Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Equal treatment for all in the eyes of judiciary is the cardinal rule that guides jurisprudence.
Reports from Hyderabad show that a lower court there has made a farce of this rule in dealing with prisoners under trial, B Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju, facing criminal prosecution for fraud in Satyam accounts.
The court has reportedly issued orders on February 6 asking Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda prison authorities to treat them as special class prisoners on the basis of the local Collector’s report that they were used to a high lifestyle. They should be accorded with the same during their stay in the jail, the court has ordered.
All the hooligans and economic offenders in this country are used to high lifestyle and if courts use to issue such orders then only those should repent who have not yet been able to commit such high profile offences.
The Judiciary of this country must make every Indian know as to who has equipped it to allow selected number of under trial prisoners accused of fraud and breach of trust to enjoy their lives in jail matching their private lifestyle.
If any such law is present, anywhere in the country, the Apex Court should react on that and ensure that India does not become a sanctuary of criminals with the help of law that puts poor criminals in the hell of a jail while granting luxury to moneyed criminals in the same jail in stark contravention of the laws against discrimination.