Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty

This Book describes the Violence and Cruelty which takes place in the society. The author instead of looking at the gravity or nature of the offense,focuses on the fact that one should focus on the mindset of the offender. The most important factor which the state authority or any other competent authority who deals with a particular case of crime, is negligent about the mindset of the offender.

The author focuses not on the nature of the offense, but the evil inside the man which forces him to commit such an offense. The author observes that the person who commits the crime is not an evil , the main evil are the factors which are present in his mind which compel the person to commit such crime.

The author concentrates on the point that instead of punishing the offender, one should initiate the steps to remove the evil mindset which compel that offender to do so. The author firmly believes that if we understand the evil mind which is present inside the person, then society can be free of violence and cruelty. The author firmly believes that the offender should be punished in such a manner that he /she should realize that the factor which drives them to commit any act is not only the enemy of the society but also the enemy of themselves.

THEORY UNDER INDIAN LAW

There are certain theories under Indian Law which play a vital role on what the author believes in the present circumstances. The judiciary and other organizations, mainly NGOs firmly believe that certain measures/steps are required in order to change the mindset of the convict wherein, there will be certain opportunity where the same person start their life with a new beginning, which will not only be good for that particular person but also for the society at large.

Deterrent Theory

Deterrent theory is one of the factors in the modern penology under Indian Law, which acts as removing the evil mindset of the criminal. According to deterrent theory the punishment shall be given in such a way that the deterrent factor comes into the ambit of the society and which can make the society realize that if any like minded person commits such crime, then he or she shall be liable to certain harsh punishment. 

The Rajasthan High Court in the matter of Shyokaran And Ors.. vs State Of Rajasthan And Ors. 2008 CriLJ 1265 has laid down the principle of deterrent theory , the court has held that when the society became more sensitive to the nature of the crime and less sensitive to the existence of the criminal, the deterrent theory of punishment came to the forefront. According to this theory, the criminal "Justly deserves" the harsh punishment for his criminal act.The Court further held that the criminal act is an onslaught on the stability and the harmony of the society, it was thought best to inflict the most deterrent punishment on the criminal so as to set an example for others. The Court further held that these theories justify the existence of public execution in Islamic countries, the existence of capital punishment in democratic ones. Even an enlightened and modern country like the United States of America has reverted back to the deterrent theory of punishment as is evident from its sentencing policy. 

Similarly the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat has relied on the same principle in the matter of State Of Gujarat vs Krushnmorari Ramkrushna Gupta (1988) 2 GLR 965 that theory of deterrent punishment postulates not only that the one, who indulges into such activity would, by gravity of the sentence be deterred from indulging into it over again, but those like minded in the society looking to the misfortune that befall one of their confederates would be deterred from resorting to the same anti-social activity.

Reformative Theory

Another theory which has wider scope in modern penology is the reformative theory. The reformative theory is a bit contradictory in nature to the deterrent theory. Reformative theory firmly believes that the offender instead of being punished shall be sent to a certain organization or competent authority wherein the convicted person can be brought back to society and instead of violating the peace and harmony of the society the same person can contribute towards the welfare of the society.

With this principle the Rajasthan High Court in the matter of Dhanraj Saini & Anr vs State Of Rajasthan has laid down the scope of reformative theory in modern society. The Court held that the reformative theory of punishment dilutes the deterrent and retributive theory of punishment. According to the reformative theory of punishment, if a convicted prisoner is conditioned in a positive manner, he can be taught to reform himself, and to change his criminal ways. The aim of the reformative theory is to change the convicted prisoner to the point where he can be brought back into the mainstream of the society as a contributory member to the society. Instead of him being a liability on the society, or him being a threat to the society, it is hoped that by giving certain privileges, such as parole, a prisoner could be transformed into a law abiding citizen and into an asset

Conclusion

By observing the belief of the author in the aforesaid circumstances we can come to the conclusion that the purpose on which the author solely believes can be attained on the basis of Deterrent theory and Reformative theory. If the judiciary, while imposing any sort of punishment, will emphasize a bit on these theories, the same will be beneficial for the welfare of society at large. Indian Judiciary to some extent may believe in these factors, for instance, capital punishment in India is imposed on very rarest on the rare cases, where it seems that all other adequate punishment will be failed for the purpose of justice which is required to be done. Therefore, by these theories we can kill the evil inside the human being which compels him to commit any offense.