The gravity of the crime in Kathua rape case is no less than other such cases. Infact, Khatua rape case assumes more seriousness because of regional hiatus and the dirty politics played after the crime was committed. All efforts were made to protect the "rapists" and even state machinery was used to prevent the justice to the victim family. The chargesheet filed in the court made it clear that it was a carefully planned strategy to out the minority nomadic community from Kathua. It was the darkest day in Indian history and blot on its cultural ethos tat even local leaders including ministers came forward to shield accused. Travesty of the justice was that even lawyers prevented crime branch officials to file a charge sheet in the case. Finally, Supreme Court had to intervene and case was transferred to Pathankot, a neighboring city in Punjab.
Capital punishment have been awarded to rapists even before the amended law was enacted. In Nirbhaya rape-murder case that shook the nation's conscious, death sentence were awarded to the accused and upheld by the Supreme Court. The apex court even rejected rejected the claims of not being present at the crime scene. In Kathua rape case, court has acquitted one prime accused on the alibi that he was not present at the crime scene. This doesn't conform to the spirit of top court ruling. Its often a clever ploy to hide the presence at crime scene by forging documents.
There have been fast-track justice in recent child rape cases and the Indore case is the fastest. In May 2018, a fast-track court in Indore awarded death sentence to rapist of a three-month old girl. Another trial court in Madhya Pradesh's Satna awarded a death sentence to a school teacher for raping a four-year-old girl. Madhya Pradesh was the first state to enact a law in December 2017, providing death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years of age. Later, many states followed the suit.
In 2013, a local court in Mumbai had awarded death penalty to a man for raping and killing a five-year-old girl . The verdict was delivered within six months of the crime.
However, trial delays make the death sentence ineffective, In the last 14 years, out of 371 prisoners on the death row, only 4 have been executed and out of these only one was rapist.
The long wait and legal wranglings sprinkle salt on victims and their families' wounds. In Nirbhaya rape case distraught mother pressed for a speedy execution of the death sentence. “There have been times when my faith in law and justice is restored but as the court hearings get deferred by I feel extremely hopeless,” Nirbhaya’s mother had told a newspaper.
She had to suffer more pain after Supreme Court reserved its order on the plea of two of the four condemned convicts seeking a review of its 2017 verdict upholding the death penalty.
The new law on sexual abuse of children will be useful only when instant and speedy justice is delivered and rapists are sent to gallows at he earliest .