BY BIKRAM VOHRA
Everyone is behaving as if Indian justice has been served unfairly for the first time. It has always been elitist. That is the core of an adversarial system. The better your lawyer the better your chances. OJ Simpson. Oscar Pistorius. Salman Khan.
Justice is blind. Justice is selective and if there are loopholes in it they can be used. Salman Khan used them. So be it.
So why so much surprise and raised eyebrows over his getting bail. He has the privilege of wealth, status and power and he used them to play the system. If the system gets played the flaws lie deep in the system.
Amidst all the righteous shrieking about injustice (hahahaha) how many of us even remember the guy who was killed.
What was his name? Got you.
I have no opinion on how the system works for you as against you. Of course, it is a game of skill but it is better than a kangaroo court. In fact, imperfect as it is, this is the best option. Like a democracy, warts and all it is our best hope for a day in court.
So, the due process does not offend me, because under it, even the poorest, weakest human link has a sliver of a chance.
What we should be offended by is the celebrations and crackers that were set alight. What was there to celebrate? You were guilty, Sir, not innocent.
What we should be offended by is the royal patronage of appearing en masse on the balcony like the flipping queen of England instead of just staying out of sight. You haven’t won a medal at the Olympics you have been sentenced to five years.
What we should be offended by is the 13 years of nothingness for the family of Mehboob Shaikh and where is the so called grant that was sanctioned. No one, not you or me gave a damn so let’s stop with the piety. Even Salman Khan whose supporters vocally scream his acts of generosity are unable to clarify why he hasn’t just looked after the family of the guy killed by his car.
What we should be offended by is the fact that the rich and the connected drink and drive in India. It is acceptable conduct.
What we should be offended by is the crappy prosecution that actually did not deem it fit to include the fourth member in the vehicle and he is a flipping eyewitness… Getting Kamaal Khan from the UK would have been a logical step.
How can he have been seen as unimportant.
The odds are Salman Khan will never go to jail even though he is guilty by law of culpable homicide. Sanjay Dutt killed nobody and he is inside… Kind of makes no sense.