The Uncomfortable Reality Nobody Likes to Say Out Loud……

“Tum ek aadmi ho”, “Tum India mein aadmi ho? Toh system maan chuka hota hai, tum guilty ho (Uncomfortable ?). Abe zinda rahe toh innocence prove kar lena.” (You are a MAN, you are a MAN in India, you are always guilty until proven innocent)https://unbiasedpollkhol.com/

That sentence may sound harsh. It may offend. But cases like this force an uncomfortable question: Does due process work the same for everyone in practice, or only on paper?

This is not about denying real crimes or real victims. It’s about acknowledging that false cases, weak prosecutions, and judicial errors also destroy lives—quietly and permanently.

Safeguards That Exist, BUT Failed….

On Paper (Constitution ki fairytale):

Presumption of innocence

Corroborative evidence ki zaroorat

Speedy trial aur appeal ka right

In Reality (Ground reality, no filter):

Appeals ghis-ghis ke saalon lag jaate hain, Tarikh par Tarikh ka game shuru hota hai

Trial court ki galtiyan “system overload hai” bolke ignore ho jaati hain. Uncomfortable?

Galat tarah se jail bhej diya? to kya hua, tum kaunsa koi celebrity ho jo insult ya defamation ho gayi, Koi automatic compensation nahi, bas milta hai to ek – ghisa pita thank you for your patience.

The law promises balance but THE SYSTEM often delivers delay. Examples aren’t rare; they’re inconvenient:

Nisha Sharma dowry case: Once a national headline, later widely cited as a cautionary tale of allegations collapsing under scrutiny. Careers ended before facts arrived. News confirms she is facing dowry allegations by her sister-in-law. https://voiceformenindia.com/nisha-sharma-false-dowry-case-after-9-years-court-observed-her-decision-to-call-off-wedding-was-pre-planned/

Vishnu Tiwari: Twenty years in prison before the High Court said the obvious evidence didn’t hold. No rewind button for lost decades. No compensation.

Manav Singh / Kerala suicide cases: Names that surface when allegations turn into social trials first, legal trials later, sometimes ending before courts even speak. “Manav Singh’s father passed away a few days ago while awaiting the start of the trial.”

Atul Subhash, Nitin Padiyar (and others): Frequently referenced in debates around prolonged litigation, reputational damage, and the quiet cost of being accused in a system that moves slowly. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/indore-man-dies-by-suicide-wife-in-laws-booked-for-abetment/articleshow/117780105.cms

—————The Bigger Question—————

When cases like Vishnu Tiwari, Atul Subhash surface, accountability usually goes into hiding comfortably tucked behind phrases like “pending cases,” “overburdened courts,” and the evergreen “shortage of judges.” These explanations are real, yes but they’ve also become a permanent shield, not a temporary problem.

The judiciary asks for patience, decades of it, Uncomfortable? And when a life quietly collapses in the meantime, the system shrugs and moves on to the next file. Question this, and you’ll meet instant outrage. Any discussion about wrongful convictions is often painted as an attack on women or feminism itself. But asking for judicial accountability is not anti-women. It is anti-negligence.

Demanding fair trials, faster appeals, and responsibility when courts get it wrong, should not be controversial. Yet somehow, it is. Judges get promotion, men become files, that’s uncomfortable?

हमारी बहसों में, सबसे मुखर आवाजें विचारधारा पर लड़ती हैं, जबकि सबसे खामोश शिकार न्याय होता है। (In our debates, the loudest voices fight over ideology – while the quietest casualty is justice).

And feminism? When it fights for survivors, it’s essential. When it refuses to acknowledge misuse, weak prosecutions, or men crushed by delay, it stops being equality and starts being selective silence. That silence helps no one – not men, and certainly not genuine victims whose cases get doubted because the system failed elsewhere, uncomfortable?

Strong laws matter. So does precision. Misuse doesn’t invalidate the law but denying misuse invalidates trust, uncomfortable?

MY TAKE – You can believe survivors irrespective their genders. You can support strong laws, you should. And still demand fair trials, fast appeals, and accountability.

Article by (Poonam Mehta)