Legal awareness is sine qua non of faith in the judiciary

The recent rancour against the government and especially the Judiciary from the public watchdog ACAUT was something that was in the offing for a very long time and it finally happened. As mentioned in the earlier editorials of Eastern Mirror the legal system is still alien to many of the public in Nagaland as is the case in most of rural India. Along with the ignorance of the legal system that the country inherited from the British, the pendency of cases whichhas reached gargantuan numbers only alienates the common people more.

The outburst by the public watchdog in some waysmay have crossed all limits but if we think of it in the traditional Naga sense it is quite normal. When the public already distrust the system and the issue is being freely discussed in the public domain and even in social media what more harm does it do if such opinions get published in the newspapers. This in no way should be taken as complete loss of faith in the legal system prevailing in the country but displeasureof the many loopholes in the system of law enforcement.

The recent case of adulteration is not the first and will not be the last in the state. This has been ongoing and it first came to the knowledge of the public during the nineties when the number of vehicles in the state increased. There have been cases of adulteration not only in fuel but also in edible oils and other food items. Arrests for crimes are made and at times it is not exposed to the media. Even if it does, it somehow is forgotten even by the media in Nagaland since there are no follow-ups. The process of keeping a tab on the date of hearings, attending court which at times gets adjourned and the time consuming intricacies involved with the legal process may be the reason.

There is also an unwritten rule in Nagaland, that as long as the case is with the police, the media pursues the matter and on the other hand the police also give out information on the status of the case. However once it reaches the court it is somehow forgotten. Maybe there will be a mention when the culprits are sentenced by the court in case of a heinous crime. It is either too tedious to keep a tab or it becomes too personal and a bit nosy on part of the reporters, at least in the local context, to seek information and write about the case. So the public get to hear very little of the status of the case after the initial news of crime and arrests.

However, the biggest frustration of the public is the continued inefficacy by government agencies as well as law enforcing agencies that somehow lead cases to become infructuous. There have been reports of cases wherein evidence was not collected correctly as per the procedures of law and so were not admissible in court. In some cases there have been reports of evidence accidently tampered with. There have also been cases where independent witnesses were not present except for the personnel of the department concerned along with the police which ultimately weakenedthat particular case. Thereby cases arising out of big raids with due media coverage sometimes end up with neither proper evidence nor proper witnesses in the court of law.

Over the years, the public have come across many such cases and have become disillusioned with the legal system set up to protect them that instead protects trespassers of the law. It is time for our lawmakers too to retrospect and reinstate the judiciary in its rightful and correct pedestal in the minds of the people. It is also a time for the Honourable High Court to check on how the legal services and legal awareness campaigns are functioning in the state and how to make it more effective. Surely, better legal awareness amongst all sections of the society will result in a population that understands the Rule of Law,have faith in the Judiciary and are better equipped with law enforcing agencies too.