Justice is blind

Themis, Goddess of Justice

Justice is blind; like the goddess above who represents justice. All are equal before law and justice is not partial to wealth, power, fame etc. However farcial it may sound that is the basic premise and the fundamental principle of justice in our country and in most other countries too. Ground realities may be far from this but hey we are in no ideal world.

What sparked off this post then?

Yesterday I realized that it is not just justice that is blind but the custodian Mr. Justice, who is also blind. I am speaking of the judges of the Chennai High court who have all been provided with Honda City cars for their official use. These white cars are distinctive with the ubiquitous red light on top and a plaque bearing the crest of the Tamilnadu Government with the legend "High Court Judge" at the bottom.

Every day these cars and their occupants are blind to every traffic signal and rules. It is so common to see the common man break the traffic rules but when the custodians of law do the same it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. You may argue that the driver of the car may not equal the judge, but have we not heard that the accomplice to the crime is equally guilty? Just because his lordship is sitting in the back seat with his leg crossed reading the newspaper, does not absolve him of any part of the crime his driver commits every day.

If you were to drive towards Adyar on the Greenways road in the morning at around 10 AM you would invariably see one judge after another jumping stop lines, yellow lines and traffic lights.

Father, forgive them; they see not what they do. Justice is blind.