The death of fr. stan swamy in a Mumbai hospital on July 5 has shone a powerful searchlight on the rot pervading the country’s law and order and justice systems. That the justice provision and administration system has collapsed is widely known. A mountainous 30 million cases are pending in shabby courts of law across the country. And it is not at all unusual for legal disputes to remain pending in courts for decades. Despite this, India’s ratio of judges per million citizens is a mere 21 cf. 107 in the US and 144 in communist China. Moreover, the country’s archaic civil and criminal justice procedure codes have defied all reform efforts notwithstanding reports of 277 Law Commissions and dozens of special committees. The outcome of this shocking neglect of the police-justice system is that accused, often haphazardly charged with criminal offences, languish in jail for years pending trial.

In this particular case Fr. Stan Swamy, an ordained priest of the Christian Jesuit order who was working for the upliftment of poor, neglected tribal citizens in the deep hinterland of rural Maharashtra, was charged of fomenting sedition under the Unlawful Activities Prevention (Activities) Act, 1967 (UAPA), as amended in 2008.

The background of the case is that on December 31, 2017, a group of activists, political leaders including two former high court judges convened in Pune to commemorate the centenary of the ‘Battle of Bhima Koregaon’ of 1818 when Dalit soldiers of the British army, took on and bested troops of the local Brahmin ruler, Peshwa Bajirao II. During the commemorative event, street plays and speeches were made criticising the BJP/NDA governments of Delhi and Maharashtra for anti-Dalit policies and discrimination. The celebrations were opposed by some forward caste groups and in violent clashes, one person was killed and several injured. Cases were filed against 16 prominent ‘leftist’ activists including Fr. Swamy under UAPA by the Central government-controlled National Investigation Agency.
Under the common law system of jurisprudence adopted by independent India, bail is the rule and jail the exception. But in this case, the accused have been detained in jail pending trial for terrorist acts, permitted under UAPA. That justices of several courts have accepted this argument is a marker of the extent to which the country’s independent judiciary has been suborned by the executive.

Fr. Swamy’s case is also of great importance because it highlights the in-built cruelty and corruption of the country’s prison system. Despite his advanced age (84) and ill-health, Fr. Swamy was denied ordinary humane facilities such as a straw to drink liquids, his prescribed medication and preferred hospital care. Fr. Swamy’s legal murder highlights the need for urgent prison reforms starting with regular audits of the country’s jails by independent citizens’ groups.

India’s democratic system of governance under rule of law is hollowing out and in its lethargic, police-justice system, the process is the punishment.

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