Ruchi Verma cites examples to show how the law is misused and its loopholes are exploited to the hilt for personal and political gains. The bottom line: The high and mighty propagate crime and encourage breeding of anti-social elements in society. She makes out a case for judicial reforms and stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that justice is not denied or delayed for the victims of such crimes.
Powerful people and their relatives often misuse laws for personal and political gains. Many such families propagate crime and encourage breeding of anti-social elements in society.
One of the most notorious examples of such crimes is the Uphaar Cinema fire, which claimed the lives of 59 people and injured 103 others in 1997. The fire was caused by a faulty transformer that was installed and maintained by the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB), a public sector undertaking.
The owners of the cinema hall, the Ansal brothers, were accused of negligence and violation of safety norms, such as blocking the emergency exits and reducing the number of seats to accommodate more people. The victims and their families had to fight a long and arduous legal battle for justice, which was marred by delays, corruption, and manipulation.
The Ansal brothers, who were influential businessmen with political connections, tried to evade responsibility and accountability by using their money and power. They allegedly tampered with evidence, influenced witnesses, and bribed officials. They also challenged the compensation awarded to the victims by the Delhi High Court, which was reduced by the Supreme Court in 2011.
The case is still pending in the courts, as the victims’ association has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s order that granted relief to the Ansal brothers. The association has also demanded a fresh trial, alleging that the CBI, which took over the investigation in 2015, did not conduct a fair and impartial probe.
The Uphaar Cinema fire is not an isolated incident, but a reflection of a larger problem of fire safety in India. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 17,700 cases of fire accidents in India in 2019, resulting in 12,748 deaths and 4,252 injuries.
The murder mystery
Another shocking case of crime involving a powerful family is the Sheena Bora murder case, which came to light in 2015. Sheena Bora, a 24-year-old executive, was allegedly killed by her mother Indrani Mukerjea, her step-father Sanjeev Khanna, and her driver Shyamvar Rai in 2012. Indrani Mukerjea was a former media executive who was married to Peter Mukerjea, the ex-CEO of Star India.
The motive behind the murder was said to be Indrani’s fear of losing her wealth and status, as Sheena was her daughter from a previous relationship with Siddhartha Das. Indrani had introduced Sheena as her younger sister to her family and friends, and had opposed her relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, Peter’s son from an earlier marriage. Sheena had also threatened to expose Indrani’s lies and secrets, which could have jeopardised her marriage and business interests.
The case was initially handled by the Mumbai Police, but was later transferred to the CBI due to its complexity and sensitivity. The CBI filed three chargesheets against Indrani, Peter, Sanjeev, and Rai, accusing them of murder, abduction, conspiracy, destruction of evidence, forgery, and cheating. The trial began in 2017, but has been stalled due to various reasons, such as Indrani’s ill-health, change of judges, lack of witnesses, and Covid-19 pandemic.
The case has also exposed the dark side of the media industry and the high society circles in Mumbai, where Indrani and Peter were well-known figures. Their greed, ambition, deception, and betrayal led them to commit such a heinous crime against their own daughter. The Sheena Bora murder case is not an aberration, but a symptom of a deeper malaise that afflicts many powerful families in India.
A tragic tale of honour killing
The Aayushi Chaudhary murder case is one of the most shocking and controversial cases of honour killing in India. It involves the brutal murder of a 22-year-old woman, Aayushi Chaudhary, allegedly by her own parents, who disapproved of her inter-caste marriage. The case also exposes the failure of the police to investigate the crime properly and to protect the victim’s rights.
Aayushi was a bright and ambitious student who was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer application from a private college in Delhi. She had a dream of becoming a software engineer and had a happy married life with her husband, Amit Kumar, whom she had secretly married in 2019.
Aayushi’s parents, Nitesh Kumar Yadav and Brajbala, were reportedly unhappy with their daughter’s marriage and wanted her to marry someone from their own caste. They also feared losing their social status and wealth if their daughter left them. They tried to persuade Aayushi to leave Amit and return to them, but she refused.
On 17 November 2020, Aayushi’s father allegedly shot her in the head with a licensed revolver at their home in Badarpur, Delhi, after an argument over her marriage. He then wrapped her body in plastic and stuffed it in a red suitcase. He and his wife then drove to Mathura, about 150 km away from Delhi, and dumped the suitcase near the Yamuna expressway. They returned to Delhi and pretended as if nothing had happened.
The next day, Amit filed a missing complaint with the police, as he had not heard from Aayushi since the previous night. He also told the police that he suspected foul play by Aayushi’s parents, who had threatened him and his wife several times in the past. However, the police did not take his complaint seriously and did not register an FIR.
On 20 November 2020, some villagers spotted the suitcase near the expressway and informed the police. The police opened the suitcase and found Aayushi’s body inside. They also recovered some documents and a mobile phone from the suitcase, which helped them identify the victim.
The police traced Aayushi’s parents and arrested them on 21 November 2020. They recovered the revolver used in the crime from their home and sent it for forensic examination. The police claimed that they had confessed to killing their daughter in a fit of rage over her inter-caste marriage.
However, Aayushi’s parents later retracted their confession and claimed that they were innocent. They said that they had been coerced by the police to admit to the crime. They also alleged that they had been tortured and harassed by the police during custody.
The case has raised several questions about the role of the police in handling such cases of honour killing. The police have been accused of negligence, incompetence, and bias in investigating the crime.
There is a lack of a specific law to deal with honour killing in India. Although the Supreme Court of India has declared honour killing as a “barbaric and feudal practice” and has directed the states to take preventive and punitive measures to curb it, there is no separate legislation to define and punish it.
The existing laws, such as the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, are inadequate and ineffective to address the complexities and challenges of honour killing.
Powerful people and families often misuse laws in India for personal and political gains. They propagate crime and encourage breeding of anti-social elements in society. There is a need for judicial reforms and stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that justice is not denied or delayed for the victims of such crimes.