Friday, December 22, 2006

Integrity -- How far would you go?

(Photo by: Ashok Krishnan)

Have been following the Jessica Lall case for some time now & the judgment has been provided in the case a few days back. The accused Manu Sharma has been found guilty by the High Court & has been meted out with life imprisonment. One of the main reasons for the verdict is the statement given in the court by the key witness Bina Ramani. She had earlier turned hostile & that had caused a lower court to acquit Manu Sharma. It seems that she was threated to not provide any statements in the court. It is indeed a courageous thing to come out to the court & act as a prime witness in spite of the threats.

Reading the news about her courage led to a question arising in my mind. Would I have done the same thing if I were to be present in a crime scene? Would I show the courage & the integrity (Of which I speak about all the time..........) to act as a witness & testify before the court if I were threatened? With all honesty, I don't think I would have done that. When you are threatened with dire consequences not just for yourself but for your near & dear, I don't think I have 'enough' integrity to stand and fight for justice. It is indeed shameful on my part but that is what it all came down to when I thought deeply about it.I believe I still have a long way to go before I could call myself a person of integrity. Sad but true..........

3 comments:

Ashok said...

Well ! I tried to put myself in her shoes and man it is difficult and almost heart shaking. I am just hoping that if at all I am in that position, I have the courage to do the right thing with protecting my nears and dears. I hope that I have the strength to do that. That was one hell of a courage and hats off to her !

lmurali said...

Not just difficult, but it would be highly impossible for me to show such courage and testify in the court... If only the so called 'educated class' (including myself) had that courage, this would have been a much better place to live in....

sampath said...

here's a conspiracy about Bina...

http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/may/07bina.htm