CBI, the saviour?

On 22 June 2017, fifteen-year-old Junaid Khan -- with Rs 1,500 in his pocket -- left his home in Khandawali village of Haryana along with elder brother and two friends to buy clothes, shoes, and gifts for the coming Eid.

The next day, the Indian Express (IE) reported: "On their way back in a Mathura-bound train, Junaid was stabbed to death by a group of men after an argument .... The men allegedly mocked the boys, tugged at their beards and accused them of eating beef. This was before they threw them out of the train at Asaoti station, where Junaid bled to death on his brother Hashim’s lap."

The government and the ruling party immediately swung into action. CCTV cameras in Asaoti station mysteriously conked out and NO RAILWAY EMPLOYEE HAD SEEN ANYTHING, although it was a bright and sunny day.

Therefore, although the case has reached a lower court in Faridabad, and is being tried as "State of Haryana Vs Naresh Kumar", only people like me who are insanely optimistic would expect a conviction.

Be that as it may, let's appreciate what the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Y S Rathore, who is hearing the case, has just done.

According to the IE, he evicted the Additional Advocate General of Haryana from his court because he was assisting the counsel of the main accused during cross-examination of witnesses. The judge said that the government lawyer was “suggesting questions to be put to the witnesses” during hearings on 24 and 25 October.

Expectedly, the evicted law officer told The IE it was a "wrong impression” that he was assisting the defence counsel. He happened to be there and had innocently helped another lawyer in matters unrelated to the case!

The Additional Advocate General is the second highest law officer of the state and must be an awfully busy bloke. Yet, his love for the accused criminal's counsel was so deep that he had to be at the lowest court on two consecutive days! The excuse simply doesn't hold water. He is a government pleader, and has no business to assist the lawyer of the accused, against whom his own government has filed a case.

Incidentally, Junaid’s father, Jalaluddin has filed a petition in the High Court "seeking transfer of the probe from the Haryana Police to an independent agency such as the CBI, as well as security for his family and the prosecution witnesses."

His lawyer has appealed, “It is the grievance of the petitioner that the statement of all the witnesses has been deliberately distorted to introduce ambiguity, discrepancies and contradictions, with the calculated interest of benefiting the accused.” He also said a person who was among the attackers was made a witness to help the accused. (IE)

That is how the BJP government in Haryana Government is ensuring justice for the victim's family! And the Jalaluddin family are so helpless that they have to seek investigation by the "caged parrot" called CBI, which has proved its neutrality beyond a shred of doubt while hounding Teesta Setalvad and in numerous other cases, and has also exhibited their superb efficiency in the recent fiasco in the Talwar couple’s case.

Our wretched governments are doing everything possible under the sun to destroy the criminal justice system in the country. They have to. Otherwise, how will India become the banana republic of their dream?

30 October 2017

(Photo courtesy the Indian Express, 2 July, 2017)