My knowledge on Indian Law is almost -Nil-. All the knowledge I have gathered is mostly from the movies or media and a minuscule from hearsay, reading and practical experiences. So be it. This doesn't mean, that, I shouldn't ask questions in my blogspot. Questions that shamelessly reveal my ignorance. Questions on issues that I think are contradictory.
Now, coming to the question, Is an arrest under NDPS Act bailable?
If yes, why did the media create so much hype and called it 'Non-bailable' when Rahul was arrested?
If No, why is he granted a bail now?
It is ironic that excluding the lawyers, judges and law students of our country, almost 98% of the population (or should I say 99.99%?) are completely ignorant and illiterate in the subject of law. We don't have to know the intricacies, but isn't it our duty/right to know the basics?
We are not civil engineers, but we still learn to measure land, calculate square foot, do some mason work
We are not doctors, but we still use Crocin, Cold Act, inject insulin, decide to take a vitamin
We are not electrical engineers but we fix our fuse, change bulbs, connect wires
We are not a CA/MBA, but we manage our finance, calculate ROI, Save tax
We are no psephologist but we analyze and talk so much about elections
When we take so much effort or should I say, effortlessly learn the basics of other Sciences, engineering and art, why do we ignore law so much?
Of course, We do know things like
When you are over 18, you can take decisions on your own, Section 420 is for cheating A little on fundamental rights - A little here and there...
But have we ever thought of knowing anything more? If suddenly, one day, police comes to arrest me, yes, I am knowledgeable enough to ask for a warrant, but after that? I wouldn't even know what section, if it is bailable? I wouldn't even know how an FIR or a court notice looks like.
If Income Tax comes in for a raid, do we know that there is a limit to the amount of gold we can possess? Do we know that the limit varies for men and women and depends on their marital status?
IMO, Basic literacy on law, should be made mandatory.
But, so what if the govt. is not doing that? Schools can take it up as part of Civics lessons. Don't they teach computer science and Java programming to VII- IX std. kids?
Still, so what if the schools don't teach, Can't we take an initiative and get some awareness just as we learnt to fix a fuse or take medicines?
I really wish the day is not far away!
Getting back to what I started with, it is ironic, that in such a law-illiterate country, we are all aware of one un-written law.. All are not equal in front of the eyes of law. Sahil Zaroo is not equal to Rahul Mahajan.
Quoting my favorite lines from George Orwell’s Animal Farm:
'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than the others'.
18 comments:
Psephologist - am hearing this word for the first time. Thanks for helping me learn this.
A thought provoking article. The glaring imbalance in our school curriculum is very well pointed out here. We learn Mathematics and Sciences in our school - why Law, Arts, Music, Sports etc. receive very little attention is something we need to think about - the development of a person should not be skewed. Focus of education should not be only to enable us earn.
badari,
and I heard it for the first time in Grandmaster show in Vijay TV yesterday ;-) used it!
yeah, our curriculum is indeed skewed..even before the kids learn to read time or realise they have only 5 fingers in a hand, they are made to race against time and start counting "7 in the mind, 3 in the hand, after 7..."
btw, better late than never... 'Welcome to my post!'
a bailable offence is one in which a person who is arrested by a police officer or is brought before a court, shall be released on bail by the police officer or court, upon furnishing suitable bail bond etc. Bailable offences are generally less serious ones. So, a person accused of such offences can demand bail as a matter of right.
A non-bailable offence, on the other hand, is one in which granting bail is purely the discretion of the court. these are offences which are serious in nature. if the court feels that enlarging the accused on bail would lead to tampering of evidence etc., bail would be refused. further in case of habitual offenders, bail cannot be granted for such offences! Rahul Mahajan was accused of a non-bailable offence..hence the hype in the media. but non-bailable does not mean bail can never be granted.
and yes, the animal farm quote is so true!
did u know there is a legal maxim in latin "ignorantia juris non excusat" which means ignorance of law is no excuse!! thats why u have vakils to "help" u out :D
and i'm strongly against this idea of introducing law in schools n all. apparam enga thozhil enna aagaradu? :D
and finally, these words of Mr.Bumble in Oliver Twist are so true - the law is an ass! :)
mukund: ah! the lawyer speaking!!!
but ya! do agrree.....a little bit of the law must be known to all of us...but surely not by inflicting upon us as an exam. Would never want a question in my civics exams...rahul was taken to the court for blah blah blah....is his offence bailable or not?
and ya! very sad that influence can buy you decisions....to think that he would have become a MP had this issue not come out!
Yadhvi - that was thought provoking. If there is one reason I'm not interested in knowing the basics of law is because i'm scared of the enormity and complexity involved.Many a times, there is not going to be an ideal situation that the rules can be applied from the book directly. But I dont think thats a valid excuse for not knowing the basics.
Nevertheless,I love reading Artha shastra :-).
From the movie Philadelphia,
Denzel washington asks
'What do you love about the law?'
and Tom hanks replies
'It's that every now and again - not often, but occasionally, you get to be a part of justice being done. That really is quite a thrill when that happens.'
yadhvi,
neenga recent-aa "tamizhan" padam patheengala???
"If there is one reason I'm not interested in knowing the basics of law is because i'm scared of the enormity and complexity involved.Many a times, there is not going to be an ideal situation that the rules can be applied from the book directly."
Knowledge and job-oriented training is totally different. I believe Yadhvi is trying to point out just this in this post - eduction is NOT for doing a job. It is all about expanding our knowledge. But our current system is not oriented towards that.
Interesting post ... I really wish I knew more about some aspects of the law specifcally :-)
have just added a post by the same title :)
Mukund,
First, Thanks on letting us know the difference between bailable and non-bailable.
Second, thanks for referring to my blog in your post..so, I did kindle some thought eh? :)
Now, I sue you for stealing my title - Intellectual property(copyright) ;-) and I know there are enough disclaimers/disclosures in blogger which prevents me from doing that!
kaushik,
agree..not another burden on students.. It can be a GK or Moral Science class like.. with GDs and Debates.
Am sure kids will enjoy that!
Srivat,
True.. Rules cannot be applied from books directly! vaguely remember that Pekingese dog-bus-rules-conductor-cold night story we learnt in English!
balaji,
Aaama illa? Ilaya Thalapathi idhai dhaan solli irupaar illa? appo en moonjiyum stamp a varuma?
and oru mokkai joke thonudhu!! Vijay (anjal)thalai ya irukka othukitte ore padam idhu dhaan! eppadi?
PS:Ange irundhu kal erinja en mela padaadhe...
badari,
very true!
krishis,
specifically what? ungaluku dharma adi vizharadhai ellaam law control pannaadhu :-)
u are most welcome to sue....nalla vakil venum'na sollunga :p
Hello , I'm Karthi .. Reading your blog for the first time .. good subject :)
Keep doing :)
- Karthi
Hi Karthi,
Thanks a lot and welcome to my post!
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