By now all of you might have read, analyzed and digested the fact of actor Salman Khan (SK) bail tamasha. Many, like me, will be mourning for the death of judiciary while some might be celebrating this incident. After the chaos, protest and euphoria surrounding the case settled down in the media, or may have been told to settle down, I came to one simple conclusion. This county only and only belongs to the rich and powerful. There is no place here for poor as well as the middle class. We are just entertainers for them. We should either follow them as disciples or be ready to vanish like smoke. Justice is a luxury which will be forever deluded from these two classes.
I never knew the gravity of incident which, apparently, took place 13 years ago in the year 2002. Being in 9th standard, all we were fed about was the mighty SSC Board exams die next year. Hence neither did I read anything in newspaper nor was television media that much popular, as it is today, that I could see on TV. By 2003, when India qualified for the finals of the cricket world cup I guess people would have already forgot that some celebrity named SK had killed someone on the pavements of Bandra. Now when I was going through the timeline which is flooded in almost all newspaper did I come to know the excruciating pain the victim might have undergone just few moments before death.
After a regular drunk party SK with his bodyguard, Late Ravindra Patil, SOS, and Kamal Khan started their journey towards home. Patil insisted that he drives the car since SK was fully drunk and was not carrying license. However the adamant actor took the wheels. Drink and drive had you me done this, we might be either spending some time in jail or may end up paying heavy fine with chances of cancellation of license. But for the rich and powerful this law does not apply. After taking the wheel of SUV Land Cruiser, with already high also took the speedo meter to great heights. Finally on one turn he lost control and rammed his car in a bakery before crushing 5-6 people who were sleeping on the pavement. The people who saw this on the road started banging the doors of his car shouting, Bahara nikal salman. The so called action hero might have pissed in his pants when confronted with real action. The cop took the intiative by showing his ID, after which people went a bit away from the car. By the time Patil got down from the left door and could reach the right door to bring SK out, both the Khans began running saving their asses. The people on location also said, SK was so high that he couldn't even run after taking a fall every two steps. Patil, being a cop, did his duty. He called up the police and also filed a FIR. People where still below the car. A crane was called upon to lift the car but the victims fate even didn't spare him after his death. The hook of the crane was lose. Hence after the car was lifted half way the hook broke, letting the car again drop down. In all this, SK ran straight to his lawyers house and showed up only next day at 11am in the police station after getting assurance from his lawyers.
Patil was firm on his statement that SK was on wheels. He was under the influence of alcohol and also didn't possess driving license. Later Patil was however forced by many to take back his statements. But he didn't budge. He was forcibly kept away from appearing the court proceedings. Due to this the judge awarded him a jail term too. Ironically SK didn't attend many court hearings but court only did one thing, gave another date. In jail, Patil was brutally tortured to withdraw from the case, but he still didn't withdrew his stand. When he was released from the prison, he had no job. His wife divorced him and his family disowned him. He was a beggar on the roads in Mumbai in his final years when he died on account of TB in 2007. It was around this period that the inhuman SK had launched his NGO Being Human. Who was responsible for Patil's death? Who pressured him? Why his family disowned him? What circumstances made a SOS cop, beggar? Of course there are no answers, there will never be. He paid the price of being honest. He stood against the elite and powerful and hence was brutally consumed by the system. Before going ahead, I pay my tributes to the Brave Cop who stood for what was True.
After a long gap of 13 years, last week Session court gave SK 5 years imprisonment. Now lets take a look at how many laws were broken here and how there was mockery of judiciary in arguments. It was clear to everyone since day one that there were only 3 people in the car. SK, his friend and Patil. Suddenly SK lawyer brought a driver or a scapegoat and forced him to confess in the court that he was on the wheels that night. It is Supreme Court ruling that once a conviction is made, the term of prison should be given on some other day and not on the same day. Lalu Yadav, Jayalalitha, Sanjay Dutt also had to be in prison till the sentence was given by court as they didn't get instant bail. But in case of SK it was done immediately. Even before the order copy was given, his lawyers approached High Court and asked for interim bail giving reason that they haven't received the copy of ruling. The HC also granted bail to him. The Session Court is opened till 530 pm in the evening. But to grant SK bail, it was opened till 730 in the evening. SK sister came to court in the morning during the hearing and told media I will take my brother home today. And while leaving in the night she flaunted that I told you so dialogue. This wasn't enough that after 48 hours interim relief was over, HC imposed a stay on sentence and scheduled next hearing for July 2015 thus allowing SK to walk free, again. It took 13years to convict him and 48 hours to bail him out.
It is important to note here how he used his celebrity status to bend the law and how the police also helped him from the delaying the conviction. In a interview with Tehelka, Senior Advocate Abha Singh explained this fact:
- In the year 2008, Kamaal Khan appeared before the Magistrate and tendered
a bond promising that he would appear for the prosecution case as and
when called. Despite such a position the prosecution dropped him.
- SK got exemption from court dates for almost 100 times which hardly anyone gets. Police helped him in not examining star witness and dropping 37 out of 54 witness.
- SK exploited his celeb status to escape from the law and to
befool people. His PR machinery devised a scheme to say that he is being
victimised.
- In case other hit and run cases, conviction was made in 2 years but this case lingered around for 13 years.
It is also worth noting statistics of the criminals who have been waiting for their bail hearing. Close to 1.75 lakh of 2.78 lakh people facing criminal charges are unable to secure bail before three months. Overr 40% (1.1 lakh) if undertrials take more than six months to secure bail, while over 30K spend more than two years and over 64K spend more than one year in jail before they are released on bail. (TOI).
This is why I concluded in the start that this country belongs to the rich. No matter how much we cry, how much we try, or how may governments we change. The beacon of hope will never be lit. I know I sound pessimist, but atleast this attitude will help me not to keep hope from our system. The journey for SK till a curative petition is filed in Supreme Court relating to the same case, he may be contesting some elections and maybe in line for getting Bharat Ratna.
Immediately the hearing date came closer, media started a campaign flouting figures of xyz crores riding on him. Bollywood also poured sympathy for their partner. Some were sensible while some were trying to mock the dead and get free publicity for their future projects. Singer Ahijeet and Farahs' comment are not even worth discussing. But one hyprocrite, Aamir Khan who ran a full episode on hit and run in his show Satyamev Jayate had pleaded that these criminals must be caught and brought to justice was also among the band wagon who came out and supported SK. How can our politician stay away in such situation. So basically this trial was not for conviction of a killer but to make SK a god like figure and show how those people came beneath his car on their own.
The case went on for 13 years. Don't know how many more decades will it carry on. In this period SK achieved more stardom. He harrased Aishwariya Rai even when she wanted to be out of relationship. Not to forget the animal poaching in Rajasthan and possessing illegal arms. He also gave threatening calls to Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi. He slapped Katrina Kaif in public. He suggested not to blame pakistan for 26/11 attacks on Mumbai and went on saying that Indian security agencies failed. His bodyguards harass fishermen in Bandra. But he is being human. So no one will say anything against him. That's the tragedy of our judiciary today.
Ps: By the time I finished this, Jayalalitha was acquitted by Karnataka Court and cleared her way to return as CM of the state of Tamil Nadu. Another achievement of our judiciary. Lets raise toast !!
-SR.
