Every time a news story about rape or sexual harassment comes out, we ask: Are women safe in India? People take out candle marches and demand stricter punishments for those guilty. Some laws have been changed to make things better, but are they really working? The simple answer is no. The laws are good enough, but the way they are applied is not.
A case that shows this clearly is State of Maharashtra vs. Pradeep Yashwant Kokade. It talks about how delays in carrying out a death sentence affect justice in India.
The Case Details
The victim was a young woman who worked as an associate in a company. Her job required her to work night shifts. On November 1, 2007, she was supposed to be picked up from her home by a cab. The cab driver, one of the convicts, came to pick her up with another man, who was her co-worker. Instead of taking her to work, they raped and murdered her. Her body was found the next day, showing signs of terrible violence.
Both men were arrested and charged with murder (Section 302 IPC), gang rape (Section 376(2)(g) IPC), and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B IPC). In 2012, a court in Pune sentenced them to death. The High Court and Supreme Court confirmed this decision. But even after the death sentence, there were long delays in carrying it out. These delays showed how slow and ineffective the system can be.
The Delays in Justice
This case had delays in three main areas:
Mercy Petitions: The convicts asked the Governor of Maharashtra and later the President of India for mercy. It took years for these petitions to be rejected because of slow administrative work.
Government Work: Even after the mercy petitions were rejected, it took a long time to issue the warrants for their execution. Letters went back and forth between offices, but nothing moved quickly.
Court Action: The Sessions Court took over 600 days to issue the execution warrants after the mercy petitions were rejected. This was another example of inordinate delay.
Affect of the Delay
The Supreme Court decided to change the death sentence to life imprisonment for 35 years without parole. They said that the long delays violated the convicts’ basic rights under Article 21 of the Constitution. While this decision was fair to the convicts, it raises questions about why the system allowed these delays in the first place. Supreme Court cannot be said to be in fault here as there were delays from the side of the Government. This case is of the year 2007 and it took us 17 years to reach the finality of the justice.
Are women safer in India even with strong laws? The sad truth is no. The laws are there, but they are not enforced properly. Delays in investigations, court cases, and punishments make criminals think they can get away with their crimes. Now add all these factors to slow and unempathetic bureaucracy in India which is slow, incompetent and lacks intent to do any work properly.
What Needs to Change
To make women safer, we need to:
Fix the System: Speed up investigations, court cases, and punishments by improving processes and ensuring better teamwork among government agencies.
Hold Authorities Accountable: Make sure officials who delay justice face consequences.
