So Is There Anyone Out There Protecting Judicial Witnesses?

NEW DELHI: Deaths of prime witnesses in the most talked about cases seem to becoming the norm. Is there indeed a pattern?

The Vyapam scam has jolted the judicial system of India, as at least 40 ‘witnesses’---both from within the accused and outside---have died mysteriously over the past few years. The Madhya Pradesh officials count just over 24 deaths, but the figure is clearly far below the date compiled by rights activists.

Legal experts see a pattern in the deaths. “There is a clear pattern. People are being targeted and killed,” former Chief Justice of India Justice V N Khare told ‘The Citizen’.

Justice Khare added, “It may sound odd but the practice these days in the criminal justice system is the lawyer suggests to the client to work towards breaking away the witness. They work towards this but clearly if that does not help then other measures are considered. This is something that we have to look at seriously and ensure that the Witness Protection Act is enforced. There is need to take action against people who have dared to do this in various cases”.

The death of witnesses has hounded the judicial system. Some are taken note of, some not. Of course Vyapam has exceeded all limits with the 40 odd deaths speaking of a pattern that has now rattled Parliament.

The murder of two chief medical officers of Uttar Pradesh brought to light a major scam in 2011. The scandal allegedly involved top politicians and bureaucrats in siphoning off at least 100 billion rupees from the National Rural Health Mission, a central government program for the uplift of the villages. The murder of the two officers Vinod Arya and BP Singh in 2010 and 2011 respectively brought this scam to light. The CAG report blames the state's health and family welfare department functionaries, middlemen and contractors for guzzling '5,700 crore of the '8,657 crore released between 2005 and 2011 under the NRHM.

At least five people are said to have been murdered in an attempt to cover-up large-scale irregularities. Several former ministers of the ruling party, Bahujan Samaj Party have been investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Voicing serious concern about this ongoing trend which has come up in many cases before the court, former Bombay High Court judge, Justice Hosbet Suresh said, “ This is a very sorry state of affairs. And I have no hesitation in admitting that this indeed has become a trend. The protection of witnesses is of supreme importance to strengthen the criminal justice system. Sadly the lack of political will has also been responsible for the killing of witnesses in the prime cases. It is to be of utmost importance that the political class realizes that the strong criminal justice system is reflection of strong governance”.

In 2011, a whistle blower exposing corruption in Bhopal, Shehla Masood, an RTI activist was killed in broad daylight. In a similar a sports teacher in Chandigarh was killed. The case of Manjunath is still fresh in the minds of many. Whistleblowers and witnesses in high profile cases face live under constant threat. They have been braving the odds, without protection. Vyapam highlights the virtual institutionalisation of such murders, with the perpetrators getting away with impunity.

Take the case of Prof Rajiv Kumar of IIT Kharagpur. Using RTI, he exposed irregularities in the IIT-JEE, the entrance test for admissions. He pointed out flaws in the setting of question papers and the evaluation of answer sheets. He also highlighted the lack of transparency and accountability, and the selection of IIT administrators’ wards in some IITs by filling up vacant seats through illegal admissions. For his efforts, Kumar was suspended.

Dr Sajib Nandi, the whistle-blower in the doping controversy involving the Sports Authority of India (SAI) was getting constant threats not to pursue the matter. He now wants police protection for himself and his family. Nandi reiterates that such death threats will not deter him or stop him from exposing the goings-on at SAI. But shouldn’t a law ensure that people like Kumar and Nandi are sheltered by more than just their own determination?

Reacting to this Supreme Court Lawyer, Abani Sahu, said, “ There are so many such cases now. The death of a prime witness often takes away the soul of the case and makes it weak. Sadly, in most of the cases the purpose is served and cases stuck in the middle”.

There are cases that have been reported extensively, fade out of media and public memory and resurface only when a witness dies or disappears. The lesser known cases, no less important for the people involved, are often not heard of at all with out of judiciary ‘settlements’ taking the form of death.

Some of the prominent cases where witnesses died:

1.  May 2010: Unearthed in 2008-PF scam of Ghaziabad District Court. As many as 33 judges were found allegedly involved in this.A key witness of the case Ashutosh Asthana, was found dead in Jail. The matter is still pending in the Supreme Court. Asthana’s death came as a major set back, with the case losing the earlier momentum.

2.  July 2015: Aasaram Bapu, the self styled godman was a popular television face and was arrested on rape charges. The 74-year-old guru has been in a Jodhpur jail since August 2013, over allegations of raping a 16 year old girl.Two months later he, along with his son Narayan Sai, were booked for the alleged rape of two sisters at their ashram in Gujarat's Surat. At least nine witnesses claim to have received threats and to have been attacked. Kripal Singh, an insurance agent and Aasaram’s cook at the ashram have been killed. The matter is pending before the courts.

3.  July 2011: The NRHM scam in Uttar Pradesh has also seen the deaths of jey witnesses. The Deputy chief medical officer of Varanasi, who was questioned by the CBI has died under mysterious circumstances. Shailesh Yadav died in what the police claimed was a road accident .The timing of the accident has also raised eyebrows. Yadav was grilled by the CBI in connection with the Rs 5,700-crore scam and died soon after. Before him, two chief medical officers - Vinod Arya and B.P. Singh - were shot dead and deputy CMO Y.S. Sachan died mysteriously in a hospital in Lucknow.

4.  December 2004: In the old case of ‘godman’ Chandraswami, accused of several financial irregularities, the death of witness Ravinder Jain was reportedly mysterious. It is alleged that Jain had inside information. .