under the circumstances...........

There are cases and cases- some of them  are reported  in journals and some are not. Of these, some do trouble the mind even if as a professionals we tend to read reports  mechanically and with an academically eye, to assess their value as precedents. Here is one such case that drew our attention. It is very troublesome for many reasons as we try and discuss the facts and then their implications.

The case unfolds in a very gruesome fashion. [(2019) 2 SCC (Cri) 300: (2019) 4 SCC 522 Digamber Vaishnav  & anr Vs State of Chattisgarh] Five women lie dead in their home in different rooms around 4 am, one morning.  It seems to be a very clear case of homicide as there are injury marks on many parts of the bodies.  The police are informed and investigation takes place the same day with the usual process of collecting evidence begun.  The police find some strands of hair clutched in the hands of one of the deceased; a blood stained shirt later said to belong to one of the accused; some clods of soil, blood stained  and plain and a woolen shawl. They arrest the accused after collecting and correlating the evidence. They find on the accused, some suspicious cash, a shirt worn by one of the accused that had two buttons missing, corresponding to those  that have been recovered from the place of occurrence.  Later,  finger prints of one of the accused corresponds to those found on a bottle of liquor found at the scene of the crime. The trial court after elaborate trial convicted and sentenced the accused to death under S. 302, 394 & 34 IPC. The High Court confirmed the same.

The Supreme Court, however, after going through the entire evidence finds many flaws, one of which is that the only witness was a child, whose statement was not corroborated. They find that it was not safe to rely upon this witness’s evidence as there were several inconsistencies in her statement.  As the case solely rested on circumstantial evidence it was held necessary that the evidence should be cogent and an unbreakable chain of events leading to the guilt of the accused should be established.  Unfortunately, it was found that the human hair was not a match with that of the accused; similarly the shirt was not identified properly to be that of the accused; the motor cycle seized did not match that of the accused. Many such inconsistencies including non examination of a crucial witness create a doubt in the mind of the court that the prosecution had not proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. Last but not the least , it is found that the last seen theory advanced by the prosecution, i.e. the accused were last seen with the the deceased is also held to be insufficiently proved. Hence the Court acquitted the accused.

Now aside from  all the technical niceties and the lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt one aspect of the case is highly disturbing: the manner in which many serious crimes are investigated by the investigating agencies.  Many a case falls because of poor investigation and insufficient evidence, more than the effort of the defense to effectively attack the prosecution case.  Now here is a case where five people have been murdered in a gruesome manner inside their home. Who committed the crime? The question remains open and the fact that such ruthless murderers are still walking free in society to people’s utter terror.  

So shouldn’t the Court direct the investigation agency to investigate such cases afresh and find out the murderers instead of mechanically acquitting them and closing the case? It is not something new, as  if we remember right, in one case the Madras High Court has done so, ordering further investigation on acquittal of the accused.

All’s fair in Cosm(et)ic world!

When I saw my daughter rubbing some solution on her hands  as she was leaving for her college I asked her out of curiosity as to what it was. She looked a bit annoyed and replied that it was a ‘hand’ cream.  This is one of the numerous applications I find in my daughters dressing table. I just happen to think about nearly half a century back when I grew with a fare share of sisters and brothers. We shared a small glass bottle of coconut oil rationed between us by the eldest sister for application to the head every day after bath.  The weekly luxury or torture whichever way you put it was the oil bath which most of the south Indian households will be familiar with. Come Sunday we would apply gingerly oil all over the body. Thereafter the hair was washed with a concoction of soap nut mixed  with other natural ingredients that gave your hair and skin a lovely sheen. People bought these ingredients from the provision stores and took the effort to mix them and keep them for weekly use. Of course soap nut powder irritated the eyes to no end thus causing redness but that was considered to be the hall mark of a good product and a good bath! On that day the entire house smelt of these natural products.

Then perhaps in 1960s if I remember right came smelly hair oils in different colours and aromas. Lavender, jasmine, etc. that spread a heady scent when people applied it and walked around.  For women there was just a snow called ‘Afgan’ for whatever reason that was applied to the face  & Remy talc. Then a sort of ad revolution started with one Mr. Farookh Engineer and who claimed to apply certain hair cream, which perhaps didn’t turn a single hair on his head as he faced the fearsome Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith  and nonchalantly dispatched their bouncers and beamers  to the ropes sending us in the galleries to a frenzy! This gentleman soon picked a beautiful bride perhaps due to the enduring  cream and settled down in the Down under.  

 Naturally we were dying to buy the stuff not just to improve our cricketing skills but more to attract a pretty lass. But due to the creams prohibitive cost only my eldest sibling bought it with his first salary. I secretly tried it for getting the ‘engineer’ effect and got belted instead by my   brother.  That was the last I had anything to do with dreams of creams & brunettes! 

                    

Then in late 70s came hand me downs in the form of shampoos and sprays that declared to the world that you had NRI siblings! In the 80s there was a shampoo revolution that ushered in one rupee sachets that promised to turn your hair into pure velvet!  The Rs.1 sachette completely killed the hand made  soap nut powder  and other local stuff. In one stroke it brought about a social revolution which none of the government programmes could do in 67 years. The slum dwellers and the 

rich and famous were using the same product  to enhance their hair into pure velvet . The manufacturer who toiled for this social service became a multi millionaire and toast of the town. Of course the water bodies and land have been so ‘shampooed’ that perhaps it will take another millennium to clean it up, if one is serious about it..

Came marriage. Me and my better half, as we were avowed critics of consumerism took a vow not to use artificial and smelly cosmetics. Then came two cute daughters.                                              

As they grew up in the 90s so did electronic and cosmetic business .  One company claimed, that their application made you turn like snow white of seven dwarfs fame! Their biggest market was perhaps Tamilnadu. Thus a subtle racist message that white is the only acceptable colour which was subtle earlier, is now become more sophisticated and deeply embedded into the psyche of entire South Indian men & women.  People here seriously believe that a few months of application of these ghastly cosmetics would turn them into Cinderellas!  Women of better complexion command better matrimonial market and that means fewer dowries! Soon other companies picked up the cue and improved their strategy and slogan. ‘Lovely’ became ‘glow’ then to ‘healthy’ finally it became ‘herbal’. Soaps were replaced by ‘wash’. Hand wash, face wash, hair wash then room & car fresheners and so on. It is no more just a shampoo for your hair. You are advised to use hair thinners that made your hair hang like straws from a scarecrow. It is not enough if you brush your teeth with mere paste but should rinse it in a solution. The process promised to turn your teeth into a torch light when you smiled! Now the clever of market gurus have made these lotions smell like lime, orange, vanilla, etc. so much so when I enter the wash room I feel as if I have entered a juice shop or ice cream parlour!

                          

I was thinking that the ad tsars could think more novel ways to better their already sky rocketing sales capitalizing on already insecure consumers. They should perhaps tap the region specific biases by introducing region specific  aroma sprays  Which would have the best endorsements. For eg. In the South, curd rice, masal dosa, bisibela, biryani, sprays  that the Dravidian parties would themselves endorse; in the North , malai kofta, panneer butter masala , dhal makhni , tandoori chicken sprays that the Badals & Yadavs would swear by; in the East sandesh, mishti dahi, fish perfumes that didi herself would use and In the west dhoklas, vadapav perfumes  which Thackerys  would embrace, and so on and so forth. Then the manufacturers  can claim that their intentions are not selfish but purely patriotic!