Columnists
Taking it to the end
Questions on Aarushi’s murder remain but should the case be taken to the apex court?
Aarushi Talwar would have been a young woman of 24 right now and would have been taking the first steps on her professional career. She was denied that chance a decade ago because she was brutally murdered. Investigations to her murder brought out the worst in many of us. First, was the totally botched investigation by the Noida police that exposed the incompetence of the force and the callous nature in which most investigations are made. Second is that it brought out the worst in the media, which depending on where they were from took sides and made the murder of a teenage girl into a class war. A battle of sorts were fought out in the pages of the newspapers and on television debates. And the trials, both in the special trial court and the High Court was fought in the media glare. Books were written, movies were made and it is implausible that such attention did not influence the trial. And throughout the cases, the mystery of how this young girl died remained. Any case based completely on circumstantial evidence would necessarily have people on both sides asking questions because of the way the evidence is presented. And there were mistakes made in the trial court, which the High Court pointed out when releasing the parents of Aarushi Talwar, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar.
Is it fair to put these two individuals through the rigours of a trial again? The High Court did point out that the Central Bureau of Investigation did not prove the guilt of the parents. And while the presumption of guilt should never be taken, the trial court must have had some reasons to find them guilty. Because these questions remain, it is important that the case does go to the Supreme Court to put a rest to the matter once and for all. Of course, it must also be understood that in this trial, the media has influenced and that brings out another tragic fact. Most murder trials, even of young girls, can take several decades and more often than not, the passage of time makes justice irrelevant. Even in such a high-profile trial, the amount of time that has passed, almost 10 years, is frankly ridiculous and the case in the Supreme Court might add another few years. This is a reflection of just how ‘slow’ the Indian judicial system has become. And in India, it is now certain that ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ But justice must be done to Aarushi Talwar.
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