Rebecca M. John is the lawyer defending Kobad Gandhi, allegedly the top leader of CPI (Maoist) who was arrested on the 22nd of September. Shortly after the arrest a storm of violent incidents took place which occupied much media attention and were said to be indicative of the ‘Naxalite Crisis’ in our country. In the midst of all the discussion and debate surrounding these highly charged issues DU Beat brings you a conversation with the fascinating person who’s been given the responsibility of defending the man of the hour.
DUB: What made you decide to take up such a controversial case?
Rebecca: I am a criminal Defense lawyer, it is my job to take up cases that come to me and defend people, to the best of my ability. It is the constitutional right of every citizen to be defended in a Court of Law. I pass no moral judgment on anyone; to me this case is no different from the countless others I have taken up before, so there is no additional pressure. I was asked by Civil Liberties groups to appear for Kobard Ghandy . I took it up as I would have done any other case. My judgment has never been coloured by public opinion and indeed that should never be an issue for any lawyer who upholds the Constitution and believes in the Rule of Law.
DUB: How do you reconcile yourself to the various ideologies your clients represent? Is it a problem if it clashes with your own?
Rebecca: You don’t have to be friends with your client, just defend their right to a fair trial. Their ideology has nothing to do with the case as long as you uphold their rights. I perform my obligations and I work within the framework of the law and I sleep with a clear conscience at night. I have taken up many difficult cases and I deal with them professionally. If the prosecution can prove its case then the person will be punished, and if they can’t then he is set free and no one should be able to contest his innocence. We are not some banana republic, in our Constitution we have trials which proceed with the presumption that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. Which is why Ajmal Kasab is undergoing a trial and has not been shot dead or lashed at a public stadium before a blood thirsty mob , as some people were suggesting. If he is found guilty he will be dealt with appropriately as mandated by the Law.
An independent Judiciary and a Criminal Justice System which upholds the Rule of Law, is the fundamental basis for a free and fair society, so thank god for Defense lawyers.
DUB: Considering the fact that you work within the law and subscribe to its administration how do you defend someone whose basic ideology consists of overthrowing this administrative system?
Rebecca: There is no evidence to suggest that Kobad Gandhi is trying to overthrow the government or its administrative system. How can you say he doesn’t want to work within the system? Why is the middle class so threatened by someone like him? Why is public discourse on the subject influenced by propaganda and complete ignorance on the subject? In any case my client has never made any statement supporting violence of any form.
DUB: The Government has decided to launch a military offensive against the Naxals and deploy armed forces in the Naxal hotbeds. What are the legal intricacies involved in employing troops in civilian ground? What are your views on the matter? How can violence on the part of the State be justified?
Rebecca: This is an administrative decision and you need to ask officials from the Home Ministry about the logistics involved in troop deployment.
Personally I have reservations about Operation Green Hunt since it means that the Government is hunting down its own people. Who are we declaring war on? What are we declaring war on? Can Naxalism really be wiped out by brute force? Should the Indian State declare war on its most despairing citizens? As Himanshu Kumar, a Human Rights Activist in far away Dantewada says, why are all these poor people attracted to an ideology that will end in death?
These are the most deprived sections of our society and all that they are asking for are basic rights, food, water , clothes, health care and schools and their legitimate right over their land and how do we respond to this criminal neglect of over 60 years ? We ‘hunt’ them down. I am not justifying Maoist violence, I abhor all violence, but I do believe the State should consider looking at the cause of the problem before jumping to find hasty solutions. We could all do well to read the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, that sacred document that protects the rights of tribals over their forests and land!
Atleast now we talking about Adivasis, Dalits and tribals and their state of disempowerment and destitution , issues we never spoke of even five years ago.
On the other hand the violence perpetrated by the State is really no different from the violence they are supposedly fighting. Take the ridiculous Salva Judum scheme in Chhattisgarh for example, where ordinary citizens are armed and encouraged to engage in violence in order to fight the Naxals. In these cases the solutions become as much, if not more problematic than the problems they are supposed to resolve.
DUB: There are a lot of students actively demonstrating against the violent means the government plans to utilize over this issue. Any message for students who take these issues to heart?
Rebecca: I support peaceful protests of any kind. I have always felt that people in our country don’t protest enough. As a whole our society is reluctant to protest so if students are taking up issues and getting interested in events of national importance I am happy because in India there is a complete absence of debate on critical issues and that is inexcusable.
If there is anything we have learnt from our freedom movement, it is that peaceful protests are an effective tool of dissent and are indeed the best way of achieving long term goals!
-As told to Pragya Mukherjee
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2 comments
uday yadav says:
Mar 8, 2011
Lawyer Rebecca M. John,
CBI is investigating the Arushi, Hemraj murder case without success because they are sure that doctor Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are the murderers of their only daughter.
I request you to enquire if CBI had suspected Hemraj as a homosexual and developed some theory accordingly. I have watched most programmes on Aarushi, Hemraj murder mystery on TV but till now I have not come across a debate where Hemraj’s sexuality is questioned.
Until now no one has suspected whether Hemraj was homosexual but you treat him as a homosexual and you get all the answers to this 3 year old mystery.
I have a theory that is based on his sexuality. I suspect Hemraj Banjade was a homosexual person who always tried to attract new youths in the locality. He used to lure the youths to come on the terrace after midnight when Talwar family is fast asleep.
He used to sleep on the terrace. Many times he kept his mattress on the terrace.
I also suspect that Krishna, Rajkumar and many others knew that Hemraj was homosexual and many of them must have reached Talwar family’s terrace many times to seek sex pleasure that Hemraj was only eager to give.
But one day Krishna’s one acquaintance came to Noida and met Krishna. In no time the New Comer came to know about Hemraj.
Hemraj also, quick to know about the New Comer, lured him to Talwar’s terrace in the night.
According to me this new comer has murdered Aarushi and Hemraj because the fingerprints found at three different places [Talwar’s house, Talwar’s terrace and Krishna’s bed] belongs to one person and that person is not identified yet. The way he murdered them he must be very violent and cold blooded nature.
On 16 May 2008, past 12.00 in the night, the New Comer knocked on the terrace door of the Talwar family, as a signal to Hemraj. Hemraj was in the talwar’s home waiting for the same. He climbed the staircase, opened the door and both of them went to the mattress already laid on the terrace. After this New Comer didn’t go away as every other one used to go. He wanted something that was in the house and Hemraj would not let him go inside the house at any cost. He wanted whisky. Hemraj objected to New Comer’s demand. They quarreled silently. But ultimately New Comer entered the house and came down the staircase. Hemraj objected to everything he did in silence.
It was past 2.30 am, and Aarushi was still awake in her bedroom, stuck to her computer. She heard something and she came out and murder took place.
When Aarushi saw Hemraj with the unknown person, she was not frightened. Instead she inquired about the intruder. Hemraj abused the New Comer as a thief or something. Neither Aarushi nor Hemraj knew how reckless and violent this New Comer would get.
With no reason to be there, the New Comer felt that this could lead him in hands of police. And that was the last thing he wanted because of his past crimes. So he hit Aarushi’s head with hard object. Violent persons can find their weapons instantly. He also hit Hemraj on the head. Aarushi and Hemraj fell unconscious.
If they are not dead and regain consciousness they would tell his name and then he was done for. But if he kills them for certain, no one would know who killed them because no one knew that he had met Hemraj. Until now he has been successful in avoiding his arrest for the crimes he had committed and certainly he was not going to be caught for the crime he has not committed. The New Comer’s brain has a habit of simplifying the problem.
He didn’t rush the things. He was cold blooded. He found whisky. He drank enough of it.
Then he took Aarushi to her bed and sat with her for some time. He didn’t rape her body for no reason. He slit her throat with khukri.
He then took Hemraj upstairs and on the terrace. He placed him on his mattress and then slit his throat.
He then came on the terrace. He closed the door from outside or he did not but then he fled far away.
One other angle is this. When New Comer and Hemraj were on the terrace, Hemraj fell asleep for a while. New Comer saw this as an opportunity to enter the house and came down in search of whisky. At this moment Aarushi came out of her bedroom and New Comer hit her. At this moment Hemraj came down. New Comer hit Hemraj also. Aarushi and Hemraj became unconscious. He drank enough whisky. He slit Aarushi’s throat, took Hemraj on the terrace on the mattress, slit his throat and fled.
This is my theory.
Yours
Uday S. Yadav
uday yadav says:
Mar 8, 2011
Homosexuality of hemraj led to murder of both. you try this angle and you will get every answer to th mystey.