“a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.”[i]
In a world of sweet roses and penal offences, every person commits a crime whether knowingly or unknowingly. Living in the 21st century we cannot deny the fact that crime is an integral part of society, even if we abhor it. Society, as said by Durkheim, is a moral milieu of people, with people comes need, with need comes the desire to fulfil, with this desire comes the different means of achieving ends and hence finally there can be two ways of achieving the desired ends viz-a-viz the one which the society accepts and the other which the society does not. There can be various reasons for not accepting any particular way of doing things in the society such as it might be illegal, it might harm the society or may be simply because it is against the accepted norms of the society. The one which we are concerned here is the illegal way of doing things or in other words, using criminal means to achieve your ends. Since it is established that crimes in a society are a reality, we have to understand the repercussions of a crime.
We classify crimes, broadly into two categories, first, crimes which require a certain amount of intention and knowledge on the part of the offender, for example, Culpable Homicide and second, where the action is of such high intensity that intention does not have any role to play, for example, Absolute Liability. Today, we, in India have different codes and procedures, established by the government and it is the duty of the state to take care of those who have committed any crime. The judiciary or the state or any authority established by law holds the absolute and final discretion to decide whether a particular person has committed any wrong or not and hence, holds the power to punish them. The fact that no one is above the law and no one can skip the consequences of what is going to happen with them is pertinent here.
Now, something which is of big concern here is that does the offender suffer only during the period of his/her punishment. Ideally, once the term of the punishment is over, the offender must not suffer. But it is not how it goes. To the society, a person who steps out of jail is no more the same person who stepped into the jail. The perception of society towards a person, who has committed a crime, is different from that of a normal person. Somewhere in the mind of the people, a prejudice is created and as a result of this, the offender which is no more an offender as he has completed the sentence given by the law to him faces a social boycott.
We have come across a lot of examples where a person who has come out of prison does not get a good job, does not get houses on rent, is denied of basic necessities and what not. Not only, it is the individual who has committed the offence gets boycotted but also, his family members, relatives and friends. The behaviour of society is totally changed for the person who comes out of jail. They have to walk their eyes facing downwards in the society. The fact that the person has committed a crime is not being denied here but, we also have to accept the fact that he or she has already suffered and now, has a right to start his/her life all over again. It is very easy for a human being to praise the virtue of an individual but, it is difficult to forgive sin. Hence, everyone should be given a Right to be forgiven. The state shall not discriminate against any citizen who has been proved innocent of their charge/charges or have completed their conviction period or any other punishment directed by a court of law. The state guarantees them all the rights that a person under the Indian Constitution possesses.
There are situations where a person, because of miscommunication or anything has been arrested by the police, the whole society sees that the police took him, later on, it is found that he did no wrong. Now in this situation, there will be a majority of people who would still not believe that the person was innocent. Here again, the right to be forgiven would come into the picture but in a different light. The aim of this right is simple i.e. to protect a person from the pressure of the society which might result in greater harm. Consider another situation A has committed a theft at his early 20s, he is convicted for the same by the court of law, now when he comes back from the prison after completing his period of punishment, he has his whole life in front of him. He can find a job, can start a new life but, what if the society does not allow him to do so, what if the society still considers him a thief. This situation might result in a negative effect on A’s mind and there are high chances that he might convert into a more severe criminal. Reformation through acceptance is the best way to deal with such issues, each individual has the basic right to opportunities and forgiveness and that if a person has completed his or her punishment, he is no more an offender in the eyes of law and hence should not be one in the eyes of society, therefore a person’s fundamental rights should not be violated.
[i] Barsha Nag Bhowmick, Forgiveness doesn’t mean you need to keep that person in your life, TOI (Dec. 25, 2017, 12: 00 PM), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/life-n-style/forgiveness-doesnt-mean-you-need-to-keep-that-person-in-your-life/.
This article is written by Yash Jain and Ayushi Dubey of Institute of Law, Nirma University.
Disclaimer: This article is an original submission of the Author. Lex Insight does not hold any liability arising out of this article. Kindly refer to our Terms of use or write to us in case of any concerns. You may also refer to our Copyright regulations
