Over to you, citizens of India. It's time to demand justice for Ruchika

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Our criminal justice system has once again failed. Once again the ghost of a young girl cries out to be heard. In a country that celebrates its woman president, its woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, its woman leader of the Opposition and its woman head of the Congress party, once again this country is in danger of failing a powerless young woman. The criminal justice system has failed Ruchika Girhotra, as it once failed Bhanvari Devi, Jessica Lal and Priyadarshani Mattoo. Indian society's horrifyingly patriarchal face, is revealed again, where a powerful and influential male babu or politician is able to twist the system so efficiently that for 19 long years not only is justice denied, but a modest family is harassed, driven out of employment, and forced into hiding out of fear. Justice denied so completely that a desperate child, alone in her solitary grief, has been driven to take her own life.

That a mere six month sentence and a Rs 1000 fine has been handed to former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore for the molestation of 14-year old Ruchika Girhotra, should make every citizen of India rise and once again knock at the doors of the courts. Citizens of India, once again you must rise and rattle the locks of the courts like you did for Jessica and Priyadarashani. Wake up, your lordships, you must say, order a retrial. Reopen the case, bring charges of abetment to suicide, criminal intimidation and filing of false cases. Amend the law on molestation, treat it as serious sexual assault and provide harsher punishments. This is not just about lively 14 year old Ruchika, who loved playing tennis. Its about all our daughters, our sisters, our grand-daughters, our nieces, our cousins, our neighbourhood kids, about every little Indian girl who believes that yes, this country belongs to her too.

What is the message the case is sending out? It is sending out the message that if you are a parent of a 14 year old who is molested or sexually assaulted by a powerful person in a small town, or if you are the victim of such molestation by a powerful person, you have to just keep your mouth shut and not complain. You have to keep quiet and not say a word and instead subject yourself to even more assault perhaps. Why? Because the molestor is powerful and he could use influence to intimidate and harass you into silence. Ruchika's crime was that she lodged a complaint, that she was not meek, she and her friend Aradhana raised their voice. The prevalent Indian mindset goes something like this: Rathore-after-all-just-"had-fun"- with- a- minor-men-do- it- all- the- time-surely-its-not- a- very-serious- thing. Its- just- harmless- fun- isn't- it? Rathore, in any civilized country would be considered a criminal. Ruchika and Aradhana raised their voices against a criminal in 90s Haryana, and for raising their voice in "democratic" India they were so roundly punished that the lesson seems to be, silence is always the safest option. We must reject this complicit cowardly silence.

19 years ago, Ruchika, then aged 14, was molested by then IG of police SPS Rathore. When Ruchika lodged a complaint, she and her family and friends faced such a barrage of threats and intimidating actions that her family was forced to move out of Chandigarh. Police harassment was so great on the family of a mere child-then only 14 years old!-that unable to bear the trauma she was causing, Ruchika committed suicide. The CBI took over the case in 1998, but did not file any charges of abetment to suicide, nor any charges against those who had been harassing Ruchika.The court has held that Rathore's age is the reason for the light sentence, yet the fact that the case has been delayed for 19 years is because of the tactics of Rathore himself, and perhaps his advocate wife who is his defence counsel.

The sickening fact is that molestation is only a small part of the Ruchika story. Its what Rathore did to Ruchika and her family after she dared to lodge a complaint, is what is sickening, indeed repulsive, beyond belief. He had her expelled from her school, he had he followed by goons, her younger brother was beaten black and blue, had false cases registered against him , and her father was transferred from his jobs. It was the most naked, the most brazen display of state power, used by a megalomaniac to totally destroy a modest family that had dared to speak out against him. All these facts are in the court documents and open to public scrutiny. Rathore was then chief minister Chautala's DGP, his wife is a senior lawyer and together they were able to use the entire legal and police machinery to stamp out this little family. Questions need to be asked of the school as well. Why did Sacred Heart school expel Ruchika? That too on grounds of "loose character?" Can a 14-year-old have a "loose character?" Or does she need counseling and care?

And what about Section 354 of the IPC that pertains to "outraging the modesty of a woman" and carries a maximum sentence of two years. Isn't it urgently necessary for the government to amend this ridiculous section here and now, even as women are being molested in buses, metros and almost every conceivable public place, molestations that are nothing short of sexual assault and criminality, yet innocuously and idiotically labeled "outraging the modesty of a woman" simply because it isn't rape? The punishment under Section 354 should be enhanced minimum to two years and maximum to ten.

A new year is about to dawn. Let the new year begin with a new beginning for the criminal justice system too, in the form of Justice for Ruchika. Ruchika's friend Aradhana-the brave and loyal Aradhana who has fought for her dead friend for 19 long years along with her courageous father Anand Prakash-is leading a candle light vigil at Jantar Mantar today from 5.30pm to 7.30 pm today. Please join it if you are in Delhi. Or log onto ibnlive.com to demand justice for Ruchika. Its over to you now, citizens of independent India.