'Delayed justice destroys the entire system'

It is such a right saying: "Justice delayed is not only justice denied but also destroys the entire system". The decision of the country's apex court to complete a time-bound trial on the cases filed against the lawmakers is a welcome one. The Supreme Court has also issued guidelines to all the High Court Chief Justices to respond in a week on the impending stays on lawmakers' cases.

The bench headed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court Judge N V Ramana and others pronounced that it is an obligatory responsibility of the people to know about their leaders and about their honesty to whom they voted and sent them as their representatives to the temples of democracy. Further, they have stated that this step is very essential to bring limpidness in all constitutional institutions that are meant for the service of the people.

This dynamic step of the Supreme Court for the speedy disposal of cases on lawmakers is due to the PIL filed by an advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya in 2016 on the impending trial on lawmakers. The Supreme Court has begun its trial in September 2020 and appointed a senior advocate Vijay Hansaria as an Amicus Curie to collect the information about the cases on lawmakers. According to the Amicus Curie, there are 4000-odd cases excluding ACB cases and money laundering cases of the same. This gigantic number of cases reflects how the lawmakers have become as lawbreakers.

The MLAs, MPs and other people's representatives are extensively abusing every orbit of the governance and amassed wealth. The lawmakers that are facing charges are simply enjoying their elegant life with the help of political shields and getting stays on their charges by hiring reputed advocates and paying them a hefty fee.

The politics have become a rehabilitation camp for all the defaulters and parties are allotting tickets to them in the want of power. These people after entering their feet in the shoes of political leaders are utilizing every opportunity to snatch the money and assets disproportionately. After sitting prettily on the heap of money, they are using the same money for their cakewalk victory in elections.

It is ill conceivable that politics has become a shortcut to increase wealth instead of service. That is the reason for the elections in our country managed rather than the people who participated. After getting elected the lawmakers irrespective of their position they are realizing the Bob Corker remark "I am a lawmaker but I don't like laws". These elected people do not know much about the constitution on which they take an oath and try to breach the same deliberately.

The country populace has seen politicians like Gulzarilal Nanda, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Tanguturi Prakasham Pantulu, unselfish leaders who have left their benchmark for honesty in politics. However, today's politicians are "lilliputs" in all fronts when we compare with them. I am very keen to quote an interesting post that I have seen in National Post ( The Canadian Press) dated May 27, 2013, in which the editor posed a query to its readership 'Is honesty still part of politics asked a question? " .

However, this is a very good attempt of the country's apex court that has been instigated to act on lawmakers and revealed that it is not only for picking out the leaders having criminal history but also to cleanse the constitutional offices occupied by the accused politicians that are barricading the trial with their influence. This spirited move of the country's esteemed court has already sent jitters into the spines of crime record having politicians irrespective of their political outfits and power.

Hope it will happen in near sight and the accused lawmakers will face the trial earlier than expected and they will come out as acquitted or as convicted. This will surely make the ruffians think twice to leap into politics and propel the honest to become lawmakers. However, lack of any stringent action criminal record having lawmakers in politics may realise this naked truth "Honesty and politics always uncomfortable bedfellows". Isn't it?