Prakash, a crusader extraordinaire

Ramnik Mohan

Rohtak-based retired associate professor of English & social activist

THE news of the demise of the unassuming, down-to-earth Anand Prakash, who led the struggle for justice for Ruchika Girhotra tirelessly for 26 long years, brought to my mind the words of a young woman relating the story of her fight for justice to me: "Power and pelf hold sway and ordinary folk like me stand no chance of being able to beat them and get justice." The struggle of Anand Prakash — and his wife Madhu — is a shining exception to this "rule" and is a beacon of hope for the countless who suffer the pangs of injustice. To have attended 400 hearings in the trial court alone, and persisted in the pursuit of justice, the case going up to the Supreme Court that ultimately upheld the conviction of former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, who was the accused in a case of molestation of the not-yet-14 years old Ruchika, was a herculean effort indeed. It makes one to both bow the head as a mark of respect and raise the hand in salute. 

When folk like Anand Prakash take their leave of this world, one is afflicted by a deep sense of loss, but at the same time, one feels inspired by the man and his crusade. What fills one with the greatest admiration for the couple is the fact that they fought this battle for a girl who was not their offspring, but a friend of their daughter. The quantum of punishment upheld by the apex court — six months in jail that had already been served, remitted — is another matter, though. This was something that justifiably left Anand Prakash and his wife only partially satisfied after the long, hard struggle they had waged from 1990, when Ruchika was molested, to 2016, when the apex court's decision came.

We have, of course, been repeatedly witness to cases that have caught our attention because of the characters involved — especially those in power or near the centres of power. Occasionally, there have been cases that we were forced to be taken note of because of the sheer brutality involved. What is equally striking is that most of these relate to crimes against women. The Nirbhaya case of 2012, the case involving the Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the Varnika Kundu case readily come to mind as the most recent. The way these cases were filed and were or are being fought to stand up to injustice is a beacon in an otherwise dismal scenario of crimes against women. This is the reason we need to salute people like Anand Prakash and others who take up a fight in right earnest. 

One aspect is as to how the case is fought, how the courts and the prosecutors function to see to it that justice is done. The dera case points to the fact that even though the wheels of justice take years to bring justice home, it also involves some sort of a collective efficient functioning in moving against the accused.

We know of the two brave girls and journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati who, in a sense, brought everything out into the open in the Dera Sacha Sauda case. We also know of Chhatrapati's son Anshul who did not relent and carried on with his father's crusade. Also known now is the courage of conviction displayed by ASP Satish Dagar (assisted by inspector RK Khajuria), entrusted with the investigation and gathering of evidence for the case; the steadfastness of M Narayanan who headed the CBI probe, Special Public Prosecutor HPS Verma and, the CBI Court's Judge, Jagdeep Singh - and the Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Chief Justice (Acting) SS Saron and Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Surya Kant. 

The Power of One transformed into the Collectivity of Fighters for Justice is how the dera case came to be successful. Work has to be done at various levels to ensure that all the functionaries of law are working in tandem, towards the one goal of working for nothing but Justice for the one who knocks at its doors. 

Courage and determination of individuals in the face of intimidation, threats and the heavy odds stacked against them, and the single-mindedness of purpose to see justice being done can bring power and pelf down to their knees. And yet, one does have to say that if even one of the links in the chain of justice is weak, even if one of these does not withstand the assault of inducements, intimidations and threats, the verdict might well not be what it should come out to be.

In spite of the courage of one individual (may be even more than one) like Anand Prakash to take the first brave step, it needs the courage of at least a few working towards the common goal of Justice to bring things to fruition.

One is filled with immense respect for the courage showed by such men and women as one thinks of their long years of struggle, their visits to the court, the discomfiting questionings and cross-questionings, the threats and intimidations that they most likely face, their moments of depression at times — and much more. The last salute to Anand Prakash is all the more poignant, for he fought for Ruchika-in-absentia, and won it for her, as if it were she herself fighting it out for her honour in court.