For Indians abroad caught on the wrong side of the law, even for something as simple as over speeding on the roads, can be a nightmarish experience. In fact even our celebrities have had a taste of arm twisting by the authorities on foreign soil simply on suspicion that they may be entering the country under false pretexts.
But it’s an entirely different story when foreign nationals are caught for as serious an offence as drug peddling or rape in this country. The law of the land seems inadequate to keep them in check and most are let out on bail with ease. In a lot of the cases the city police seems afraid to act against a foreign national caught committing an offence, apparently because it doesn’t want to be caught on the wrong foot itself and be hauled up by the National Human Rights Commission or any other watchdog body for any reason.
For a study in contrasts all one needs to do is recall the hard time the family of a techie from the city, Pawan Kumar, had when he was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in the US. Desperate to clear his name of a murder charge, his family tried to get all information possible to help them defend him in the case, but US officials made it clear they were not willing to part with
any while the investigation was underway. On the other hand, French national, Pascal Mazurier, accused of raping his little daughter in the city, escaped arrest for several days as the police painstakingly verified whether he enjoyed diplomatic immunity or not.
Also, Trio School headmaster, Paul Meekin, a British national, who was arrested in January by the city police for sending lewd text messages to a 13-year-old boy on a social networking site, had no difficulty getting out on bail despite the seriousness of the offence and it was only after the school management informed the police that he had submitted fake doctorate certificates to get the job, that he was once again put behind bars. Since then there has been little progress in the case as officials wait for the embassy to give them the go ahead with the investigation.
Senior counsel, Pramila Nesargi, believes the kid-glove treatment that foreign nationals accused of crime receive could have something to do with the many loopholes in the country's judicial system. “The system of electing judges must be given to an independent body with the say of the Bar Council, like it is done in countries like the US Only then will justice prevail,” she says.