The conviction of 215 officials of the police, forest and revenue departments in a criminal case is unprecedented. But then what Vachathi in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district witnessed on June 20, 1992, was also unprecedented. On the suspicion that the villagers, mostly belonging to Scheduled Tribes, were protecting notorious sandalwood smuggler and dacoit Veerappan, the officials entered the village, assaulted the villagers, raped 18 women and girls and looted and destroyed the village. It was a case of not only misusing their power but also taking the law into their own hands. In the case of at least 54 accused persons, justice could not be done as they died during the hearing of the case.
It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. But then allowance has to be made for the fact that there were a large number of accused persons and witnesses in this case. In the dispensation of justice, it is better to be late than never. The verdict is as forthright as the case was presented by the prosecution. Among the convicted, 17 have also been found guilty of rape and given seven additional years of rigorous imprisonment. For the people of Vachathi getting justice appeared to be an uphill task as the accused were all powerful men, including four Indian Forest Service officials. But their perseverance and unity stood them in good stead.
The verdict should serve as a warning to all those who exercise power in the country that under no circumstances can they take the law into their hands. They should at all times remember that nobody is above the law. It would be a misnomer to see the judgment as merely a victory of the victims of Vachathi. The verdict marks the triumph of justice which, as the belief goes, is blind. It also denotes that if institutions that uphold and protect civil liberties are alert, transgressions of the kind Vachathi experienced can be dealt with surely and firmly.
