PARAGRAPH WORDS AND MEANING
PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY –
By evidence alone: on the 2008 Malegaon blast trial –
There are occasions when not only the accused but the criminal justice system itself is on trial. The case relating to the Malegaon blast of 2008 is one such. By overruling the National Investigation Agency’s finding that key members of a Hindu right-wing group called Abhinav Bharat were not involved in the explosion that killed at least six persons and wounded over a hundred in the Maharashtra town, the Special Court in Mumbai has chosen to let the evidence decide their guilt or innocence. It has framed charges against them for conspiracy, murder and other offences, including under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra police and the NIA have come to varying conclusions on the culpability of Abhinav Bharat members. The ATS chargesheet claims it was primarily a conspiracy hatched by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, among others. In a supplementary chargesheet, the NIA concluded there was either no or insufficient evidence to proceed against some of them. Special Judge S.D. Tekale has chosen to steer clear of pronouncing his decision on which of the two he would go by. Where two conflicting reports are on record, he ruled it is better to go through the trial and consider the evidence it brings. His decision is the right one and it rises above the competing narratives of the two agencies. What made this case politically sensitive was the debate over whether ‘Hindu’ or ‘saffron’ terror had come into being given the alleged role of an organisation with the objective of establishing ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in the country. Initially, an Islamist group was accused of being behind the blasts that took place in September 2006 at Malegaon, killing 37 people, but a later charge sheet said the perpetrators belonged to a group of Hindu activists. It took nearly ten years for those initially arrested to be discharged, for want of evidence. These factors cast an unfortunate shadow on the trial related to the 2008 case. Allegations surfaced that the NIA prosecutor was under pressure to dilute the charges against Pragya and others. Against this backdrop, it is better that the evidence, whether substantive or dodgy, is assessed at a trial, lest it be said later that there was any miscarriage of justice. Based on preliminary material, the judge has thrown out charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. He has discharged three persons for want of evidence, and sent two to regular courts to be tried under the Arms Act. The rest will face trial. This decision augurs well for the integrity of the process, as it is the best way to put at rest suspicion that one agency tried to frame the suspects, while another was deliberately soft. It is important that this trial, although agonisingly delayed, is nothing but fair.
WORDS AND MEANING –
1) Right-wing
Meaning: The conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system.
Example: “A candidate from the right wing of the party”
2) Conspiracy
Meaning: A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
Example: “A conspiracy to destroy the government”
Synonyms: Plot, Scheme
3) Culpability
Meaning: Responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame.
Example: “A level of moral culpability”
Synonyms: Guilt, Blame
Antonyms: Innocence
4) Hatched
Meaning: Conspire to devise (a plot or plan).
Example: “The little plot that you and Sylvia hatched up last night”
Synonyms: Devise, Conceive
5) Steer
Meaning: Guide the movement or course of.
Example: “He had steered her to a chair”
Synonyms: Guide, Conduct
6) Conflicting
Meaning: Be incompatible or at variance; clash.
Example:”Parents’ and children’s interests sometimes conflict”
Synonyms: Clash, Be incompatible
Antonyms: Harmonious
7) Alleged
Meaning: Said, without proof, to have taken place or to have a specified illegal or undesirable quality.
Example:”The alleged conspirators”
Synonyms: Supposed, So-called
8) Perpetrators
Meaning: A person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.
Example: “The perpetrators of this horrific crime must be brought to justice”
9) Prosecutor
Meaning: A person, especially a public official, who institutes legal proceedings against someone.
Example: “Prosecutors are fully entitled to bring any number of offences against a single defendant”
10) Dilute
Meaning: Make (something) weaker in force, content, or value by modification or the addition of other elements.
Example: “The reforms have been diluted”
Synonyms: Diminish, Reduce
Antonyms: Intensify
11) Substantive
Meaning: Having a firm basis in reality and so important, meaningful, or considerable.
Example:”There is no substantive evidence for the efficacy of these drugs”
12) Dodgy
Meaning: Dishonest or unreliable.
Example: “A dodgy second-hand car salesman”
13) Lest
Meaning: With the intention of preventing (something undesirable); to avoid the risk of.
Example: “He spent whole days in his room, wearing headphones lest he disturb anyone”
14) Miscarriage
Meaning: An unsuccessful outcome of something planned.
Example: “The miscarriage of the project”
Synonyms: Failure, Foundering
15) Thrown out
Meaning: If people in authority throw out a plan, idea, case, etc. they refuse to accept or use it.
Example: The case was thrown out by the courts due to lack of evidence.
16) Augurs
Meaning: (Of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome.
Example: “The end of the cold war seemed to augur well”
Synonyms: Bode; Portend
17) Integrity
Meaning: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Example: “A gentleman of complete integrity”
Synonyms: Honesty, Uprightness
Antonyms: Dishonesty
18) Suspicion
Meaning: A feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true.
Example: “She had a sneaking suspicion that he was laughing at her”
Synonyms: Intuition, Feeling
Antonyms: Certainty
19) Deliberately
Meaning: Consciously and intentionally; on purpose.
Example: “The fire was started deliberately”
Synonyms: Intentionally, On purpose
Antonyms: By mistake, Accidentally, hastily
20) Agonisingly
Meaning: Causing extreme worry.
Example: She went through an agonizing few weeks waiting for the test results.
