Imagine a race between Lie, and Truth. Who do you think will win?
Hint: “A lie has speed, but truth has endurance.”
You'd be correct in believing that it depends upon the length ofthe race – if it's a dash, then ‘Lie' would win. But if it were a marathon, ‘Truth'would.
But in reality, ‘Truth' almost never catches up, even in amarathon. Because, while ‘Truth' has to run the distance alone (it exists in asingular form), ‘Lie' on the other hand, multiplies and turns the marathon intoa relay race. It picks up partners, builds up extra mass and energy, andmaintains a very high speed.
The contest between truth and lies is often played out incourtrooms. Sometimes a race goes on for decades. And history shows that thelonger the race, the higher the chances of the truth losing.
People believe that in a court of law, judges take the side of theversion that is closer to the ‘Truth'. But that is not so. A judge merelyinterprets the law. The law comes from two sources: the legislation, and fromprevious decisions of courts. Judges in lower courts usually follow a precedingdecision and don't set precedents themselves. So the outcome largely depends onhow the cases are ‘packaged' by the prosecution and the defence counsels. Thepolitical atmosphere plays a significant role, too.
Also Read: Godhra-Gulbarg Gambit: Pawns Face Trial While Knights Roam Free
‘Mob Didn't Intend to Kill'
In courtrooms, fiction often makes a better job of the truth. Thespecial court assigned to bring justice to the victims of Gulberg society inAhmedabad concluded on last Friday, that the blood-thirsty mob, leading to thekilling of 69 innocents on 28 February, 2002 was “not really interested incausing deaths ”...but turned murderous after ex-MP Ehsan Jafri opened fire atthem.”
Special Judge PB Desai stated in his judgement that the “...mob was largely involved in stone-pelting and attempting to burn and damage the vehicles and properties of the minority community outside the Gulberg society”.
To expand on that: The judgement seems to aver that the mobsuddenly turned ugly after the private firing by Ex-Congress MP Shri EhsanJafri, which acted as a catalyst, and which infuriated the mob tosuch an extent that the mob went out of control.
This basically means that if a gang of goons molest you, do notresist in self-defence. If you do so, you'll be blamed for inciting them torape you. After the rape, it'll be established in the court of law that thegoons did surround you, perhaps to molest you, but they were “not reallyinterested in causing rape.”
For killing 69 human beings of the society including the formerCongress MP Ehsan Jafri in one-sided, cold-blooded violence that lasted allday, 11 were given life terms, one was sentenced to 10 years in jail, and 12got seven years. Of these, two walked free because they had already completedthe duration of their sentences in jail.
Ironically, the Special Investigating Team (SIT) which was set upby the Supreme Court, had sought capital punishment for them but the victimshad pleaded for maximum imprisonment – not a death sentence. Obviously, thevalue of a human life is understood better by those who have lost their nearand dear ones.
Gaps in Gulberg Verdict
- A special court in Ahmedabad rejects pre-planned attack theory inGulberg case, concludes that the firing by ex-MP Ehsan Jafri incited the mob.
- The testimony of eyewitnesses who did not recall firing by Jafri'sprivate weapon was termed ‘selective amnesia' by the court.
- Testimony of the SIT's Investigating Officer, JM Suthar who haddefended Jafri's firing as ‘self-defence', was set aside.
- The judgement doesn't mention the call records, collected asevidence in the form of CDs by former IPS officer Rahul Sharma.
- Those CDscontain record of phone calls made by senior officers during riots.
- Testimony of key eyewitnesses such as Imtiyaz Khan Pathan and fewothers was proclaimed as ‘tutored' by the defence lawyer.
Relying on Selective Evidence
In its verdict, the court dismissed victim testimonies that “Jafriwas immobile and could not move out of his bungalow, and was done to death whenthe mob dragged him out of his bungalow”. The court also junked the testimonyof the Investigating Officer of the Supreme Court-appointed SIT, J M Suthar,who defended Jafri's firing as “self-defence”.
Interestingly, the single most important piece of scientific evidence – the phone data CDs collected and submitted by former IPS officer Rahul Sharma – finds no mention in the order. The CDs contain a record of all the cellphone calls made and received in Ahmedabad during the first few days of the 2002 violence.
Sharma was cross-examined at length by the prosecution duringthe trial. The phone data pattern clearly establishes that there was a largerconspiracy in the violence and that the police establishment was systematicallyparalysed on 28 February when the maximum violence happened.
Advocate SM Vora, representing the survivors had placed 56pleadings in support of how conspiracy is made out in the case. In courtpractices, conspiracy is established not by evidence but by inference from thefacts of the case. However, in this case, even the Tehelka sting tapes – whichestablished a larger conspiracy – was rejected by the court.
Also Read: Gulbarg Case: So Many Life Terms Is Exemplary, Says RK Raghavan
Turning a Blind Eye
Repeated demands by the witnesses during the trial to implicatethe police officers for dereliction of duty on the basis of call records wereturned down by the court. Even the prosecution agency, the SIT, stronglyobjected to any possible implication of senior police officers.
The victims had demanded arraignment of four top police officersfor their failure to curb the massacre. In their application, the victims accusedthe then Police Commissioner PC Pandey, the then Additional PoliceCommissioner MK Tandon, the then DCP PB Gondia and the then AssistantCommissioner of Police SS Chudasama of dereliction of duty.
The court also did not discuss the testimony of prime witnessImtiyaz Khan Pathan, who lost 10 members of his family. The courtdescribed Pathan as an “all-pervading, all-knowing and all-observing witness.” Incidentally, Pathan has revealed that then chief minister Narendra Modi had abused Jafri on the phone when the latter had called seeking help.
You see, judges are humans, too. They are just as malleable andductile as a piece of lead. This wasn't just a simple race run in the courts:it was a marathon, cross country, decathlon, and steeplechase allrolled into one.
The ‘Lie' had snowballed, and gathered extra help. It had severalchampion partners who carried the baton in the relay race. Poor ‘Truth' ran therace all alone.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Creative Communication, MICA. He can be reached at @mishra_pravin)
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
