Six months of investigation, mostly through telephone-tapping, 12 months of analysis of evidence and prosecution, 11 days of deliberation and, finally, a conviction. Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam's journey from being suspected of fraud to being punished and jailed would have taken less than two years by the time the saga ends next month.
In Hyderabad, Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju is still an undertrial and remains in custody for more than two years since he confessed to financial fraud. No one can guarantee how long Mr Raju will remain in jail and when he can expect to get bail.
The entire investigation and prosecution process is going on and on and on and on and, like so many undertrials around the country, he may well spend more time in jail as an undertrial than serving out his sentence, if and when that is finally delivered!
In the past six months, several high- profile politicians, business persons and government officials have been picked up by investigation agencies and no one can offer any timeline on how long they will be refused bail and how long after that they will remain undertrials before a verdict is reached.
Meanwhile, a rough justice of sorts has already been delivered in terms of reputations, incomes and livelihoods lost. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Consider the case of former central vigilance commissioner P J Thomas. It was the inordinate delay in the judicial process that eventually hurt him when there was no reason for him to have been hurt at all.
The Raj Rajaratnam trial is a reminder that in the case of a white-collar crime, India's judicial process condemns the suspect even before the evidence is gathered. But after the initial damage is done, it can take years for the verdict to be delivered, by which time the "accused" may have paid a huge price in terms of reputation and income.
On the other hand, the Rajaratnam trial is also a reminder of the weak investigation system in India. In large part, as in the Ramalinga Raju case, investigative agencies are unable to gather enough evidence to proceed with prosecution.
If a person cannot be proved guilty, he cannot be assumed to be so. Finally, consider the manner in which US authorities have first arrested a suspect, gathered evidence and then granted bail till the prosecution and the judiciary have done their work.
In India, arrest comes months after a suspect has been warned that an investigation is being conducted.
But once arrested, bail is rarely granted even if investigative agencies are unable to complete their work and the judiciary is unable to find time to hear the petition and arrive at a verdict. It is not enough to blame government agencies alone.
The judiciary is equally, if not more, guilty of delaying justice. With white-collar crimes on the rise, it is necessary for the judiciary and police to distinguish between white-collar crimes, petty crimes and acts of homicide and violence.
Sending everyone to the same jail is also unfair. India needs different detention centres for different kinds of criminal misconduct.
