T.E. THOMAS Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The loss of a child for a parent is not a finite event. It is a continuous loss that unfolds minute by minute over the course of a life time. The grief can be so profound that it triggers the deepest pain more than what one can tolerate. It is a real pain and not a phantom pain. When the reasons for the death of their child remains unknown and not cogently explained, the pain becomes worse. For the parents, the question is which pain is worse, the shock of what happened or the ache for what never will be explained. Their grief will obtain no closure and their grieving, instead of being a releasing process, would pierce their heart constantly and without any succor. The parents will feel empty, cheated and hollow. It is the heart that aches when a child is lost and the brain simply follows it.

(2.) The justice dispensation system has a duty to dry their endless tears, to hold them close within the arms of the system, comfort them while they grieve and do everything to sooth their aching heart. The mind of the parents will replay, the agony over and over again and we have to provide courage for their fear and apprehensions.

(3.) Our system often views victims as outsiders in the criminal proceedings. However, it is ineluctable that victims are, world over, being now considered as equal stakeholders in the criminal justice system. I believe, they are owed a right to exercise an effective voice in decision making processes like investigation, prosecution, reparation, etc. The victims are generally placed in a subservient position by the collective interests of the society in prosecuting the crime. However, time has now come to give them sufficient latitude in determining how their concerns are identified and how they will be taken into account. In this process, the victims' needs, concerns, fear and apprehension need to be acknowledged and accommodated. The victims deserve to be treated with respect by the investigatory and prosecuting services and to help them in their recovery process to be kept informed about the progress of all these proceedings. It is these thoughts that have guided me into the directions I propose herein.