Tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh milti rahi hai.

Recent Rape cases in India: There's an iconic dialogue from the Bollywood film 'Damini' wherein Sunny Deol, a frustrated lawyer, gets frustrated from yet another adjournment of the case and screams, "Tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh milti rahi hai ... lekin insaaf nahi mila my lord, insaaf nahi mila ... mili hai toh sirf yeh tarikh." 

This is what all Indians feel every time a rape case is reported wherein, sometimes, the delay goes beyond the extent. India recently reported over 23 rape cases in India within 13 days. 23 cases! 13 days! What is happening in this country? 

Recent Rape Cases in India:

• August 9 | Kolkata Doctor Rape and Murder Case: A trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the premises of a medical institution. The accused was arrested but there has been no verdict yet.  
• August 9 | Uttarakhand Nurse Rape and Murder Case: A nurse in Uttarakhand was brutally raped and murdered, with her body mutilated. The accused was arrested, but no verdict yet. 
• August 9 | Uttar Pradesh's Amethi Rape Case: A 13-year-old girl in Amethi was raped by her father. The girl's mother died two days later. Justice, pending! 
• August 11 | Punjab Rape Case: A man who eloped with his girlfriend had his sister gang-raped by the family of his girlfriend. Justice, Excuse me. 
• August 12 | Maharashtra Rape Case: A male attendant allegedly assaulted two four-year-old girls in the school's washroom in Badlapur. Justice?
• August 12 | Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr Rape Case: A government employee raped a 6-year-old Dalit girl. The accused was suspended, but is this the justice? 
• August 12 | Uttarakhand Rape Case: A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by a bus driver, conductor, and others. Justice? Not yet. 
• August 12 | Bihar Rape Case: A 14-year-old girl in Muzaffarpur was gang-raped and murdered after refusing to marry one of the accused. She died but still no sign of justice. 
• August 14 | Tamil Nadu Rape Case: A 14-year-old girl was gang-raped by her friends near her home in Thanjavur. No justice has been served yet. 
• August 14 | Mumbai Rape Case: A 9th-grade student raped a 3-year-old girl in the Saki Naka area. Juvenile. Still, what justice? 
• August 14 | Odisha Rape Case: A resident doctor accused of raping two patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital. Justice pending. 
• August 14 | Sirohi Rape Case: In Sirohi, a 63-year-old widow was gang-raped. Justice pending. 
• August 15 | West Bengal Rape Case: Three minors raped a young girl on Independence Day in Siliguri. Freedom? 
• August 16 | Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: An 11-year-old girl in Ballia was raped. Justice pending. 
• August 16 | Bhopal Rape Case: A minor girl was raped at her home by a blackmailer. Minor girl. Justice? Please someone answer. 
• August 17 | Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: A 14-year-old rape victim in Sonbhadra assaulted by her teacher in December of the previous year, dies. Justice? 
• August 17 | Madhya Pradesh Rape Case: A 69-year-old man raped a minor girl in Beohari. Man of her grandfather's age. Justice? Keep waiting. 
• August 18 | Rajasthan Rape Case: A 3-year-old girl was abducted and raped by a garbage collector in Jodhpur. For god sake. Please give justice. 
• August 18 | Bengaluru Rape Case: A 22-year-old woman was raped by a biker who offered her a lift. Justice is still pending. 
• August 18: Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: A Dalit nurse was raped by a doctor in Moradabad. Three individuals were arrested, including another nurse and a ward boy. Where's Justice? 
• August 18 | Punjab Rape Case: Three minor girls were raped in Ludhiana. Justice? 
• August 18 | Delhi Rape Case: A 22-year-old man raped an 11-year-old girl, luring her from watching TV. Justice? 
• August 18 | Andhra Pradesh Rape Case: A minor girl was raped by someone who deceived her under the pretense of love. Justice? 
• August 22 | Punjab Rape Case: Chandigarh Class 12 student, a resident of Zirakpur, was raped at her residence by her school bus driver. Accused arrested but what about justice? 

Merely arresting the accused justified the atrocity that women go through? Not just women but also innocent girls. What kind of law is this? People in India find the law a bit weak which is why they have been asking for laws like that of Saudi Arabia. 

The rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the rape and murder cases, is still allowed for furlough. What kind of justice is this? The actual justice in the 2012 Nirbhaya case was given after 8 years in 2020. 8 years. 

'Justice delayed is justice denied', that's what we've been hearing for a long time but what's changing? Do you call life imprisonment to the rapists like Ram Rahim, justice? All these things bring us to the only question, When will law take its course? 

(The views expressed are those of the author — Rajan Nath, Senior Sub Editor, Rozana Spokesman)