MUMBAI: Aruna Shanbaug’s death on Monday, after 42 years of being in a vegetative state that was caused by a brutal sexual assault by ward boy Sohanlal Valmiki, has led to a spate of angry questions about the “lenient” punishment he walked away with. One on almost everyone’s lips is: Can’t he be tried again for murder?
Legal experts are divided. While some say the case cannot be opened again, others say an aggravated charge of murder can be applied against Valmiki. In law, the murder charge can be applied if death is the proximate and direct consequence of a crime. Lawyers say it is debatable if in Aruna’s case, death, coming 42 years after the crime, can be held proximate. But crime counsel Niteen Pradhan said, “It is a unique and extraordinary case, which must be tried and tested judicially.”
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Legal luminary Ram Jethmalani said, “It is now beyond the law… The accused was tried, convicted and sentenced. It is difficult to hold it (the crime) as the proximate cause of her death now. I don’t think a fresh trial for murder is warranted.” Crime counsel Aabad Ponda agreed. “Where will you get evidence now?” he said.
Former Bombay high court judge B H Marlapalle said Aruna’s death cannot be linked to the assault since she died of other complications. “The Constitution protects one from being tried twice for the same offence.” This is the principle of double jeopardy, stipulated under Article-20(2) of the Constitution.
But Pradhan said, “Valmiki, now 71, was tried for attempt to murder. The enhanced charge of murder can be invoked now since Aruna’s death, though delayed, appears to be as a consequence of her condition, which was the direct consequence of his assault.
“There is no parallel case in criminal law. Law is complex and had Aruna died during Valmiki’s trial, the charge of murder could have applied. So, why not now?”
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A few lawyers say the issue is also why, despite Aruna being in coma during Valmiki’s conviction and sentencing the following year, was he not given the stipulated maximum punishment—life sentence—for attempt to murder, but was handed a milder sentence (seven years’ imprisonment), merely because he was a first-time offender, and why did the state not seek its enhancement.
Criminal law advocate Shrikant Bhat said, “If Aruna’s cause of death is directly related to the injuries caused to her then the charge of murder applies. But under Article 21, the accused will have the right to cross-examine witnesses all over again. Such a legal position is bound to cause anger. But the law is not made for a single case. It applies to all cases that are similar.”
TOI | May 20, 2015
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