Laws alone cannot ensure rule of law
A scarecrow is a figure
usually made of bamboo bars, straw or rugs. Dressed in old clothes, it
looks like a person. Often it has a painted face made of a pumpkin skin.
The scarecrow is put in a cornfield to frighten birds away. The
innocent, simple birds are really scared and they don't dare to come
near the field. But some birds strong and greedy do not get frightened.
They are often found not only to come near the scarecrow, but also to
perch on its arms and head to rest after eating the grain to their
hearts' content. Seeing these birds enjoying food and security, some
other birds ask themselves, "They are having good meals. The scarecrow
does not scare them. Why should we be fools and starve?" So all the
birds join in the feast.
A law is made with the express intent to
help people in getting justice through a legal system, thereby aiming
to achieve the "greatest happiness of the greatest number" (Priestley:
Essay on Government). But very often the law fails to serve this
purpose. The innocent, simple, illiterate and the poor cannot access
legal procedure because it is highly expensive, complicated and
time-consuming to them. So they look upon law from a distance as a
frightening scarecrow. On the other hand, some people in societylike
those strong, greedy birdstame, twist or tarnish a law and use it for
their own benefits. Some others follow suit and seize the opportunity
too. Thus the law is made into a no-more frightening, rather a tattered
scarecrow. It is this second group that is mainly responsible for making
many laws ineffective. Not only that, they make law an accomplice in
fulfilling their greed for power and possessions.
Who are the
major actors in this grab-all-you-can chase? They are well known in
society. They are strong, influential people belonging to all the
stakeholder groups lawmakers, law-protectors and enforcers. Let's see how
they are going on this wrecking spree.
1. Some lawmakers and
decision-makers have an implied intent behind making a law. The purpose
here is to protect the interest of, or punish, a group or section or
class of people. Laws like Special Powers Act, Indemnity Act and the
like are examples in question. These laws more often than not fail to
ensure justice and equity for the greatest happiness of the greatest
number. Rather they often tantamount to becoming instruments of misuse
or abuse of power.
2. Some lawmakers fail to see whether a law is
justifiable. As a result, its breach is not normally considered
punishable by the enforcers. Cars are found parked right under the 'No
Parking' signs in front of some shopping centers. If the law here is
strictly enforced, there will hardly be any buyers coming to these
shops, as there are no parking lots around. Again, people are found
passing water on the edges of the city footpaths in broad daylight, as
there are hardly any public toilets on the crowded city roads.
3.
Some law enforcers are negligent in performing their duties. All the
law enforcement agencies and personnel are to see that the laws are
enforced, so that their intended goals are achieved. But this often does
not happen. With the blessing of their saviors and godfathers,
musclemen, terrorists and extortionists are often found freely, often
defiantly moving in society. Water bodies and land in big cities are
being grabbed by a powerful section of people. A bus stops in the middle
of the road to collect passengers right under a traffic policeman's
nose. Another traffic policeman is found allowing a flag car to make a
U-turn ignoring a 'No U-Turn' sign. In many offices files do not get
moving from one table to another until they are pushed either by an
underhand deal or by a powerful hand from above. Wild birds are sold
openly on the city roads. Your phone line has been out of order for a
week or more, but you can get it fixed soon by generous bakshish or by a
phone call from a powerful uncle. Polythene bags, the culprits causing
serious environmental degradation, are now more seen than they were
before the ban. These are just the tip of the iceberg.
4. Some
bureaucrats follow their own code of conduct. They do not listen they
only order and in doing so they naturally follow just one principle,
that is 'Doing Things Top Down'. A bureaucrat is often heard to say to a
person: "Do you know who you are talking to? You are talking to the
sarker." So he is the Law and he means it. Hence almost all the cases of
recruitment, promotion, transfer, posting, etc are carried out through
top-down orders.
Often these unfair, unjust and illegal activities of the so-called protectors and enforcers of law are carried out ex parte more speedily and more smoothly (?) with the help of some auxiliary force or bahini, ie the armed cadres of musclemen and a section of students. The result is: the general people who are often denied justice and whose fundamental and constitutional rights are not often protected become demoralized, frustrated, outraged. Then they develop deep disrespect for law-a debasing, depraving situation that makes them almost believe that the only law is the absence of law, that a person is law, that might is right. To them law is nothing but a mockery of justice, a big joke, just like a scarecrow in a cornfield. As a result, there exists a free-for-all everywhere in society. And hell is let loose.
So where do we go from here? It is no easy job on
the part of the lawmakers and the law-enforcers alone to contain this
orgy of lawlessness. This is because both the cause and the effect of
this situation, if expressed in one word, are corruption that thrives on
self-interest and personal aggrandizement. Hence the way forward cannot
be any short-cut, one-off, legal measures rather it calls for a
long-term process of raising awareness about, and educating general
people on, the benevolent power of law that can render justice and
equity to all the deserving people irrespective of class, caste and
creed. This is doable. Make the study of basic laws compulsory in a
graded way in our curriculum primary through higher secondary. Side by
side, continue making legal education and practice both means and end of
social good through the law curriculum followed at the country's
universities and colleges. Only then will people in general develop,
over time, a sense of duty and responsibility, build their character and
respect law. Only then will people appreciate and accept what Thomas
Fuller said 300 years ago, "Be you never so high, the law is above you."
