‘Exaggerated concern for convicts’s rights against society’

The Supreme Court has said that the interests of society are being repeatedly sacrificed by people’s exaggerated concern for human rights of convicts. ‘We are convinced that the interests of society at large are being repeatedly sacrificed for the exaggerated, if not misplaced concern for what is fashionably termed as ‘human rights’ of convicts,’ a bench of justices TS Thakur and Vikramjit Sen said. It also expressed concern over the practice adopted by convicts going underground and out of reach of the law after getting bail in higher courts. The bench said the concept of justice not only encompasses the rights of the convict, but also the rights of victims of crime and the law abiding section of society. ‘While it is not possible to define the concept of ‘justice’, suffice it to say that it encompasses not just the rights of the convict, but also of victims of crime as well as of the law-abiding section of society who looks towards the courts as vital instruments for preservation of peace and the curtailment or containment of crime by punishing those who transgress the law.