Social media campaign seeks justice for Anands

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 30

Indu Anand and her family had to wait for nearly 40 years for injustice to be completely undone in her husband DIG Joginder Singh Anand’s death case. She was virtually sentenced to mental torture and agony, along with her son Sumanjit Singh ‘Nikki’ and nephew Sandeep Singh ‘Sandy’, for a crime that was never committed.

Now that the order of their acquittal by the Punjab and Haryana High Court has attained finality with the Supreme Court dismissing the CBI’s petition challenging the verdict of their acquittal, questions are being raised on the efficacy of the justice delivery system that took decades to decide an open-and-shut case.

The apex court on Monday brought down the curtain on the 38-year-old death case after the Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice MM Sundresh ruled: “The special leave petition is dismissed. Pending application stands disposed of.”

The judgment came more than five years after Justice AB Chaudhari of the High Court asserted that evidence clearly indicated that DIG Anand had committed suicide. Yet, the appellants were tormented and had to suffer excruciating pain and ordeal for several years.

It was one of the rarest of rare cases where the High Court honorably acquitted the accused, while castigating the trial court for the way it handled the case by holding them guilty.

Justice for the family

Few thrillers end as dramatically as this. But the CBI case has left behind the lurking question on how to make up for the anguish the family meaninglessly faced for almost four decades. Sumanjit Singh was just 17 and Sandeep Singh 18 at the time of the incident. They virtually grew up with the hammer of justice dangling on their head.

Already messages on the social media are doing rounds seeking justice for the family. One of the messages says: “The CBI had challenged the judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court whereby Indu Anand had been acquitted. The SLP stands dismissed. Forty years of harassment, apart from mental tension. How can she ever be compensated?”

The case

It all happened during the night intervening July 12 and 13, 1983. Just 47, Joginder Singh Anand, Indu Anand, Sumanjit and Sandeep returned home in Sector 3 after attending a “drink party” in a Sector 10 house at about 11 pm.

At about 7.30 am the next day, two police officials discovered the body in Sukhna Lake. Initially, the police claimed the DIG had committed suicide, but the matter was referred to the CBI after doubts were raised. Darshan Lal, whose testimony primarily laid the foundation for the CBI to build its case, was working as a domestic help. The CBI registered the case on July 23, 1983; and the prosecution alleged that Indu had caught hold of the DIG’s throat during a quarrel before he collapsed. Believing him to be dead, he was thrown in the lake, where he died due to drowning. Claiming to have been implicated, the accused asked for a trial. However, the then District and Sessions Judge, on March 11, 1996, held the three guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304-part II of the IPC. Darshan Lal was tendered pardon by a UT Chief Judicial Magistrate.

The defence

Indu’s story differed from the CBI’s reconstruction of the events. Indu claimed that she had left the house immediately after the quarrel and was not present at the time when the CBI claimed she was battling Anand physically.

Appearing on their behalf, counsel SS Narula submitted that reliance could not be placed as approver Darshan Lal was not an independent witness. He was interrogated and kept in custody by the CBI for about 20 days before his arrest on August 19, 1983.

Overturning the verdict, the High Court ruled it was impossible to believe that appellant-Indu Anand, a young woman having young son of 17 years, daughter of 14 years and nephew of 17 years, would even think of getting her dear husband eliminated without thinking about her small children,” the Bench concluded

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.