CHARGE
Your Honour, Mukesh, son of Rajesh, is charged as follows:
STATEMENT OF OFFENCE
VOLUNTARILY CAUSING GRIEVOUS HURT, contrary to Section 322 read with
Section 325, Indian Penal Code, 1860
PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE
Mukesh, on the 1st January Yr .... outside 345 Green Park, New Delhi, voluntarily
caused Monika grievous hurt by damaging her right eye and thereby caused her
to be in severe bodily pain for a period of twenty days.
Opening statement
Your honour, My Client is a hapless victim who just loves her children while the
accused here, is a person who has a history of violence and on the day of alleged
incident, when victim tries to take her daughter from him, he lost his temper and
committed this deplorable offence by damaging the victim’s right eye and thereby
caused her to be in severe bodily pain for twenty days. His act can't be covered
under the private defence as there was no apprehension of imminent danger to
him or Roshini to claim this right.
Your honour, the prosecution will call two witnesses to the stand. First witness is
Monika who is the victim here and my second witness will be Sub Inspector
Satinder
Your honour, At the conclusion of the case we would ask you to find the
defendant guilty and provide him with a stringent punishment.
Thank you.
Prosecution: your honour, with your due permission prosecution will like call
upon its first witness Monika to the stand
Monika please tell the court that whatever you will speak will be the truth, the
whole truth and nothing else but the truth;
P: Monika, Please tell the court what exactly happened on the day of the alleged
incident i.e. 1st January and what led to the same?
M: On New Year’s Eve, I told Mukesh that he could only have the children for today,
from 2 pm to 5 pm, instead of 10 a.m. on 31st December Yr…1 to 10 am on 1st January
Yr…0 as they were tired from the party, and that made him very angry. So he
deliberately returned them until 10 am On 1st January Yr 0, I was terribly worried about
the children and he didn’t answer my calls. On their arrival, I rushed out and saw Sonia
was in Mukesh’s arms. He ignored me when I asked him to put her down.
Point to be noted your honour,
I reached to take Sonia, extending my arms. He startled me by punching straight into
my right [Link] car keys, which he had in his hand, went into my eye. I was knocked
to the ground. I tried to smack him but missed,and ended up pulling his hair. Then
Mukesh and Roshni guiltily got in the car and fled. I called the police immediately which
Sub Inspector Satinder attended.
Point to be noted, your honour
P: Monika can you please tell the court about the background of your relationship
with Mr. Mukesh?
M: We were married for about 10 years. It used to be OK, although Mukesh has
assaulted me many times before. There have been five occasions in Yr - 3 when I
reported violence to the police but I refused to make a statement because he made it
clear to me if I made a statement, it would lead to inevitable separation from my
children.
Point to be noted, your honour
When We were facing financial difficulties I had to shoplift 3 times just to feed our
children. We divorced in March of Yr… 1, because he was having an affair with Roshni.
P: Thank you,
P: your honour, with your due permission prosecution will like call upon its
second witness Sub Inspector Satinder to the stand
Mr. Satinder please tell the court that whatever you will speak will be the truth, the
whole truth and nothing else but the truth
P: Mr. Satinder, please tell the court what happened on 1st, January?
S: At 10.36 am on 1st January, I received a call from Ms. Monika reporting the alleged
incident. I know Ms. Monika as I have previously attended her home 3 years ago in
relation to five allegations of domestic violence to her by Mr. Mukesh. To this Mukesh
always said wait, if she makes a statement, which she never did.
Point to be noted
On arriving at her home, I saw her right eye was badly damaged. She explained Mr
Mukesh had kept the children later than agreed, and on returning when she was leading
her daughter away from him, he poked in her eye with his car keys.
P: Mr. Satinder, please tell the court, what happened next?
S: Then I drove to Mr. Mukesh home and arrested him for voluntarily causing grievous
hurt and cautioned him. Mukesh's girlfriend came to the police station and told me he
shouldn't have hit her but he had a temper and found Christmas without the children
difficult.
Point to be noted, your honour
Thank you, your honour no further questions
Your honour, with your due permission, prosecution will like to do Cross
Examination of defense witnesses
Thank you
P: your honour, with your due permission prosecution will call upon defence
witness Roshni to stand
P: Roshni, isn't it true that you're Mr. Mukesh’s girlfriend and you love him?
R: yes
Point to be noted, your honour
P: Ms. Roshini, isn't it true Monika attacked Mr. Mukesh only when he told her to
apologise to you and you tried to wrestle Monika off Mukesh?
R: Yes
Point to be noted, your honour,
Thank you, your honour, I have no further question to ask.
P: your honour, Prosecution will like to call upon defence witness Mr. Mukesh
P:Mr. Mukesh Isn't it true you got angry when Monika told you that you can have
your children from 2pm for the afternoon rather than for the whole day?
M: yes
Point to be noted, your honour,
P: Mr. Mukesh isn't it true that Monika attacked you when she heard Sonia saying
“Daddy, Please tell Mummy to be nice to us and let us live at your place”?
M: yes
Point to be noted, your honour,
P: Mr. Mukesh, isn't it true Monika pulled your hair and you were kissing balance
then instinctively you smaked her?
M: [Link] to be noted, your honour
Thank you, that's all your honour, I have no further question to ask
Your honour with your due permission the prosecution would like to give its
Closing Statement
Your honour, the Accused here is a violent person, he had faced conviction for
violence in the past. Moreover, he had used violence against my client on five
occasions in Yr 3 as pointed out by her and corroborated by Sub Inspector
Satinder in front of this honourable court but she couldn’t make a statement
against him due to the fear of separation from her children.
Your honour, As I pointed out in cross examination, the only eye witness, Ms.
Roshni is an interested party and also there is sheer inconsistency in their
statements on why Monika attacked Mukesh. Furthermore, Accused lied when he
said he didn't know that the children were to go back home at 5 pm while he
accepted, in front of this honourable court, that he could only have them for the
afternoon. Therefore, their testimonies can't be relied on and should be rejected.
Your honour, Accused had a temper when he couldn't meet his children on
Christmas as told by Roshni to Mr. Satinder. Then On New year's Eve he got
angry when monika told him he can't have them for the whole day as accepted by
him.
When the accused came to drop them, there was no such action of Monika which
can be construed to create a reasonable apprehension of imminent danger to him
or Roshni even then he grievously hurt my [Link], defence has failed to
prove his theory of self defence as there was no situation of peril and even if we
assume for the sake of argument that there is an apprehension of imminent
danger, then also Mukesh has clearly overstepped his of right of private defence
as poking in the eye in reciprocation of hair pulling, is clearly not an equitable
action.
Therefore, the guilt of the accused is proved beyond reasonable doubt and The
defence has failed to produce even a single credible witness who can prove
otherwise. The right of private defence serves a social purpose therefore
prosecution would urge this honourable court, it shouldn't be allowed to be
misused.
Also, The honourable Supreme Court rightly observed in Satish Chander Ahuja v.
Sneha Ahuja,16th October, 2020 "A woman resigns to her fate of never-ending
cycle of enduring violence and discrimination at every aspect of her life, she is
the one who is blamed for every wrong which needs to be stopped". On this note
the prosecution requests this hon’ble court to render the only fair verdict, i.e.
guilty and provide the accused with a stringent punishment and send this
message that women like my client don’t have to resign to their fate anymore and
her abuser will not be set free.
Thank you Your honour