Comment by mrtksn | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mrtksn | Hacker News Reader

Do India has the issue of "strict laws which are enforced selectively"?

Because this reminds me of the traffic light in Grozny, Chechnya that is always red, the people from the regime just ignore it but if someone undesirable doesn't obey the red light(they have no choice, the light is always red) they will face the wrath of the strict traffic code of Chechnya: https://twitter.com/kamilkazani/status/1595456040677556226

Similar approach was used in Turkey to take over the mainstream media from conglomerates. So they create very stick tax code which would be very hard to follow and the government doesn't care anyway and as a result people violate the code all the time. When these businessmen "misbehave", like one of their news channels goes a bit too hard on the government they send the tax people for an audit and uncover all the irregularities and slap a fine that would definitely bankrupt them and if the businessmen play ball most of the fine gets stripped away and goes back to business as usual. If the government loses faith with their ability to play ball or they think it would be better to take over the business, they move forward with the fine. That's how some of the larges businesses in the country were seized by the government or force-sold to government friendly businesspeople at a nice discount.

selective law enforcement truly undermines the rule of law and legitimacy of institutions.

it turns the rule of law into rule by law: rulers and the ruled

it creates a class of people who are not subjected to the law while unleashing "order" on the powerless.

it's all hidden behind the curtain and turn a society into nothing more than "might makes right".

the vail is lifted whenever the inconsistencies are exposed which is why the system always aims to avoid transparency to maintain its power.

instead of rule law, society becomes nothing more than a hierarchy of power with a lot of bullshit decorum

unfortunately, it's pervasive across governments, especially less subtle authoritarian governments.

I wish nothing more than true rule of law.

'True rule of law' in that sense is impossible unless there is some superior authority that can physically prevent legislators/judiciary/executive from writing, or attempting to enforce, contradictory or unenforceable laws.

Which of course is a paradox as the superior authority cannot be bound by written laws in order to do this.

Juries, perhaps?

Or like the USA's Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which everyone violates at least once a day. It's a felony too. But they only enforce it when someone with power or money gets upset about something. Like when weev used wget instead of browser to look at AT&T's public website and was sent to prison for years.

> Do India has the issue of "strict laws which are enforced selectively"?

Yes, we do.

We have rules but tradition has be to follow person. If a powerful person say something and rules comes in the way, then expect that rules will be bent or ignored altogether. Rules are written often written in a way that leaves them.open to.interpretations.

In India, at least, and probably elsewhere too, charialsmatic leaders are often the one who destroys instrlitutions because rules comes in their way and slows them down (whatever they are trying to achieve). Last charismatic leader before Modi was Indira Gandhi who imposed emergency.

I'd love to see lame leaders and powerful institutions in democracies.

Yeah, income tax raids are a standard play in India. They are usually sent to target rich folks who have fallen out of favor.

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