Justice delayed is justice denied
Satyam Raju’s verdict was expected to be announced on 9th April. The court was expected to do that but we all knew what would happen – another new date! Tarik pe Tarik pe Tarik….. the saga continues. The verdict is now postponed to 9th April. This is the second date postponement after 23rd Dec.
But the most shocking aspect is that none of us were surprised; it was like as though we expected this only – a new date. The reasons for postponement are always flimsy; this time around it was because the the additional chief metropolitan magistrate B.V.L.N. Chakravarthi said he needed more time because of voluminous documentation at hand.
It was an open-and-shut case. With a self confession in hand about all the frauds committed, the question was only about how many years Raju could get incriminated for. Yet, Raju remains outside on bail. Al in all, Raju spent two years in a plush hospital after he complained of ‘chest pain’. And miraculously, a week before he was granted bail, he was hale and hearty. Is that how it is for others? There are others in prison who would have committed much smaller crimes. It is crony capitalism at its best – the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet , 3.6 years later. It stated that it’s chargesheet was ready but did not know which court to file it in and was waiting for clarification on the same from the Supreme Court.
The sick part about this whole thing is that Raju has turned around and denied his own self confessionary letter. In fact Raju went on to tell the Court in 2010 that he was not the author of that letter! Satyam is the best representation of crony capitalism in India and it is not the only one and will not be the only one too. As long as authorities bow down to money and power, many more such Raju’s will come and go. Unless there is fear of the law, crimes will happen with complete gumption.
Remember Bernard Madoff? He had run this ponzi scheme and was the mastermind of the largest financial fraud in USA. His scam came to light on 10th Dec, 2008 and he was arrested on 11th Dec, the next day. And on June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed. Have we ever heard or seen such quick justice ever delivered in India?