Speed up prosecution for fair play’s sake
One of the biggest reasons for judicial inefficiency in the country is that trials - and retrials of people already acquitted or convicted - last for decades, often owing to political guidance of the prosecuting agency. A telling case is that of P K Thungon, who became India’s youngest chief minister, at age 29, in Arunachal Pradesh. He was charged with graft for his role as a junior minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government and the case dragged on for 21 years, till, this Monday, he was acquitted. Prosecution, including trials, arguments and judgement, must proceed and conclude fast, both to prevent the innocent suffering under a cloud of suspicion and the guilty plying their trade unrestrained.
The revived case against Lalu Prasad, chief minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997, is another murky example. The fodder scam, of which he is accused, took place in undivided Bihar (today’s Bihar and Jharkhand) over 1988-96, when funds from the animal husbandry department were mis-invoiced and pocketed by scores of powerful people, including, allegedly, by Lalu and his predecessor Jagannath Mishra. Of the total six cases in which Lalu was an accused, one was dropped, another acquitted him, a third found him guilty and sent him to jail, and judgement is pending in the remaining three. He abdicated his chief ministerial position in 1997, served two brief terms in jail, where he was bailed out, was disqualified as a sitting MP in 2013 and sentenced as a non-contestant in elections till 2019.
Article 20(2) of the Constitution says no person can be prosecuted for the same crime twice. The Supreme Court should fast-track hearing Lalu’s appeal against his conviction, instead of declaring the fodder scam to be multiple conspiracies, one for each district treasury of Bihar and Jharkhand... Source : Economics Time
1) Acquitted (बरी कर दिया) - Acq-u-it-ted
Meaning - free (someone) from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty - Verb
Synonyms - absolve, clear
Antonyms - accuse, blame
Example - The jury acquitted him of all charges.
2) Convicted (दोषी ठहराया) - Con-vic-ted
Meaning - declare (someone) to be guilty of a criminal offence by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law - Verb
Synonyms - imprison, adjudge
Antonyms - free, release
Example - He was convicted of filing false income tax returns.
3) Prosecuting (अभियोग) - Pro-c-cute-ing
Meaning - institute or conduct legal proceedings against (a person or organization) - Verb
Synonyms - indict, contest
Antonyms - halt, liberate
Example - The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel.
4) Suspicion (संदेह) - Sus-pi-cion
Meaning - a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true - Noun
Synonyms - intuition, feeling
Antonyms - belief, certainty
Example - Suspicion is the poison of friendship.
5) Plying (चलने वाली) - Ply-ing
Meaning - (of a vessel or vehicle) travel regularly over a route, typically for commercial purposes - Verb
work steadily with (a tool) - Verb
Synonyms - dispense, employ
Antonyms - disregard, ignore
Example - The taxi driver is plying for hire.
6) Murky (बदली का) - Mur-key
Meaning - dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist - Adjective
Synonyms - dark, gloomy
Antonyms - apparent, bright
Example - The light was too murky to continue playing.
7) Fodder (चारा) - Faw-der
Meaning - food, especially dried hay or straw, for cattle and other livestock - Noun
give fodder to (cattle or other livestock) - Verb
Synonyms - barley, corn
Example - Fodder crops are used to feed livestock.
8) Conspiracies (षड्यंत्र) - Cons-pira-seas
Meaning - a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful - Noun
Synonyms - plot, scheme
Antonyms - ignorance, loyalty
Example - When I am online, I often feel there is a conspiracy by government organizations to track my every click.
9) Crocodilian (मगरमच्छ) - Croc-di-lianMeaning - a large predatory semiaquatic reptile of an order that comprises the crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharial. Crocodilians are distinguished by long jaws, short legs, and a powerful tail - Noun
relating to crocodilians - Adjective
Example (English) - The pretty woman cried crocodile tears when the policeman tried to give her a ticket for driving too fast.
Example (Hindi) - जब कार बहुत तेज गति से चलाने के लिए पुलिसकर्मी ने उस खूबसूरत महिला पर जुर्माना करना चाहा तो वह मगरमच्छी अांसू बहाने लगी।
Now considering the article above as a Reading Comprehension question, try to answer the following -
- What is a retrial in court, how long does it take to get a retrial?
- Why do one has take a retrial?
Given below are some words to check your vocabulary you can make sentences with those words in the comment section which will be reviewed by us.
- Revived
- Unrestrained
- Appeal
- Treasury
