Salman Khan’s sentence

By convicting Salman Khan,India’s judiciary has demonstrated that its legal system is there for all citizens to follow

Indian actor Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in prison on May 6 by an Indian court on account of charges tied to a case dating back to 2002, which had resulted in the death of a homeless man who had been run over by the actor’s car while he was driving. While the case had lingered on for around 13 years, the decision shows that despite its flaws, the Indian judicial system is robust enough not to be swayed by public sentiment or by the fact that an important personality was in the dock. With the conviction, India’s judiciary has demonstrated that its legal system is there for all citizens to follow, regardless of popularity or socioeconomic status. While this is the basic tenet of any legal system in any country — with ideally all laws applying to all citizens at all times and any violation, major or minor, subjecting one to the legal proceedings set out by the system in that particular country — we often find that wealth and social status often buys reprieve for the affluent.

The Salman Khan case provides a stark contrast to our own judicial system where the influential often get away with major crimes. That the affluent in our country have the facility to do so highlights the reprehensible concept that the law is ‘optional’ for those with connections. We live in a time when the legal system’s flaws have been completely exposed — the idea that those with influence and status can be excused from the law resonates everywhere, from within the ranks of traffic constables to higher-ups in the government. Some people have the facility to buy their way through cases, while others simply disclose a connection to someone of a high rank to get their cases dismissed. And, in the event that a police officer attempts to work honestly, we often hear that the individual concerned has been transferred. Everyone knows this, but we continue to believe that is just the way things have to remain in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th,  2015.

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