Curb the disillusionment with the traditional rule of law

Curb the disillusionment with the traditional rule of law

Context: We discuss about how India is aligning and updating its laws and law enforcement methods.

Background:
• We highlight the concerns raised with new, quicker methods like bulldozers and encounters, which might bypass fair legal processes while emphasizing the importance of following traditional legal procedures to ensure justice and fairness.

What is the importance of Law in Society?
• Laws in Indian Constitution define what is right and wrong, it sets boundaries and helps maintain order and stability.
• It ensures fairness and upholds principles of justice and equality.
• It allows for Governance to go hand in hand with modern day societal needs and realities. For example, as seen in Jan Vishwas Act.
• It ensures that every citizen is treated fairly under the rule of law.

What are the changes we are seeing in India?
• Amendments and replacements, such as the Jan Vishwas Act and Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, target outdated laws, reducing compliance burden, and rationalizing penalties.
• The Jan Vishwas Act updated 42 old laws, including the Indian Post Office Act and Railways Act, to make them more relevant to current times. The act aims to ease the business environment by minimizing legal burden and fear of imprisonment for minor offenses.
• Government addresses infirmities, ensuring laws align with modern thinking, promoting trust-based governance, and facilitating business activities.

What are the crisis with the rule of law?
• The rule of law in India is facing a crisis of credibility, where its integrity is being questioned.
• The use of bulldozers and encounters for policing, replacing traditional investigation methods, raises concern about bypassing due process.
• Examples from Poonch district highlight the potential for abuse, leading to violence, protests, and calls for thorough investigations and accountability.

Abridged Rule of Law Challenges and Cautionary Approach
• Traditional vs. Abridged Rule of Law: Traditional rule of law ensures uniformity, predictability, and normative fidelity through a defined process, while the abridged model seeks quick and reactive justice.
• Crude Nature of Abridged Rule: Abridged rule of law, seen in encounters and \'bulldozer\' actions, risks making justice arbitrary, with targets chosen based on majoritarian dictate or cryptic information.
• Government\'s Stand: The current government favors the traditional rule of law, emphasizing the dangers of a growing trend towards shortcuts and advocating caution in adopting an abridged model.

Way Forward
• Ensuring fairness requires sticking to established legal procedures rather than quick, forceful methods.
• There is need to replace encounters and bulldozer demolitions with proper investigations involving evidence gathering and due process.
• Continue updating laws, like through the Jan Vishwas Act, to keep them relevant and fair.
• Promote law enforcement which sticks to principles of legality, necessity and non-discrimination.