SUNITA VAKIL The kind of judicial verdict given in the Ruchika case has exposed the way our legal system has been reduced to a joke by the rich and mighty. Ruchika Girhotra was all of 14 years old when she was molested by then Inspector General of Police SPS Rathore. She and her family were systematically hounded for daring to lodge a complaint. Not only was the victim, a budding tennis player, suspended by the state tennis association but was also expelled from school for no apparent reason. Several cases of car theft were registered against her teenaged brother. Unable to bear the harassment, she was driven to suicide three years later. Meanwhile, Rathore continued to be promoted and rose to the rank of DGP. It is indeed a travesty of justice that while social stigma imposed on Ruchika compelled her to end her life, the accused was not only allowed to continue in his position but was also rewarded with promotions. Equally shocking is the fact that he just got a rap on the knuckle whereas the victim's family lived in agony for over 19 years. The frivolous punishment clearly exposes the loopholes in our criminal justice system making it an object of ridicule. Obviously, justice, gender equality and female freedom are just tall claims made by our polity. What kind of society do we live in which allows crimes against women to be condoned or denied justice with casual impunity? Manipulations of investigations and a lenient view towards high and the mighty are nothing new in our country. Though, occasionally, tragic incidents like that of Ruchika's shake us with impotent rage for the sheer helplessness of it all. But public memory tends to be short. We shout, we fret, we fume, but ultimately we conveniently tend to forget. Where there should be an intolerable outrage against the perpetrators of such crimes, there is instead denial and passive acceptance of the way things are. On the one hand, we boast of India's development, but on the other, our judicial and legal systems and processes that should be the basis of equitable progress, are not up to the mark. The kind of punishment handed out to Rathore after 19 years of the incident is hardly anything to be happy about as it indicates that there is something drastically wrong with our criminal justice system that allows influential people to get away with any crime. We used to take pride in our civilisational ethos and democratic institutions. But a moral rot seems to have set in our decadent society. There is corruption in high places. Criminals are not being punished on time. In most cases delivery of justice takes such a long time that the victim is not alive to see the guilty being indicted. Moreover, criminals are masquerading as politicians. What we find today is a defeated democracy, corrupt bureaucracy, a distorted system and a deformed polity. The shame is that people like senior police officers, bureaucrats, politicians, judges, and school administrators who should have been at the forefront of efforts to indict Rathore, have proved themselves to be worse culprits by colluding with the accused to whitewash his crimes. But this is not just about the travesty of justice. It is also about the unholy nexus between the criminals in uniform and our elected members, not to speak of the corrupt bureaucracy. It is astounding that a senior police officer, charged with the protection of people, played with the life of a young girl who had no means to protect herself. This is not an isolated example of police highhan-dedness where officers seek to silence the victims of their misdeeds. In their quest for personal gains, they routinely violate human rights making a mockery of the law. What's more, political parties give a political colour to the tragedy by indulging in blame games after being exposed. There is no accountability each time a crime of this nature is committed. The state administration passes the buck on to the centre which is more or less unconcerned. Even the so-called guardians of law and order as seen in the recent case are sometimes the culprits themselves. In order to administer the law objectively, all concerned including the school authorities and other bureaucracies that attempted to evade justice should be punished. Let us not forget the judiciary is also responsible in that the trails go for ages. As a result, the accused take advantage of antiquated laws and justice is rarely done. Politicians on their part are the last ones to indict criminals who support or are part of the establishment. Most importantly, we should not forget that Rathore was able to get away with the crime because those in politically powerful positions abused their authority to cover the convicted. In order for the trial to reach a fair conclusion, they should also be held accountable. While no words of sympathy can lessen the trauma of the victim's family, bringing all those responsible for the cover up to justice will alone provide a healing touch. It is time the government overhauled the judiciary system and introduced the much needed police reforms to ensure justice in the true sense of the term. The relevant laws have to be enforced to bring an attitudinal change in the society. Beyond responding to the cries of women for justice, plugging the loopholes in the existing laws also merits consideration. The time has come for a paradigm shift in thinking so that women live in this country with dignity and without fear. The writer is a freelance columnist.