE WITH US IN THIS!!
We live in a land where there are sensible people to work on laws to Stop Cruelty to Animals, but none so sensible to introduce a bill to the parliament that passes a far more severe law to stop Cruelty against Humans!!!!!
We look forward to your understanding this whole issue with your hands to heart and head in the balance! We do not mind living in a poor but safe environment instead of the other way around.
Dr. Singh, we do not have Red Flashing lights that give us way through the crowded gutters like you do, we do not have VIP access to civil, legal, medical facilities like you do, we do not have bodyguards to ensure safety on the move like you do BUT we do have a family to go back to at home like you do!!!!
We Humanly Yours,
Siddharth Banerjee on behalf of the Citizens of India
Discuss the petition
This is only a criminal offence.
Tosser
Mr. Shukla and Mr. Neel...we all would be very interested to see your comments if that girl was your daughter!! shame on you....women are also human beings like yourself ...have a heart, least you can do is not comment like this and hurt the sentiments of other people!! if the police and govt. were to do anything they would have done that long ago...
god give our P.M MORE MANLY GUTS TO PASS THE RIGHT LAW, WHY IT DOSENT HAPPEN WITH YOUR PEOPLE'S FLY.MR CONGRESS DOn't BE LATE IN TAKING THE RIGHT DECESION.
I hope this is considered a criminal offence and that something gets done about this so that the woman did not die in vain.
You are right Farida Memon. This petition is an effort to make sure your voice is heard by the government that supposedly runs 'for the people, of the people and by the people of India'
Her life should be celebrated by putting the rapist and parents and friends and religives on nationali televions to find out why they commited such a terrible crime rather than just demonstrate, comment, etc etc. for a better humanity
The young and old who had seen partition all must take steps to get her to change India too much corruption ,all rapist should be hanged,
In some countries of the modern world if one steals, his hands are chopped off. A rapist, if proved guilty, should have his genitals chopped off. In case as it happened with this young woman, the criminals should have their genitals chopped off and then be further treated either by 'burning' as the woman desired or hanged.
Rabin Raut you dont make sense. After the rape??? find out how babies in arms became into rapist and robbers.
Please remove this picture, it goes against all that we are trying to achieve. Let's leave the girl in peace.
Needed amendments in legal justice delivery system should be brought in quickly.FIR lodging should be immediate may be on line.
Gurdial Atwal we need to find out how babies in arms became rapist???
our civic sense & eye view should be changed.....women are not only a comodity ,,,, to consume them.........
corruption in high places is the root cause of the illness that is ailing our country;we need honest and dynamic leaders to show us the future path.
Rajib Das who voted for leaders??? our country. when did God give you a country??? you and me can learn from each other about what it to be human . kindly add me.
If we have a law that Judge can order police to encounter (shoot) the rapist, then I think everybody will think 100 times before doing so. No education, no culture can change them.