FactsConverge (2024)

16/09/2020

Context: On 14th June 2020, Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead hanging from the ceiling fan at this home in Bandra, Mumbai with the cause ruled as su***de. The official postmortem reports concluded that he died of asphyxia due to hanging.

Facts of the Case: As speculations and rumors started surrounding the sudden death of the actor, the following timeline was followed:
Death of his former manager, Disha Salian, a week prior to the actor’s death.

The late actor’s parents filed an FIR against his girlfriend for abetment of su***de and financial frauds like misappropriation of funds, which she denied in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, another investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial Crimes, registered the money laundering case against Rhea based on FIR filed by Rajput’s father.

Another issue that came up amongst all this was the place of filing of FIR. Rhea demanded that the case be transferred to Mumbai Police while the actor’s parents demanded the case to be run by Bihar Police. This shows the lack of trust among the citizenry on the Law & Order situation in the country. The political interference is the root cause behind this public mistrust.

Amongst the turf fights between Mumbai and Bihar Police, a fourth investigation agency came into the light. CBI, India’s national investigation agency, took over the case and re-registered the case against Rhea Chakraborty

Meanwhile, ED requested the Narcotics Control Bureau, India’s national drug law enforcement agency, to join the investigation, after its financial probe found that drugs were supplied to both Rhea and Sushant. NCB registered an FIR against Rhea, her brother, and others, invoking Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) dealing with possession of cannabis.

About the Law:
Abetment of Su***de: “If any person commits su***de, whoever abets the commission of such su***de shall be punished with imprisonment of either imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Abetment is defined as including instigating, engaging in a conspiracy or assisting in committing the offense.

Is Abetment the same as Murder? In the case of a murder, the final ‘act’ of causing the death of a person is committed by the accused which is not the case in abetment of su***de.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act): The NDPS Act, enacted in the country in 1985, is the primary legislation for dealing with drugs and their trafficking. It was passed as India had to fulfill obligations. It has various provisions to punish manufacturing, sale, possession, consumption, use, transport of banned drugs.

The Act has provisions for the court to grant immunity from prosecution to an addict involved in a small quantity of drugs after they voluntarily seek to undergo medical treatment for deaddiction under section 64A.

This list of psychotropic substances is prepared by the Central Government.

Why was Rhea charged with this Act? Rhea was arrested due to alleged use and possession of cannabis and psychotropic substances, financing illicit traffic and harboring offenders as well as abetment and criminal conspiracy, attempt, and preparation of committing an offense based on the chats. The NCB claims that Chakraborty is “an active member of the drug syndicate connected with drug supplies”

Chakraborty has said that NCB is “silent and deliberately vague” about the quantum of drugs, amount of finance, and type of drugs, she is alleged to have procured and financed.

The arrest of Rhea Chakraborty:

Rhea was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in the drugs case related to her and produced before the court which remanded her to judicial custody.

Firstly, it is important to note that this arrest was not related to her alleged involvement in Sushant Singh’s death but related to another case of consumption of Drugs.

Another important point to note is that the Court has remanded her to Judicial Custody, not Police Custody.

Does Rhea have any rights in this case?

Amazingly, almost all democratic Constitutions of the world give equal rights to the accused to prove their innocence. The legal maxim reads out - "ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat". This translates to - the burden of proof is on the one who declares, not on the one who denies.

In India, these rights to the accused are given on the lines of - ‘Let hundreds go unpunished, but never punish an innocent person’.
One of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution (Article 22) states that “No person shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.”.

Thus, Rhea has a chance to prove her innocence, given she is provided a fair trial by the legal system of the country.

The State of Affairs:

While the legal system provides rights & guarantees to the accused, the social system is not conducive enough for this justice system to prevail.

The Media Trials, sensationalism, and the rumor factory being run by the social media activists have caused the facts to take a back seat and let the emotions run the show.

The blatant insensitivity towards the Mental Health of people was evident in the whole case and reflects the lack of awareness towards the mental health in the country.

Conclusion:

There seems to be widespread vilification of Rhea Chakroborty on unproven grounds so far. The public has already made up its mind and has condemned her to be guilty in the case. It is unsettling to see the immense euphoria in the general public on her arrest. Deep-rooted cultural stigma and a biased perception have led the public to equate a drug addict with a criminal.

What does that tell about our society? A society that celebrates the social media prosecution of a person? A society that disregards the pain and harm caused to the person’s family? It does not paint a very pretty picture of us.

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