Time after time it’s been the same sad story as far government's witness protection program is concerned. After a high profile case the shouts to change or revamp the Witness Protection Program are heard but are soon forgotten for some reason. Adequate witness protection is required if the justice is to be done fairly but government is somehow failing to provide protection.

After Best Bakery and Jessica Lal case, this time it’s the Khairlanji witnesses who fear for life and are seeking CISF protection instead of the local police following shattered trust.

On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family – mother Surekha (45), daughter Priyanka (19), sons Sudhir (18) and Roshan (17) – were brutally killed in broad day light allegedly by members of upper caste over property dispute in Khairlanji village in Bhandara district of northeast Maharashtra.

Siddharth (47) and Rajendra Gajibiye (33) – two eyewitnesses, who were related to the Bhotmange family that was massacred, have appealed for protection from the CISF

The government on its part has been giving assurance to the two witnesses but both are unsure about their future.

After giving positive verdicts in a lot of cases, the last year has generally been a good one for the judiciary and it has in some ways helped people to keep the faith in the judiciary but it’s important to clear out the cobwebs so that justice is not actually delivered to all sections of the society. If India has to be a superpower in the next decade it’s important that all aspects of our civil society are in place including the role of police and judiciary.