It is completely unacceptable that not one trial has been held for any of the nearly 13,000 people arrested in 1,500 cases filed for pre-election political violence towards the end of 2013.
Most of the people arrested in those violence-related cases secured bail because of reasons such as delays in filing charge-sheets and failure to produce witnesses.
With some 7,000 people now arrested in the 644 recent cases brought for blockade and hartal related violence in the month from January 3 this year, urgent attention must be paid to rectifying the factors delaying cases being heard.
One factor making this problem worse is that police time is wasted by pressures on them to arrest opposition leaders in arson cases, even in the absence of tangible evidence that they perpetrated the acts,
While we lack sympathy for political leaders of any stripe who inflame an atmosphere that causes violence, it is unconscionable that the justice system should be clogged up by cases that cannot be progressed. This is particularly so at a time when it is apparent police have not been promptly progressing cases against people who were actually caught or identified in acts of violence.
All accused persons have a right to timely and impartial justice.
Resources must be directed to overcome delays caused by officers being moved around and witnesses failing to be found in the cases where perpetrators have actually been caught in the act. This is the only way to deter street violence and ensure justice.