Brutality shown towards children in the country cannot and should not be tolerated
There are some very compelling arguments for ending capital punishment, not just in India but across the world. The basic premise is that any state has no right to lawfully take the life of any person and prison is seen as a place to rehabilitate the offenders. This is the core argument of human rights activists. And in many European countries, capital punishment is a thing of the past. Even Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, was sentenced to just 21 years in jail. This we are told forms the basis of any civilised society. But the counter argument for India has to be given that India is clearly nowhere near the levels of civilisation required where one could consider abolishing death penalty. And India’s stance on capital punishment at international fora is a realisation of this fact. The amount of abuse that is directed towards the most vulnerable in society must make your authorities wake up. Child rapists and murderers should face the gallows — and face them quickly. No matter how you look at it, these are crimes against humanity.
The ununderstandable murder of a seven-year old Pradyuman Thakur in the toilet of a Gurugram school, will boggle one’s mind. That such an incident can take place inside the premises of a school, where children should be safe, just highlights how unsafe India is towards children. Of course, some may argue that the amount of noise generated by this murder is due to the fact that it occurred to ‘people like us’, and the same applies to the brutal murder of journalist Gauri lankesh. Yet, unless the state starts imposing and executing exemplary punishment to such crimes, the situation will not improve. It will only get worse. Of course, another critical aspect here is the snails pace with which justice is dispensed in this country, which allows criminals, who commit such brutal crimes, to believe that they will get away with murder because public memory is only so long.
But the fact is that the state has been extremely slow is carrying out death sentences, and while no official figures have been released, there are thousands of individuals in prison awaiting their fate. Several high-profile death penalty cases, such as that of the December 16 gang-rapists have been upheld by the Supreme Court. It would be prescient of the Cabinet to quickly either recommend commutation or executive if the President has been petitioned. More often than not, convicts find themselves in limbo because the Government dilly-dallies at this point. This must not and should not happen. The Ministry of Home Affairs should act forthwith towards signing the death warrants of such individuals. Nobody wishes death on anyone else and the death penalty should only be used in as the law states, ‘the rarest of rare’ cases. India must not walk down the path of brutalist states such as Saudi Arabia and China where executions are carried out for small crimes. But in cases like the brutal incidents of December 16, and clearly in this brutal murder of Pradyuman Thakur, justice must be seen to be done. The only justice is death penalty. Nobody, but nobody deserves the fate that he suffered.