The Stockholm Syndrome

- by Jawaharlal Jasthi

Yes, it’s done. It’s a fait accompli. The collegium has come to stay. It is the brain child of the hon’ble Supreme Court of India, the highest judicial body under the constitution. Even if you want to find fault with it, there is no superior legal authority to which an appeal can be made. The buck stops there!

Perhaps that is why everybody is taking it for granted that it has to be honored even if they are not convinced about its legality or constitutional validity. What cannot be cured must be endured. But is there any limit for the pain to imbibe? Can we reduce the intensity of the pain? That is the only thing that can be done about it. That is why everybody is trying to find ways to make the collegium more acceptable, less painful.

The demand for transparency is one such proposal. Leave alone the jurists and common people, why the other two constitutional bodies – executive and legislature – also become subservient to it in dereliction of their constitutional duties? Don’t they have a responsibility to ensure that constitution is upheld by all agencies and all people? Did they succumb to the Stockholm Syndrome?

Yes, that is a symptom of Stockholm Syndrome. In the year 1973, two robbers tried to rob a bank (Kreditbanken) in Stockholm (Sweden). They entered the bank with loaded guns and shot dead the security and police there. They started collecting cash chests. Meanwhile additional police forces arrived and they had to save themselves. To prevent the police from shooting at them, they took the bank staff hostage.

They drove the four employees into the bank vault and held them at gun point. If the captors are harmed, they can immediately shoot the hostages. The police could not afford to take such a risk. There was a stalemate. The police could not even see the hostages as they were held in the vault which has only one opening and it was guarded by the robber with gun in hand.

They had to drill a hole in the ceiling to look at the hostages to know their condition. They were huddled together into a corner. It was time to start negotiations to get the employees released without harm. Even while putting them in a corner, the captors took some precautions to ensure they will not try to run away. They tied explosives around the bodies of hostages with trigger in their hands. After some time they put their necks in a noose so that it will tighten if they make any move.

Later that was also removed. Negotiations took long time. It lasted for six days. During that period the captors allowed the hostages to be fed and agreed to move for natural necessities. That earned some goodwill from the hostages. The tension eased.

The hostages started thinking from the stand point of the captors. If they are really cruel, they could have shot them then and there. They did not do it. They became friendly. They realized their natural needs and allowed them to move. But by the sixth day the police were able to devise a plan to divert the attention of the robbers and overpower them without giving an opportunity to react. That made the hostages free and they were also happy.

The police had to overpower the captors and arrest them. Some force had to be used. The hostages came forward pleading for kind treatment to the captors. The police were naturally surprised. Instead of condemning the captors who held them under fear for six days they are showing so much consideration for them. In fact, one of them set up a fund to help legal assistance to them after their arrest. There is a radical change in their behavior which is beyond reason.

Psychologists analysed it as a syndrome – the Stockholm Syndrome. For the syndrome to set in, it is necessary that the hostages feel there is no way for them escape from the situation. They are completely at the mercy of the captors. They could kill them with impunity at any moment, but they did not. Over the prolonged time, they even helped them, conversed with them and were kind to them. The hostages try to understand the captors and develop empathy with them. That is how the syndrome sets in.

The hostages came forward pleading for kind treatment to the captors. The police were naturally surprised. Instead of condemning the captors who held them under fear for six days they are showing so much consideration for them.

Now, we in India, are subject to the Stockholm Syndrome? As stated earlier, there is no escape from the collegium. It is the desire and decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Even if you are not happy with it, there is no other body provided under the constitution to approach for redressal of your grievance. Even if the other constitutional bodies – executive and legislature – make any effort, the Court can easily declare it unconstitutional and render it ineffective.

The fact that collegium itself is unconstitutional is a different matter. It is protected by the highest court of the land. Thus a vicious circle, a whirl pool is created. That is how the 99th amendment to the constitution and the NJAC Act were struck down. Even then, the other constitutional bodies cannot blame that they are ignored.

The fact that collegium itself is unconstitutional is a different matter. It is protected by the highest court of the land. Thus a vicious circle, a whirl pool is created. That is how the 99th amendment to the constitution and the NJAC Act were struck down.

The Court, that has usurped the constitutional powers of the executive and legislature by devising a fictitious theory, was magnanimous to entrust the executive with responsibility to draft the Memorandum of Procedure to be followed by the collegium. They themselves could do it. But it is out of compassion to the executive that they entrusted the work to the executive. The executive has to be thankful to them for it.

On the one hand, the unconstitutional jurists are angry that somebody from within is trying to sabotage the citadel. On the other, the constitutional jurists, instead of trying to undo the damage and bring the system to constitutional lines, are trying to make the collegium more acceptable by suggesting improvements to the procedure to be followed. Some of them have gone to the extent of suggesting that the posts of judges shall be advertised and call for applications for consideration as if it is a job under government.

The constitutional jurists, instead of trying to undo the damage and bring the system to constitutional lines, are trying to make the collegium more acceptable by suggesting improvements to the procedure to be followed.

Is it the status that the man sitting on judgment seat is entitled? All the learned intelligentsia is falling head over heels to uphold the collegium and make it palatable. How strange a situation for a democratic nation to face! In spite of having an extensively written constitution with 395 Articles and twelve schedules, the need was felt to search for an extra constitutional device to support the self- serving theory devised by the judiciary. But it need not be the end.

In 1974, there was another incident that involved the Stockholm Syndrome. Patty Hearst, the heir apparent to the empire of media in California, was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a terrorist organization. They demanded that the media mogul shall feed the poor for some time. While in captivity, they looked after the girl with compassion. They have also provided her with a fiancé. She was naturally impressed by that. While the feeding was going on, the SLA resorted to bank robberies and the kidnapped girl Patricia was one of the team.

People were surprised and everybody concluded that she was subjected to the Stockholm Syndrome. In one of the subsequent robberies, the gang was held and the girl was sent to her family. Initially, she was singing the song of the SLA, but after some time, she came out of the influence of the Syndrome and condemned the group as terrorists, which they are. This indicates that there is possibility to come out of the syndrome.

For decades after formation of collegium, there was no opposition to it. Of late, after Hon’ble Justice Chalameswar raised some issues regarding function of collegium, there has been a flood of opinions expressed by different persons about the collegium. Unfortunately, almost all of them tried to make suggestions to improve the functioning of the collegium so that it could be made more acceptable. They did not question the very constitutionality of the institution called collegium. It only proves the influence of Stockholm Syndrome.

But there are a few sane sources that are free from the syndrome and suggested reconsideration of the decision to form the collegium. The voice of Justice K.T.Thomas, the former justice of the Supreme Court is the one that raises hope of sane voices. He pointed out that there are many Supreme Court justices, past and present, holding the view that the majority decision in the NJAC case was wrong. Based on that, he suggested that re-evaluation of the decision is necessary. That is the only way to come out of this muddle honorably. If the members of the collegium are really unbiased and free from self-aggrandizement, they can adopt this suggestion and save the judiciary honorably from this embarrassing situation.

It takes time to come out of the influence that overtook in times of desperation. Let us hope, the country also will come out of this disabling influence early and the democratic organs and institutions will have the conviction to rise to the occasion and assume their constitutional responsibilities.