Ashok G.V.

Oh boy, what a fun couple of days it has been! Finally good to have enough peace of mind to pen some thoughts down.

I stepped out of the office yesterday for a few brief moments for a tea break along with two colleagues of mine. One is a particularly fit and strong chap, while the other is on the exact opposite end of the fitness spectrum. I am lean and thin, but certainly not physically intimidating in appearance. As I made fun of the fit and strong chap, he jovially twisted my arm and threatened to punch me in the shoulder. Having trained in self defense, this was not an uncommon situation for me. But something in me did not permit the application of the lessons. I continued to make fun of him and received the punch. Today I have a blue discoloration at the point of impact. This is not an unknown problem for me. Perhaps it is not a problem. Maybe, restraint comes just as naturally to humans as does the propensity towards violence.

In recent times the wide coverage acts of unspeakable horror committed by those have made us question whether the concept of civilization has succeeded or not? In the result, we are constantly eyeing each other with suspicion and paranoia. We are more conscious of all that is wrong, and less aware of all that is right. Yet the basic fact remains that restraint and discretion are natural instincts not just an imposed superego. It is as much a reality as is all the horrors that men commit all the time. It is a percentage of the population that commit crimes and inflict violence and not the population itself.

A neighbour of mine once dismissed my love for Krav Maga. He said that Krav Maga is good for self confidence, fitness and infusing courage, but nothing can beat the good old fashioned positive energy. He opined that if we harness and project positive energy, we will attract the right people, people who will vindicate the restraint we exercise as civilized human beings. Yet fate may impose unholy events on us notwithstanding this, but with this adherence to positive energy, life is at least good as long as we don’t cross paths with fate in a bad way.

I cannot fully subscribe to my neighbour’s theory. I am not so brave as to trust the cosmos to take care of me. But I do believe in the good of humanity. Yes, I have seen child molesters, abusive husbands and psychopaths more regularly than what one can imagine. I am also an officer of the court, which means I am constantly trying to catch an overburdened and under-equipped system from falling and the challenges are complex in this exercise. But I have also seen people who have dedicated their lives to a cause higher than all of us and do so willingly. I would rather feel happy looking at the good guys than disgusted looking at the bad ones. In this brand of thought, I feel empowered!

So my advise, don’t let the bad all around you suck you in. Look at it as it is but don’t let it bias about what the world is. The world after all is a concoction of sugar, spice and everything nice along with bitterness. To be conscious of it all, yet only savour what is right is the best one can do!

2012 was an awesome year. I met a lot of interesting folks, whose existence have been defined by a strong sense of dedication, compassion, courage and love. I have become a better person for having known them. I have had clients who have given me the opportunity to to help them. I want to take this opportunity to tell these clients that I am not doing any favour to them, but rather by giving me an opportunity to involve myself meaningfully in their grievances, they have given me a chance to become a better human being. Albeit all the tragedies in their own lives, they still found it in themselves to bestow this kind and generous gesture and in that, it is they who are doing me a favour and for that I truly am grateful.

Someone asked me why stay in an environment full of abuse, violence, hate and generally a stuck up conservative attitude. Well I want to link that to 2013. I stay back because someone has to irritate, annoy and make the lives of these idiots that much more difficult and annoying and I embrace that responsibility wholeheartedly. I want to question, be questioned and stir up the dialogue process so everyone is that much more uncomfortable and that is me telling the folks on the opposite side, the ones who are completely devoid of any good virtue, that, “hey, you will not win without a fight and you will not spread your poison without a challenge”. I want to annoy them to a point where they hate my very existence.

I only pray that I have the courage and bravery to see this through. Every other promise to myself, including greater amount of time spent on Krav Maga training, writing, fitness and work, is to further the aforementioned resolution. Happy 2013 folks!

I had the unfortunate opportunity of chancing upon a video in facebook showing the MLA Akbaruddin Owaissi in Andhra Pradesh giving a highly inflammatory speech that seemed clearly intended to incite hatred between Hindus and Muslims. I haven’t posted the link because I don’t want to bring something to focus which needs to be ignored entirely. I followed the link to youtube to observe the comments and true to this moron’s design, one brand of comments was disturbing in the offense it represented to the Muslim community and another brand of comments reciprocated the gesture by insulting the Hindu Community. Incidentally enough, a mexican woman in new york killed an Indian man because she hates Hindus and Muslims for causing 9/11 attacks. If anything, this serves to remind us of the futility and meaninglessness in this brand of ideology that is trying to claim one religion as being better than the other.

Hindu Extremists or Muslim Extremists or for that matter creationists, the sheer lack of utility and substance in the brand of ideas they preach is now obvious. I say this even as I am annoyed beyond measure by extremely loud music being blasted outside my house celebrating our state’s language, which I speak and deeply adore. It seems to me today that religious, cultural and linguistic identities being ascertainable; are nothing more than sources of annoyance and are no longer capable of doing any good to us. I say this even as I came back from a wedding of a dear cousin who is married to a foreigner from a different culture and my god, it was so heartening to see them together, for it represents a better future for all of us. This future will involve a culture of integration, tolerance, love and happiness and I gladly accept this even if I have to sacrifice my identity as a Hindu speaking Kannada.

I have to say that the notion of God and religion in its most carnal form, have been terribly counterproductive. They gather a huge following because they appeal to those who are most intellectually deficient and starved off any emotional quotient whatsoever, which I now suspect constitutes a large percentage of humanity. I for one, condemn both the MLA making the inflammatory speech and those from the other community that will certainly seek to respond with equally stupid and nonsensical values. I have no qualms in admitting my hatred for the religion of form, be it Hinduism, Christianity or Islam which preach paranoia, mutual suspicion and a false sense of tensions between communities.

The morons even claimed that burial is a better form of dead body disposal than cremation, when it doesn’t matter what has more utility given that the person is, well, dead. If the good Prophet were to see an argument made for Islam’s superiority based on disposal of rotting corpses, he would not be very happy. The good prophet would have probably instead invited reference to the Holy Quran’s emphasis on giving alms to a hungry man as the highest form of worship, a notion preached by Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on social service as core to human existence. I would rather subscribe into the core values of spiritual pursuit, equanimity, universal brotherhood, compassion and forgiveness; all of which find place in the aforesaid religions here and there, but are conveniently forgotten in an effort to indulge our intellectual laziness.

The fact that many people are still trying to toe the line of Hinduism v. Muslims reflects only on what a sad population we are. If I may say so, the idiot in the above speech is no more different than those in Bajrang Dal or Varun Gandhi and in their disloyalty to the constitution of India, they are brothers and not enemies. Lets leave these values behind us and embrace a higher school of thought based on mutual respect and not suspicion and paranoia. India deserves better than the likes of Mr. Owaissi.

Notwithstanding the entire nation’s fury against the increase in incidences of crime against women, certain members of society, in their infinite wisdom (or the lack of it, depending on which of these define one’s perspective) made some remarkably stupid statements reiterating the existing misconceptions and deeply insulting beliefs of how “sluts invite rape”. To add further vigor to this strong lobby for bad policy making, a few cops in Punjab pressed a victim of a sexual offense to “compromise” with the accused by either taking monetary compensation or marrying him. Of course, in trying to play a very dark twisted version of cupid, these cops forgot to register an F.I.R., investigate the crime and file the charge sheet; all of which they were required to do under the law. The girl killed herself…..

I see these in the context of the protests at Delhi, themselves a source of controversy, and realise where the anger stems from and how justified they are. Yet in the anger, people don’t realize that the offense of rape by itself is not punishable by death and whether it is required to be so, while definitely a debatable point, is not a moot point in the context of the Delhi Incident itself. Should the parliament even enhance the punishment by amending the IPC, the Accused stand to insulate themselves from such enhancement by virtue of Article 20 (1) of the constitution of India; which also cannot be altered by virtue of the “basic structure” theory which is recognized as sound jurisprudence. We now know the system is struggling and attitudes need to change, but what are the solutions and how do we implement them is something a good lot of us are in the dark about…

The lobby for reforms at a statutory level is well founded and necessary. Something about the way existing system works to prosecute and punish rape is not working. So no doubt we have to explore what we can to do to change the situation, including a debate on punishment. However I think about the case in Punjab and imagine a sound, dedicated lawyer who walks with the victim and reminds the police to either register an F.I.R or have an F.I.R. be registered against them (as laid down by the Supreme court of India). I think of this girl receiving trauma counselling from a therapist and for her to receive medication attention from a doctor. I think the same lawyer working with the police and prosecutor to ensure a fair and just investigation and trial. I wonder with all these measures would that girl still have committed suicide?

The scope for executive authorities and the public to collaborate meaningfully is immense. Private players can do much good by working with the state in implementing the fantastic legal measures that are available to provide some semblance of justice to victims of crime. Only if we as ordinary men and women show involvement, will the police and everyone else understand that we are with the victim and want to see the Accused put away. Proactive contributions on our part can do much to strengthen, improve and support the existing systems. 2013 is the year for volunteering and pro bono work. Perhaps it is time you, as a reader, considered one or both of these options. After all the sound policy is to try and convince before confronting.

Every now and then you are presented with a question, why are you not angry, why are you not passionate, why are you not outraged? When a friend probed me on my thoughts on the Delhi Gang Rape incident after sharing his own desires to see the people behind the incident punished severely, I was at a loss for I neither connected with outrage or anger over the incident within my own mind.

For those of us sufficiently acquainted with the problems dealing with sexual offenses in the country, it is no longer a fear of the unknown. We assert  a particular cause for this epidemic in our justice system and are not surprised to see recurrence of such crimes given the deficiencies in our system which reflects, in turn, our deficient attitudes as people.

One man I met said women who go to bars or work in bars are selling their bodies and that causes rape. Another bloke blamed “westernization” (although Denmark has a much better culture of respect for women than India). In moments of frustration, I feel I can talk to a wall and make more progress than talk to these blokes and convince them about the fallacious nature of their thoughts.

The anger is there, but it is not expressive or controlling of our thoughts anymore. It is there to help us diagnose the problem and motivate us to work towards a solution. But it does not define our reactions or our work towards justice. If I am not outraged, its probably because I am seeing similarities between Ram Singh and Sedley Alley and if that is established, it also means “behavioral profiling’ can work just as well here as it did in the United States to help nab and convict these chaps. Lucidity helps this thought process towards solutions and it is a virtue I have taken many years to evolve.

Anger can at best be the fuel for our vehicle, but it cannot be the driver. Ram Singh and Company need the luxury of a cold, calculated and scheming police officer and prosecutor who can chalk out water tight strategies to permanently put them down. They do not need anger, they need coldness and lack of mercy.

He is seated in a car, driving around, slightly drunk, after having a bad episode with his wife at home. He spots a girl jogging in shorts, quite pretty and fit. He slows his car down and asks for direction. Innocent enough, eh? She continues to jog, except that he steps out, ambushes her a few steps ahead, beats into a state of unconsciousness, takes her to an isolated spot where she happens to fight back. The woman’s attempts at fighting back, feeble as it is on account of her injuries, only aggravates his anger and aggression as he repeatedly beats her and rapes her.. But this woman had the nerve to fight back and say no; just like the wife with whom he had a disagreement earlier. Women need to be taught a lesson ! But how? He looks around, spots a tree branch nearby. He grabs it and repeatedly penetrates his victim’s vagina, causing extensive bleeding and the trauma ends finally when one of the strokes lodges the branch all the way to her chest causing laceration of the lungs. Witnesses later recollect hearing a “death cry” or a woman’s scream, haunting the quietness of the night…..

I am referring to the murder of Suzanne Marie Collins, a beautiful and tough Marine employed with the United States Marine Corps who was assaulted in the most reprehensible and inhuman manner by Sedley Alley in the above said manner described in the book “Journey into Darkness” (by the acclaimed Behavioural Analysis Unit member John Douglas). What followed the incident is a moving story of a prosecutor who vowed to settle for nothing less than the death penalty and also the story of Suzanne’s parents who waged a long and tireless battle to sustain the death penalty through the appellate stages, initiating in the process, a culture of victim’s rights. Sedley Alley was finally executed on the 28^th of June, 2006; a measure I fully endorse and agree with.

The gang rape at Delhi, is even more heinous than the said offense, for here, it was not one but multiple Sedley Alleys at work inflicting the brutality describe above not once, but repeatedly on this girl. Let me for the umpteenth time stress that the crime was not lust based, but motivated by power and anger dynamics in addition to group dynamics. So therefore it could have been morning or evening, the victim could have been naked or clad in a Burqa and if the offenders had chanced upon her or any other woman, the crime could have just as easily happened. Variou mobs at Delhi now want the offenders brought to the streets where speedy justice will be ensured with a brilliant explosion of rage followed by spilling of blood in a manner reflective of the crimes committed.

I cite the Suzanne Marie Collins case and place it in perspective of the incident at Delhi to highlight the success of judicial processes in the US vis-à-vis the prosecutor’s zeal and the court’s acceptance of the need for death penalty as opposed to the situation in India where the mobs have uncontrollable blood lusts, propelled by the failure of our judicial processes. The highlight is that such crimes happen in such brazen and unforgivable fashion because institutional processes, investigative and judicial, have failed. It reflects, in turn, our own failure to create, respect and sustain a justice system which is serious about such crimes and each time we cry for blood to be drawn on the streets, we acknowledge our failure to create this infrastructure for justice. In the Suzanne Maries Collins’s case, the police need not have to be nudged to investigate the crime, the prosecutor need not be convinced as to the requirement of the death penalty and no idiot had the courage to suggest that the girl invited the rape on herself for jogging in her shorts late in the night. The institutional processes picked up and went all the way for the victim, the only hiccup being the sustenance of the death penalty, which too finally leaned in favour of victim’s rights.

What we need to press therefore is not street justice for the victims, but for institutional justice through institutional processes that are just as smooth, committed and sensitive to the rights of victims and their families in inflicting death penalties on offenders. In our cities, people seethe in anger and endorse the view that this crime happened not because of any alleged carelessness of the victim, but because of the accused’s failure to respect the girl, as a human being and respect her rights which follow. However this is a view largely divested from the views of a large majority of people. I was painfully acquainted with this reality when the lawyers from various rural and semi-rural areas in the workshop I am attending, still contemplated “skimpy attire”, “girl being out late in the night” and “westernization” as causes of this crime.

On one hand intrinsically these attitudes, reflected in and endorsed by patriarchal values which this nation is infected with, are inherently wrong. But the failure of the institutional processes to take these crimes seriously and afford nothing short of the death penalty to offenders in such instances; has somewhere lent credence to these deficient attitudes and values. Therefore, perhaps it is time we calmed down and deliberate on how the death penalty should be awarded to these offenders, having agreed that death penalty is the only punishment befitting a case as reprehensible as this and further agreeing that street justice is not the means to get there. In arriving at the answer to this, we must be sensitive to the victim and her family’s views, for our duties to the victims now require greater priorities than our duties to the accused.

Now is not a moment for anger, but a moment for calmness for we have to strategize on how we could kill the attitudes that are driving women rights infringements. With or without mobs on the streets, the justice system should pursue the death penalty aggressively in these cases. We can no longer be lenient with ourselves and hold ourselves to lower standards by saying that we will kill the offenders instead of the system putting them to death. In indulging our bloodlust by asking for justice on the streets, we are not challenging ourselves to strengthen, support and sustain smooth processes at investigative and prosecuting stages to fulfil this vital purpose. We want the death penalty, but so should the system and it is for the system to pursue it and not us! That’s a challenge we cannot shy away from; for that lies at the center of the debate on balancing victim’s rights with the rights of the accused. So at the risk of playing the Devil’s Advocate, lets nudge the system to fight back, as it should and stop nothing short of demanding that it inflict the death penalty. But none the less the insistence is not for the offenders to be brought the streets and killed, but for the system to pursue this through the due process of courts as expeditiously as possible. Unless the systems and processes independently become well equipped to adopt this approach, these crimes will go on happening and our bloodlust will only be a short term solution.

Having said that I conclude with my prayers for the victim and her family! You deserved better and we as Indians are sorry for letting this happen…..

I had the fantastic opportunity to be part of the three day workshop on the Juvenile Justice Act held by a very reputed player in that field here. I was only one among the two attendees from Bangalore and the rest of my “classmates” were from various parts of rural and semi-rural Karnataka. After attending an entire day, I feel, well, ignorant…

Before you dismiss me as a dumb head, hear me out. My classmates were learned members of the bar i.e., Advocates from various parts of Karnataka. They brought a rich body of experience as to what is going wrong with the Juvenile Justice Act throughout the state infusing fresh energy into the debate on revamping the entire infrastructure dealing with Juveniles in Conflict with Law. What astounded me was their level of knowledge in the field of law. These blokes and a few ladies were able to cite provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, Indian Evidence Act, Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice Act by the dozens without any need to refer to any books on the subject. I felt terribly small at my inability to comprehend their reference to these provisions which they cited with a level of ease that scared me. Yet there exists a marked need for change in our fundamental attitudes as average Indians.

First of all, expecting a workshop, I went dressed in a t-shirt and jeans only to find many of my classmates in suits with ties. They participated enthusiastically in today’s discussions. However, one thing stood out. When it was time to solve the case studies presented at the end of the day, rather than applying the learning of the day, people resorted to their existing body of knowledge and more often than not, incorrectly applied them. What set them apart was not only their impressive and humongous knowledge base, but also their marked inability at applying their minds. Half of them could not even correctly grasp the problem as they failed to even read them correctly. This ran parallel to their inability to listen and often questions and points were repeated by those, whose immediate predecessors in speech, had raised the exact same question or point. Ironically, the organizers who boast of impeccable credentials and experience in the field of Juvenile Justice were completely ignored as my fellow students battled between themselves in an effort to establish whose incorrectness at grasping would prevail.

I was an odd man out in trying to comprehend and apply the learning from today’s interactions to the case studies. Additionally, I noticed a rather peculiar feature. We were shown a movie on observation homes( which I had the good fortune of seeing earlier during my law student days) that was very moving. When a discussion was invoked on that movie, one particular chap recollected the story, as if answering a comprehension exercise in fourth grade English exams instead of really reflecting upon what situations the movie portrays and what could be done to mitigate the horrors we see in that movie.

In the result, I now gather that our professionals are no longer capable of being emotionally and intellectually stimulated. This incapacity is brought by their knowledge of the provisions, which they are desperate to flaunt as opposed to being eager to share. I blame this on our lack of respect for ignorance. This perpetuates an incapacity to unlearn and relearn; which in turn fuels an inability to adapt to changing situations, times and gather new knowledge. Additionally let us not always live up to our reputation for being arbitrary argumentative Indians. I went in with zero knowledge and came back with more queries, but I am now fascinated by this field. It is my ignorance and its peaceful acknowledgement, that perhaps ignited my curiosity which I am sure will now propel my efforts to learn about this field.

When one worships knowledge instead of acquiring it, one also accepts the vast body of ignorance which the knowledge so earned helps remind one of. Today I ask everyone to really embrace ignorance and not condemn it. For ignorance and its acknowledgement is really the first step towards knowledge and expertise!

I finally had the opportunity to watch “Talaash”, the movie starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor, which I might add, was quite a rewarding watch albeit what the critics might tell you. The Protagonists character was particularly interesting and when viewed from the perspective of the real world, quite unconventional. The conflict between the urge to exploit and virtue, defining his interactions with the charming informer played by Kareena Kapoor, ultimately concludes with the victory of virtue. Heroic as this may be, the rule remains that the banal urges to exploit seem to win more often than not. But the surprise I hope to inflict upon my readers is that, virtue is its starting point.

As I was browsing through the magazine today, I came across an article on Yedyurappa launching his new party in the state of Karnataka. Besides the usual rhetorical claims of political victory in the offing for his party, he mentions that the people of Karnataka including the religious minorities love him for his policies. He concludes that the best interests of the state are within his exclusive contemplation and therefore merits his rise to the post of chief minister. Viewed strictly from the contents of his interview, the man has set out with the best intentions. But who hasn’t?

Virtue and exploitation rest on the same scale. Most of us who have begin our journey in the path of advancing values and virtue are at a danger of reaching exploitation towards the end. Every time a good deed is done, the mind and the ego tells one to feel good and somewhere that is critical to motivate oneself to continue to do good. But beyond a certain threshold of this thought, the mind asks a critical question, “Since you are doing so much good, why not reward yourself? After all, those far beneath you are enjoying the good life!” How do we respond to this?   I am at a loss to answer this question.

Its is therefore my earnest belief, that virtue when rewarded with ungratefulness is to be valued. Effort sometimes needs to be met with callousness and recognition may be best left unearned. When one probes beyond the realms of reward and punishment, one sees a world where virtue is not an effort but a state of existence. It is not a road to be walked, but a companion in the journey of life. Those in public life who entitle themselves to perks are to be pitied, for their thought processes are now confined to the aforesaid realms where virtue and exploitation stand on the same scale. Reflect deeply therefore, before you expect and accept a reward for virtue. For the path to exploitation perhaps begins there…..

To believe or not to believe? That is the question! Forgive moi, but I find organized religion a somewhat difficult system to believe and follow. Zen Buddhism seems most appealing, but I remain more ignorant than enlightened as to its principles to speak intelligently. But on the more simple topic of theism v. atheism, I wonder where I stand.

I am afraid I remain somewhat unclear in my stand. Yet I have moments when I look at the product of my efforts, or perhaps the perfectness of a day or the perfectness in a day gone completely wrong and wonder if the perfectness was possible without someone effectively planning and executing it all. Having said that I can no longer visualize or conceptualize an image of God. There was a time when that was the only way I could pray or meditate, the image and name of deity firmly etched in my mind. But I find them not so appealing anymore.

However, I am convinced of the notion of spirituality. But I am unable to effectively define it. When I am listening to a good piano track, there comes a moment when the music simply overwhelms you, renders you thoughtless and there is a sense of floating through a calm current. That, to me, is a moment of upliftment, a moment where the mind rises above the the forceful need to indulge the cycle of karma. I am a spiritualist and it is a matter entirely personal to me. I can neither convince anyone as to its utility nor can I be convinced of the lack of it.

All I know is that without it, I would be lost to the ordinariness of the day and would indulge petty priorities too often without seeing it from a broader perspective. Now if you will excuse, I have to close my eyes and listen to these beautiful tracks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTK3FCHYrJY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTgK4bNjZxg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9haTFoGcvk

With reference to the liability of universities, I am yet to uncover a precedent in India where a university was held liable in a court of law for not ensuring adequate security. The principle of damages in negligence, requires three ingredients, namely

a.    existence of a duty of care,

b.    failure to meet the duty of care and,

c.    damages incurred as a result thereof.

Therefore hypothetically speaking, if it is established that providing safety infrastructure comes within the purview of “duty of care” of the university to its students and it is established that the university failed to meet that duty of care, then liability for negligence may follow. However it is a debatable point of law, one which hasn’t found the light of a judicial precedent in India.

But the US jurisdiction has seen the light of court decisions on the subject. The jurisprudence there involves balancing the fact that college students are adults who cannot be controlled by universities on one hand and the need to prevent negligence among the university authorities on the other. Two such cases are discussed as under,

MULLINS v.PINE MANOR COLLEGE et al. 389 Mass. 47, 449 N.E.2d 331:

The case involved rape of a student, although the actual assault did not happen in the dormitory premises. The facts were that the survivor, who was sleeping in her dormitory room was confronted by the assailant who marched her out of her dormitory (constructed and maintained by the university) and later raped her.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, recognized three ingredients for holding a university liable namely,

1.    An undertaking to protect students from criminal acts of third parties (the university had undertaken such a duty by investing some effort in the direction of student safety)

2.    Failure to exercise that duty and such failure to exercise the duty increased the risk of harm

3.    Harm is suffered as a result of the student’s reliance on that undertaking.

The Plaintiff in the case was required to compulsorily reside in the dormitory by the University. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that the university itself had recognized the risk of such a crime occurring on campus. The Plaintiff’s room had a door which was found to be capable of opening by a mere credit card. The university had not remedied these issues and the general security measures were found inadequate when seen in light of the risk of crime that the university had foreseen. Therefore the university was held liable.

DELTA TAU DELTA, BETA ALPHA CHAPTER, and DELTA TAU DELTA, NTIONAL FRATERNITY, v. TRACEY D. JOHNSON, 712 N.E.2d 968; 1999 Ind. LEXIS 419.
In this case, a student was sexually assaulted in a party hosted by Delta Tau Delta. The question was whether DTD could have foreseen the risk of such a crime, and having failed to implement measures to prevent it, could be held liable for negligence.

The Supreme Court of Indiana, relied on the test of “totality of the circumstances” (formulated in the context of a landlord’s duty to provide adequate measures to safeguard a tenant against crimes which have a prior history of occurring near the landowner’s property.), which stipulates that the circumstances surrounding an event, including the nature, condition, and location of the land, as well as prior similar incidents, to determine whether a criminal act was foreseeable. Once it becomes foreseeable, there is a duty of care to implement measures to prevent it and a failure on that regard invites liability for negligence.

Sufficient data existed that sexual assaults had occurred in the past. Therefore DTD was held liable for negligence in its failure to put in measures to protect the Plaintiff.

Going by these principles, the following conclusions arise,
a.    A university, whose campus has a history of crimes occurring in it has the means to foresee the risk of such crimes recurring on its campus.

b.    It needs to therefore put in measures to protect its students.

c.    A failure to put in these measures as opposed to a failure to protect the students from the crime itself invites liability. Therefore not every assault on student can be held against the university, but only where such assault and the damages sustained as a result thereof are attributable to the university’s failure to put in measures in spite of having foreseen the risk of such crime; can the university be held liable.

d.    Consequently, if a crime occurs in spite of the university implementing these measures, then no liability follows. However if the crime occurs because of a failure to put in the required security infrastructure, then liability follows.

Whether these principles will be applied by Indian courts or not is an open question and it remains for someone to test the waters in this regard by approaching a court of law.