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No One Gains Anything From Delaying Court Proceedings

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Yamini Pustake Bhalerao
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Women Judges for High Court

With so many cases pending in the courts across our country, is it wise to keep delaying the court proceedings further? In 2015 Sarvjeet Singh Bedi got into an altercation with Jasleen Kaur at a traffic signal in Delhi. One thing led to another and things between the two got heated. Later Kaur accused Bedi of molestation, claiming that he passed obscene comments at her.

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Jasleen's post went viral and garnered attention from various celebrities and political leaders, and then it landed on a popular news channel’s desk. Bedi claimed in a post of his own that it was Kaur who had verbally abused him, and things were not as they seemed. As per a report in The Print, it has been three years since and Bedi lives on with the tag of being a criminal, as the court proceedings get delayed. What is the reason for such a delay you ask?

Kaur has not appeared for even a single hearing out of the thirteen so far. As per Bedi, Jasleen’s father claims that she has moved abroad for studies and hence is unable to come. The Delhi district court has now told Bedi that if the complainant does not appear in the next hearing scheduled in December, a non-bailable warrant will be issued in the name of Kaur.

If one could describe our justice system in two words, they would be burdened and stagnant.

With so many cases on its back, the Indian justice system is anything but swift and immediate. We do not know what happened between Kaur and Bedi that evening. All we have is two sides of the same story, but no concrete evidence to corroborate either. Hence we rely on our justice system to deem either of the parties guilty or innocent.

SOME TAKEAWAYS

  • A 2015 case where Jasleen Kaur accused Sarvjeet Singh Bedi of molestation, at a traffic signal, is still pending in court.
  • Kaur hasn't attended a single hearing in the last three years, while Sarvjeet's future is uncertain.
  • By delaying court proceedings, Kaur has robbed the justice system's precious time.
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But how can it do so, if Jasleen Kaur refuses to come to the court? Even if it is her story that is the correct one, how do we believe it, if she shows such reluctance to prove it in the court? We understand she has moved abroad for studies, but one finds it hard to believe that she couldn’t even manage to attend a single hearing of the thirteen so far.

Kaur’s recklessness is unfair to Bedi, whose life and future remain suspended in uncertainty. If he is indeed guilty, then he deserves to be in prison but if he is innocent, then it is a great injustice to live with and bear the social shame for no fault of his.

But so many other people may have borne the repercussions of Kaur’s lethargic attitude to the case, without her even realising.

The case has as of now blocked thirteen working sessions, without a single productive one. It means wastage of court’s precious time. It means depriving others in need of swift court proceedings. Further, it means delaying justice for others because the sessions of this case could have easily been used for other cases. We don’t know yet whether Kaur was in the right or wrong in accusing Bedi but she is indeed guilty of hindering our already slow legal system. If she ever comes across this article, we want her to know that we won’t judge her much for the outcome in her case. But we would indeed think very poorly of her if she wastes our justice system’s precious time any further.

Also Read : Indira Banerjee Appointed Judge Of Supreme Court

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section.  The views expressed are the author’s own.

Delhi district court Jasleen Kaur Sarvjeet Singh Bedi
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