Priyadarshini Mattoo case: A victory for the legal system?

After 10 painfully long years justice has finally been done. Santosh Singh, the son of an ex-IPS officer who was accused of the brutal rape and murder of a young law student Priyadarshini Mattoo on January 23, 1996 has been sentenced to death.

By: Ritam Banati

After 10 painfully long years finally justice has finally been done. Santosh Singh, the son of an ex-IPS officer who was accused of the brutal rape and murder of a young law student Priyadarshini Mattoo on January 23, 1996 has been sentenced to death. Earlier the trial court judge while acknowledging the fact that Singh was guilty had acquitted him giving him the “benefit of doubt”. This was an open mockery of the system of justice in the country when due to lack of evidence or should we say due to the connections of the accused, he was set free. The judgement does have long-term repercussions on the legal system or it is at least expected that it does. The acquittal of Singh despite the DNA report and the broken visor alongwith an injurious hand, all holding him guilty, was a blot on the criminal justice system in India. Had the Jessica Lal case not hit the headlines and had the media not created a ruckus over the same, perhaps Mattoo’s case too would have been lost in the dustbins of history just like several others. The victory of prosecution in this case is less because of the way the legal system has functioned but more so because of the furore created by the press which exerted pressure on the system for justice to be done. There is not much to rejoice here. Though the High Court has convicted him yet this was only because of pressure tactics used by the public through the media. So this is in one sense a salutation to the media. But the sad truth is that this case should have been settled by the court as a matter of course rather than awaiting a push on the system to make it function efficiently. The court’s contribution has been not in the conviction that much as much as in awarding the sentence of death. It will be a triumph for the legal system when other Mattoos living or dead do not have to wait for so long for justice. When the legal system does not need a thrust to work, when a rapist has no place in the legal fraternity, when 10 years get reduced to 10 days, and this calls for a drastic overhaul of the system in the country. But nevertheless this victory has infused some hope in the minds and hearts of other such victims and their families. Whether or not this has ramifications on the working of the system will be seen when cases like that of Jessica Lal and Nitish Katara reach conclusion. When the influential prove too weak for the system`s strength. When death penalty in such cases become but a natural outcome rather than a matter of debate. When there is enough fear of the system instilled in a man whenever such a thought dares to even cross his mind.