For the last two days, I have been reading news of AAP MLAs demanding CCTV cameras in their office and homes. The said demand was accepted by the speaker, citing that they are under threat of being framed in false cases of molestation. At least 12 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party have been booked for offences ranging from cheating to molestation. The speaker said civil defence volunteers would also be posted outside the MLA offices as if this was not enough.
Surprisingly, the MLAs have reportedly said that they would refer to being under watch to prevent being framed. That means they are willing to give up some of their freedom to evade false cases. These cameras, whose cost would be borne by the Government of Delhi, would be installed in the offices of the MLAs regardless of whether they are in government or private establishments. The speaker of the Delhi assembly, Mr Ram Niwas Goel, further said many people come to their offices and make some level of baseless allegations against them.
But the Delhi assembly or speaker do not have the guts to admit the root cause of the problem. It is straightforward to allege molestation against anyone. The offence being non-bailable, the person is liable to arrest in the name of investigation. Something beats me: what sort of investigation is possible from the accused who has the right of silence in such a case? Unless the case of the prosecution is that the accused would try to influence the witness and there is a genuine fear for the life of the witness or someone dear to her.
That reminds me of a time in December 2014. I was meeting all prospective candidates for the cause of Men that I espouse. Through social media and weekly meetings, I had conjured the support of around 2000 men and their families for the cause. It was decided that unless a party/ candidate of the area is willing to discuss misuse in their manifesto/ election speech/ promise to work towards a law punishing malicious prosecution, we would not support them. If no candidate supports us, we will press NOTA. And 2000 families is a big number. I got most appointments because each candidate thought that these votes were from his constituency, but sadly, it was fragmented over 70 constituencies of Delhi. Which meant, on average, less than 30 families in each constituency.
I talked to them about how easy it is for a man to be charged with a false, malicious, vexatious or nefarious crime which he has never committed. And it is an uphill task for the man to prove his innocence. And even if he is acquitted of the charges, he would still bear the burns of litigation. This is because the general population assumes that the accused is mostly guilty. Even when you shout from the rooftop that “I am innocent” or “I am being framed” “some people would come up with “Kuch to kiya hi hoga”, “Bina aag ke dan nahi hota”, “Koi ladki shooting complaint nahi karti”.
Most astonishing was the response of these prospective MLAs of that time, whom I met over two dozen times. And I rightly assume that people who stand for such coveted posts are more intelligent than average. They have more experience in dealing with a cross-section of society and are mostly more aware of a host of issues. Their interest dwindled as soon as they realised that we were talking about roughly 30 families in their constituency. So, instead of supporting the cause, some thought/ tried bribing for the votes.
But the moot point is that when I met these candidates, without any exception, every candidate admitted that the laws were being grossly misused. The law related to dowry, molestation, rape and attempt to rape are mostly false. “We know it”, and most gave some stories of such things that happened to someone near or dear to them. One of them admitted to having settled such a matter by paying up. When I asked them to support the cause of men, most looked at me with aversion. Talk against females? Talk about false cases? The candidate’s public persona should be seen supporting the “Abla-Naari”, who could do no wrong.
I even tried meeting Arvind Kejriwal, who gave time thrice through different sources but always cancelled as he could not be seen siding with people who talk against women. Our plea to talk against “unscrupulous women” was useless. Talking against women would be political hara-kiri. And when the ashes of Nirbhaya have been aligned with the movement, how could they speak against a woman?
I recently met one MLA accused of molestation briefly. He smiled as he knew what I had come for. But in the end, he said, “Kapoor Sa’ab, aap samajhdaar ho. Hum to sirf Opposition ko hi target karenge.” Even when he acknowledged that anyone could face what he faced, he, like others, lacked the will to take the bull-borns.
Every citizen of Delhi should ask their MLA, “We are paying for your security. What about our security?” Because every man has the same risk of being entangled in false and vexatious complaints. Total crimes against women, as per the latest NCRB data, are 337922 across India, which is the third highest category of crimes, and its conviction rate is less than 50% of the average IPC crime conviction rate of 21.3%. Attempt to Rape is even worse at 14.7%, which means more than 85% of the accused are acquitted of the charges by the end of the trial. Yet, due to their misconstrued electoral mathematics, the country’s Lawmakers are acting like “Dhritarashtra”, and the Real “AAM AADAMI” is living the prime of his life as an accused. I want to raise this question if the Rape Victim is getting compensation from the State, what is the State doing for all those acquitted in such false cases?
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