Abstract: The recent assassination of ex-MP and gangster Atiq Ahmed has rejuvenated the threat of political assassinations and compelled the courts and Indian judicial system to question its validity. This research paper describes how India has tackled some of the greatest political assassinations from the root of its democracy, this paper also focuses on analyzing what are the reasons behind such violence and how the failure of the Indian judicial system and the Police force, specifically, could be mended to prevent such incidents.
Keywords: Political assassination, Fake Encounters, Extra-judicial violence, Police, Judicial system, Socio-Political problems
Research Methodology
This paper is descriptive and the research is based on secondary sources such as journals, blogs, books, and websites relating to different political assassinations that took place around the world and India, in specific. It also analyzes the views and backdrop of notable situations, which catalyzed such extra-judicial violence.
Review of Literature: As stated by Surinder Suri in his journal,”Political Assassinations in India”, the inclination to physical violence can be noticed in the recent past, which is broadly due to inhibition of Indian Culture, deep-rooted ritualization of violence.[1] The author also states, how some heated debates could violate the highly diversified culture of the country, and small physical violence is not seen as objectionable in India, while other countries take action at that stage to prevent the extra-judicial issues that could have been given birth to, later. Similarly, author Aravind Adiga stated, how the social structure of Indian Culture along with its taboos, leads to this type of violence, through his open-ended novel, ”Between the Assassinations‘‘, which is based on the period when both of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and her son, the next Prime Minister of India, got assassinated.[2]
The novel has successfully depicted the views of the author who has satirically portrayed the Indian scenario after the frequent killings, while the journal by Surinder Singh has been straightforward and showed serious concern about the increasing number of extrajudicial violence in India.
Introduction
It is a well-established fact that India is one of the largest democracies in the world, which leads it to have opposition and ruling parties. Unlike Western countries like the United States of America, India does not have a by-party system but a multi-party one. Political tension thus, has a pivotal role in the happenings of the country. Along with that another important feature of a heterogeneous country like India is that it consists of different religions, communities, and races. Though the Preamble Constitution of India after the 42nd Amendment Act added the word SECULAR in it, the society is still divided in its views. And when the largest politics gets merged with religious and cultural fragile sentiments create the biggest threat to the law. Be it the 1972 Hindu-Muslim Riots, 1984 Operation Blue Star Controversy, 2002 Gujarat Riots, or the notoriously famous Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir incident. Though the Indian Legal System has a sufficiently stringent mechanism to cope with and prevent such situations, nevertheless a lot of cases took place and those led to different political assassinations too.
Political Assassination is not an alien or new concept to the world or India for that matter, it is a form of extremism in the society that has always been present. Political assassination can be defined as murder by a civilian or group of them, political personalities with political, societal, or religious extremism purposes, of overthrowing a government or seizing power from the ruling party, or getting some demands fulfilled by the State. In other words, it is used in the context to refer to the organized killing of a person who is not under the killer’s legal control, who is not in the killer’s physical custody, who has been chosen for death by a resistance organization, and whose death benefits that organization. Recently, the case of Atiq Ahmed has renewed the alarms of extra-judicial violence amidst all stringent laws under Indian Penal Code, Explosives Act, and Arms Act.[3]
This research paper aims to understand the current situation in political assassinations and how the law of the country is facing issues in curbing them. It focuses on how small tweaks in provisions of law and prompt action of officers-in-charge could prevent such incidents, along with the reasons behind such assassinations.
Political Assassinations in the global context
As mentioned earlier the concept of assassinations is not a new threat to society, it has been present, from as early as 550 BC, when Egyptian Pharaoh Teti was assassinated for overthrowing his government. Since then, a lot of Kings and Queens of different monarchies have been murdered by civilians.
There are even some assassinations that led history to take turns. The reconstruction era of the United States came to an end with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the Civil War of America by John Wilkes Booth. Similarly, the assassination of President James A. Garfield dramatically turned the system of political patronage.
In a study, it was seen that political assassinations from 1875 to 2004 in the Dominican Republic, Spain, and the United States of America topped the most number of assassinations.[4] The study also shows how nearly two out of three years from 1950, any world leader gets assassinated.[5]
It is not extraordinary in countries like the United States to have such incidents more often, because the gun laws are very much lenient, through the National Firearms Act, of 1934. Even in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)[6], which states that the 2nd Amendment Act of the Constitution of the United States protects an individual to have the right to have and use arms for the sake of private defense, even if the person is not connected to military service. The same was ruled in the most recent case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022)[7], where it was also said that even asking for genuine reasons to keep arms, is unconstitutional. Thus, though the provision was for private defense purposes, this surely gives a lot of negative freedom to the individuals. The Spanish Government though, is not as lenient as the United States but one can easily get his hands on assault rifles after some basic tests.
Moreover, a higher rate of intolerance, for example, while protesting against any policy of the government, most of the assassins do not try to overthrow or kill the provision but kill the person who framed or on whose leadership the following provision is framed.
Political Assassinations in India
If one pulls out the history of India, then it can be seen that violence has always been endemic in its public life. According to a study by Lewis F. Richardson in 1960, among the nations, in respect of the number of murders in proportion, India stands in the middle.[8] But, it is a good fact that violence, including fatal acts, has dramatically increased in the recent past. The political and social turbulence has shown a big rise. India like the United States of America is having systemic violence, i.e., there is a full-fledged plan for that violence and assassinations.
Right from the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, right after India got independence to the recent case of the assassination of Ex-MP Atiq Ahmed, India has seen a lot of such assassinations where the Indian democracy has been changed quite a few times but those changes were havoc. The political assassination of Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards namely, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, slowed the pace of India’s aggressive step to terrorism and emerged as a global leader. Similarly, India’s peacekeeping force to maintain the peace in Sri Lanka led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The gangster who managed to become a member of parliament, Atiq Ahmed was also shot dead by a civilian, who sneaked in as a reporter.
Religion, community, and politics
As Karl Marx stated, ’Religion is the opium of masses’ , and when that religion blends with politics that becomes something that gives birth to high chances of violence. In a novel, by Aravind Adiga, he has given some open-ended stories which portray how the mentality of some people influences society to be violent and as those stories or the novel is written at a time when Indira Gandhi and her son got assassinated, Adiga introduces how India was engulfed by corruption and chaos with numerous communal violence.[9] The caste-based violence was also emerging at this time, while the Mandal Commission Report and cases like Indira Sawhney v. Union Of India[10] also triggered caste-based violence. The appeasement policy of Rajiv Gandhi in response of the Mohammed Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum (1985)[11], how the government of India had a tussle with Muslim Personal Law.
Every time a religious sentiment has been hurt by any means, political violence emerges. The best example of it, is the assassination of Indira Gandhi, in the case of Kehar Singh and Others. v. State [Delhi Administration] (1988)[12]The killers, while asked about the Motive, said that there was religious motivation, as the whole Sikh community was hurt by Operation Blue Star, where open firing was executed in Golden Temple, Amritsar, with a total massacre. Similarly, if we talk about an assassination that took place due to communal problems then the best example will be the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case where the Tamil militants were hurt when the Rajiv Gandhi government sent a peacekeeping Force to Sri Lanka. In another case of the assassination of Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi the Assassin Sher Singh Rana in the case, State v. Sher Singh Rana (2014)[13], while asked about the motive of the assassination he said that he killed Phoolan Devi because she was responsible for the Behmai Massacre. It hurt the community of Sher Singh Rana. The Assassin was not at all guilty of his crime because he thinks that he has delivered justice to the people who are victims of the Behmai massacre.
The Atiq Ahmed Case
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, one of the first Gangsters of Uttar Pradesh, who were booked under the Gangster Act, 1986 of Uttar Pradesh, who even after having numerous criminal cases, managed the ticket for election and got 5 consecutive wins, were finally under trial, and in the course of such trials, he and his brother was shot dead by 3 assassins, who disguised themselves as reporters, on April 15, 2023, when both were taken to a medical examination.[14] This was a political assassination with a religious angle too, while after shooting them the assassins were screaming religious slogans. While the whole case of a gangster turning into a politician had little to do with religion, the normal citizen and the circumstances in the largest state of India, altered the view of the public, as one. Initial camera evidence shows that the gun that was used is not a regular shotgun, made in India. The gun used is imported from Turkey.[15]
The incident has raised a lot of confusion and questions in the mind of political experts and legal scholars, for example, how the assassins got to know the exact time the gangsters check out from the hospital, how could they manage to get such imported arms, or how the assassins got so close to the gangster and that even after the Supreme Court asked the State to take necessary actions to protect them, finally, how could such an assassination got successfully executed. This thus, has led to an alarm on the extrajudicial killings in India.
Role of Police
Generally, in cases of political assassination incidents, the preventive role of the Police becomes very negligible, but in some cases, it can be said that due to the sheer negligence of the police, some high-profile assassinations are successfully executed.
To take the example of Rajiv Gandhi’s case, the police could have taken preventive measures, in meeting that big and high profile nature. As per the Police Act, 1861[16], among some most basic responsibilities, preventive action like preventing the commission of offenses and public aggravations, and controlling crowds plays a pivotal role. The National Police Commission (NPC) Model Police Bill also states that one of the most obligatory duties of the Police force is to identify problems and situations that are probably going to lead to the commission of crimes.
Along with this, in the case of Atiq Ahmed, the convicted already anticipating his death, pleaded before the Supreme Court, and even when the Supreme Court directed the State to take care of them, the police did not take necessary action to prevent any miss-happenings. To quote the NPCs Model Police Bill again, ”aiding people who are at risk of damage with crimes” is one of the main obligations of Police too.[17] Article 19 of the Constitution of India allows the Police to put sensible limitations upon certain circumstances, as specified, in which, order by court, is one too. Thus, when the Supreme Court already asked the State to secure the ex-MP and his brother, then some sensible restriction could have been implemented for the Press mob that got created around them. Even the Supreme Court held, if a situation is apprehended to arise where public tranquility and harmony can disrupt and preventive measures can be taken, the same should be done.
Was justice served?
It was a well-established fact that he was convicted of numerous crimes which were inhumane, yet, shooting such a person, in front of protectors of law and live media is not desirable. Supreme Court Judge, Justice Krishna Aiyer held that being convicted does not mean farewell of all types of fundamental rights, although he will not be enjoying all his rights as a normal citizen of India could do.[18] The person getting convicted does not get reduced to a non-person, he is still a human being and his basic rights could not be snatched away with the whims of courts or society in general, and that person is entitled to all fundamental rights unless those are curbed by the Constitution itself.[19] Therefore, the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, was still one of the rights that the convicted was having, yet when he was shot, the accountability of his basic rights as a human being came into question. Technically speaking, the whole judiciary system of the country saw a gross violation of fundamental rights. While some political personalities and common men of the country are celebrating the death of a gangster, it is to be kept in mind that this country is revered for its rule of law even for a Pakistani terrorist who was part of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, under, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab v. State of Maharashtra[20], the trial took place for 2 years along with providing him with an advocate, and under legal process was sentenced to death. Thus, how much, it can be said that justice is served, is still a valid question, yet to be answered.
Socio-Political Problems in Indian Legal System
Though laws are stringent in India, due to some major faults and loopholes in the system, Indian citizens are finding it better to take laws into their own hands.
Extraordinarily slow Justice delivery process: The Indian justice delivery mechanism is often called the sluggish system. Due to the diversity in India, and a lot of human rights aspects have to be kept in mind, often the justice delivery is very slow and as the famous quote goes, ”justice delayed is justice denied”. Another loophole in the Indian Legal System is there are no specific Anti-Terrorism laws in the country, which leads to no preventive provisions for these assassinations.
Another interesting problem that Ram Jethmalani pointed out, and calls it as funny, is how the guardians of the law are responsible for the assassination, as Judiciary did not take necessary steps to curb more such operations like Operation Blue Star which disrespected Sikh Culture.[21] This sluggish nature of courts is one of the reasons for grievances that later lead to such extra-judicial terrorism. The consecutive governments till now did not do enough to punish the culprits who were responsible for the Anti-Sikh movements where thousands of Sikhs were killed, as these cases are taking time, beyond reasonable span it is obvious to grow grudge against the government, and once the extremist mindset to overthrow it.
Fake Encounters: Interestingly, another loophole in the system is the increasing number of encounters in India in its recent past, be it the encounter of Vikas Dubey[22], the encounter of Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad, a few days before his assassination or be it Uttar Pradesh Government’s operation, namely, ”Operation Langda”, where every booked gangster is supposed to be encountered or shot on their legs to handicap them. When government bodies themselves are taking law into their own hands without waiting for the judicial system to work properly, the common citizen of the country is affected negatively.
Suggestions
Some of the solutions that are prescribed by executive bodies and scholars borrowing the principles of natural justice are mainly regarding the mechanism of police. While the National Police Commission has proposed some changes in the Police system, other directives are requested to the apex court to be in action, by a retired Police Officer and one Director General of Police, which have stressed, Increasing its functional autonomy and public accountability[23]. Functional autonomy is much needed as even if the police are supposed to work promptly on a situation due to some unnecessary controls, they are prevented from doing so. Similarly, the increasing number of cases of fake encounters can be curbed with the increase in public accountability.
On the other hand, it is also to be kept in mind that the representatives who are being killed for whatever reason may be, are elected by us, the common people of the country. The common citizens of the country also must know to whom they are giving their precious vote. It is our fault, somewhere, that we are electing gangsters and giving them tickets to mess with the mechanism of the country. We should have the responsibility to know about our representatives, before electing them. Moreover, in today’s technologically advanced world, where the official government websites provide us with information about the past life of the candidates it is really easy to access our decision.
Conclusion
If seen closely, it can be noticed that most of the assassinations that took place in the world in general and India to be specific, all are, from a grudge and sense of revenge for a mass massacre, be it Gandhiji’s assassination, which Godse admitted was done to take revenge for the genocide of Hindus during partition, on the other hand, same goes for Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Atik Ahmed recently, for that matter. Thus, if the judiciary and the government could address these situations in a much faster way, giving them more priority, these grudges and accordingly such assassinations can be curbed to a large extent. Moreover, the country needs some strict Anti-terrorism laws which can deter future offenders from committing such extrajudicial violence.
Name – Aniket Jana
Semester – 6th Semester, (B.A LL.B Honours)
University – Calcutta University
[1] Vol 12, NO. 3, SURINDER SINGH, POLITICAL ASSASSINATION IN INDIA 403-406 (JSTOR 1971)
[2] ADIGA, ARAVIND, BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS, (LONDON: PICADOR INDIA 2008)
[3] Mashal, M., Kumar, H. and Yasir, S. (2023) Killing on live TV renews alarm about India’s slide toward extrajudicial violence, The New York Times, (May 8, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/world/asia/atiq-ahmed-shot-india.html
[4] Jones, B. and Olken, B. Hit or miss? the effect of assassinations on institutions and war [Preprint]. doi:10.3386/w13102, (2007)
[5] How presidential assassinations changed U.S. politics (2018) History.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/news/how-presidential-assassinations-changed-u-s-politics (Accessed: 08 May 2023).
[6] District Of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
[7] New York State Rifle AND Pistol Association, Inc. V. Bruen, 597 U.S. ___ (2022)
[8] Vol 12, NO. 3, 1971 SURINDER SINGH, POLITICAL ASSASSINATION IN INDIA 403-406 (JSTOR)
[9] ADIGA, ARAVIND, BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS 2008 LONDON: PICADOR INDIA
[10] Indira Sawhney v. UOI, AIR 1993 SC 477
[11] Mohammed Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum And Ors, 1985 AIR 945, 1985 SCR (3) 844
[12] Kehar Singh And Ors v. State (Delhi Administration), 1988 AIR 1883, 1988 SCR Supl. (2) 24
[13] State v. Sher Singh Rana (2014), SC No. 08/12
[14] Pandey, G. (2023) Atiq Ahmed: The brazen murder of an Indian mafia don-turned-politician, BBC News. (09 May 2023), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65291781
[15] Niyu, A. (2023) Atiq Ahmed – India’s Don that became a politician: Atiq Ahmed Ki Kahani: Abhi and Niyu, YouTube ( 09 May 2023), https://youtu.be/8KiAquGuavs
[16] POLICE ACT, 1861 (INDIA)
[17] Bali, T. (2022) Role of police in the criminal justice system, Legal Service India – Law, Lawyers, and Legal Resources (Accessed: 09 May 2023), https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-8461-role-of-police-in-criminal-justice-system.html
[18] Boucher Pierre Andre v. Superintendent, Tihar Jail, AIR 1975 SC 164, 1975 CriLJ 182, (1975) 1 SCC 192, 1975 (7) UJ 50 SC
[19] DBM Patnaik And Ors. v. State Of Andhra Pradesh, 1974 AIR 2092, 1975 SCR (2) 24 and Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, 1980 SCR (2) 557
[20] Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab v. State Of Maharashtra, (2012) 9 SCC 1
[21] ‘I have never been sorry that I took up that case (2022) https://www.outlookindia.com/, 09 May 2023, https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/i-have-never-been-sorry-that-i-took-up-that-case/262636
[22] Staff, F. (2020) Vikas Dubey encounter updates: Hours before gangster’s death, the petition filed in SC predicting ‘possible killing’-India News, Firstpost, Firstpost. 09 May 2023, https://www.firstpost.com/india/kanpur-gangster-vikas-dubey-encounter-live-updates-latest-news-today-gangster-shot-dead-up-police-car-accident-8580211.html
[23] Prakash Singh And Others v. UOI, Writ Petition (Civil) 310 of 1996