The outburst of public rage against the repeated failure of the police and legal machinery to check and punish violence against women, triggered by the brutal rape and attack on a 23-year-old student and her friend, seems to have succeeded in getting an otherwise reluctant system to get its act together. The Delhi Police is expected to file a charge-sheet as early as today or tomorrow.
The critically-injured paramedical student who put up a heroic battle for nearly two-weeks succumbed to organ failure at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore in the early hours of 29 December.
The focus will now shift to the Delhi Police’s report of their investigation and the framing of charges by the court against the six men who have been charged with rape and murder.
Delhi police personnel guard the site of the funeral of the gangrape victim. PTI
“The Bar Council of Delhi is with the victim’s family. Three of our members have offered their legal services to assist the family as public prosecutors,” R S Goswami, chairman of Delhi’s Bar Council told Firstpost.
The Delhi High Court has approved the creation of five fast-track courts for rape cases to ensure speedy justice to the victims. As on October, Delhi’s six district courts have 963 rape cases pending. (Read full report here)
The mass outrage set off by the brutal attack on a young girl and her friend on the night of 16 December has led to intense public-scrutiny on the investigative and legal system that have been grossly ineffective in acting decisively and swiftly to punish violence against women.
“We are holding a debate with judges, advocates, police and the media on steps that need to be taken to speed up the trial, how public law and order can be maintained and how technical and legal hiccups can be overcome in order to ensure justice to the victim at the earliest,” said Goswami, speaking to Firstpost on Sunday.
Delhi Police’s filing of the chargesheet will be followed by the court framing charges against the accused, preparing the stage for the trial to begin.
