Srinagar, Sept. 14 -- By Farooq Ahmad Khan

A courtroom in Srinagar runs on paper. Pleadings are typed and retyped, affidavits sworn and stamped, documents photocopied until the ink softens to gray.

Somewhere inside that paper is supposed to be the truth, but too often it is something else, dressed carefully enough to survive a hearing.

There is an old Kashmiri proverb that captures how this used to be treated: "Apaezayris gatche patae doorun qabri taam," a liar's falsehood must be pursued until it is exposed completely, followed all the way to the grave if that is what it takes.

It is a harsh line, but its purpose was deterrence rather than cruelty. A society that means what it says about honesty does not let a well-told lie retire si...