SVKMs NMIMS

School of Law, Mumbai

A Project Submitted
On
THE TRIAL OF PRIYADARSHINI MATTOO CASE: AN ANALYSIS

In compliance with partial fulfillment of the marking scheme,

for Trimester IV of 2014-2015, in the subject of
JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION - I
Submitted
To
Faculty: Prof. Joyanto Mukherjee

Submitted by:
Ms. Lakshmi Srinivasan
Roll no. 37
Course: B.A., L.L.B (Hons.)
On 13th September, 2014, 1.30pm
1

Table of Contents

No

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Topic
Abbreviations
Cases referred
Statutes Referred
Research Methodology
Introduction
Facts of the case
Analysis of the case
Role of Media
Conclusion
Bibliography

Page No.
3
4
5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-16
17-18
19-20
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ABBREVIATIONS
1. IPS Indian Police Service
2. LLB - Legum Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Laws)
3. B Com - Bachelor of Commerce
4. M Com Masters of Commerce
5. Cr.PC Criminal Procedure Code
6. IPC Indian Penal Code
7. DNA Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid
8. CCMB Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
9. CBI Central Bureau of Investigation
10. vs. Versus
11. SC Supreme Court
12. AIR All India Reporter
13. CriLJ Criminal Law Journal

CASES REFERRED

Serial number

Case name and citation

S.K. Singh vs. State through CBI

Criminal Appeal No. 87 of 2007

State (Through CBI) vs Santosh Kumar

Singh 2007 CriLJ 964 (High Court)

Manu Sharma vs. NCT of Delhi (2010) 6

SCC 1

Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab

1980 CriLJ 636

Machhi Singh vs. State of Punjab AIR 1983

SC 957

State of Haryana vs. Nirmal Singh 1999

CriLJ 662

State of Mizoram vs. Lalrinawma 2000

CriLJ 2358

STATUTES REFERRED
Serial no.

Name of the Statute

A.

The Constitution of India, 1950

B.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

C.

The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY:
Priyadarshini Mattoo case became a subject of hue and cry and media buzz given the
audacity of the crime and the failure of the police. It highlighted the falling law and order
situation in Delhi and the consequences of political pressure. It set an example of how the
media can work as an important force to ignite the minds of the people and unite them in
case of injustice. It also set an example of the pressure on the judiciary due to media
interference.

B. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

The following are the objectives of the study:

To have an understanding of the Indian statutes.

To understand the case and its judgment in a detailed manner.
To prepare a case study on this case.
To understand the role of media in this case.
To know the drawbacks of the Indian Media.

C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The following are the questions on which this research is based:

What is the case about?

What was the incident?
What is the chronology of the events that led to this incident?
What was the judgment?
Was the Judiciary justified in its stand?
What were its controversies?
What is the role of the media?

D. HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY:

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The main focus of this study would be to know and understand the legal and popular
perspective of this case. Also the prime focus would be analysis of this case in its facts
and the judgment.

E. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The following are the limitations to this research:
The study is doctrinal and is based on secondary research.
The research is limited to books and internet.
Primary research was not possible due to the time constraint to gather the
subject matter.

INTRODUCTION
Though I know that he is the man who committed the crime, I acquit him and give him the
benefit of doubt. These infamous words by Additional Sessions Judge G.P. Thareja shocked
every person who was confident that the accused in the case would be found guilty as there was
enough evidence against him. This case is the Priyadarshini Mattoo trial that took place in 1999
and took 10 years to be rectified (the Supreme Court gave its decision in 2010).
In India, there have been many cases which make the people understand the condition of law
enforcement in our country. The Priyadarshini Mattoo case was one such case. It made the
people realize the deplorable state of our criminal justice system. Apart from that, it also made us
realize the role played by the media to enforce justice in a democracy.
This case also made us realize that money and influence speaks better than evidence. Santosh
Kumar Singh is the son of Former Senior IPS Officer J.P. Singh. The acquittal of the accused by
the Trial court and giving him a benefit of doubt in spite of enough evidence against him proves
the fact that indeed influence can deny justice.
Freedom of press is required for a democracy to function. With reference to this case, the media
was instrumental in bringing the accused to book. However, this case was not a complete trial by
media. The media acted as a catalyst in speeding up the process of meting out justice.
In spite of this, it took the Judiciary more than 10 years to deliver justice. As it is famously said,
Justice delayed is justice denied. The Judiciary is considered as the guardian of the Indian
Constitution. Enforcement of laws is ensured by the Judiciary. It also safeguards our
fundamental rights. However, delay in justice is one of the major drawbacks of the Judiciary. As
a result the judgments take a long period to be delivered.
Apart from this, the Judiciary also succumbs to the pressure of the powerful people in the
country. It is said power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Judiciary is no
exception. The Judiciary is subdued by the rich and the influential class of the society. As a
result, all constitutional safeguards and restrictions on judicial misconduct do not exist anymore.

Hence, this study focuses and analyses the Priyadarshini Mattoo case on two main aspects or
perspectives.
1. Role of the Judiciary
2. Role of Media
Prior to understanding and analyzing the case, it is imperative that the facts of the case are
known.

FACTS OF THE CASE

Priyadarshini Mattoo was a 25 year old student studying at Campus Law Centre pursuing an
LLB degree under the Delhi University. She was found raped and murdered at her house in New
Delhi on 23 January, 1996.
Priyadarshini was born in Srinagar and finished her schooling there. After her schooling was
completed, her family moved to Jammu. She pursued a B Com degree at Jammu after which she
joined the LLB Course under the Delhi University.
The accused Santosh Kumar Singh was also a student of LLB at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of
law, Delhi University. He passed LLB from Delhi University.
While in college, the accused used to harass Priyadarshini. He used to stalk her everywhere. She
had lodged several complaints of harassment, intimidation and stalking against the accused.
Repetitive complaints made by her became futile as it did not deter the accused from harassing
her. Despite the earlier two undertakings given by the accused subsequent to the complaints
registered against him by the deceased at the R.K. Puram and Vasant Kunj Police Station on 25
February,1995 and 16 August.,1995 respectively, on 06 November.,1995, he again tried to harass
the deceased at the Campus Law Centre. After this an FIR under section 354 of Indian Penal
Code (IPC), 1860 was lodged against him at the Maurice Nagar Police Station for which he was
arrested and subsequently released on personal bond. The deceased had also filed a complaint
dated 27 October, 1995 to the Dean, Faculty of Law, and Campus Law Centre stating
harassment. The accused was warned to stop such activities. In fact the gravity of the matter was
so high that the deceased had to meet the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) to whom
she complained. Upon this complaint, she was provided with a Personal Security Officer.
As a result of these, on 30 October ,1995 the accused, vindictively made complaints to the
authorities at the Delhi University against the deceased, stating that she was concurrently
pursuing two courses at the same time. This was against the University rules and because of this,
the result of the deceased was withheld by the university which issued show cause notice to
which she was to reply at the earliest. In her explanation, the deceased claimed that she had
completed her M.Com in 1991 and was yet to appear in her LL.B. III year exam, thereby refuting
10

the charges levied against her. She reiterated harassment by the accused for the past one and a
half years from then.
On the day of the murder, the deceased was alone at her residence at Vasant Kunj. The accused
came at her house. He barged in the house and raped her. He then strangulated her with a heat
convector wire and then hit her face numerous times with the helmet and disfigured it. He then
hid the body under the bed and escaped from the house.
On the arrival of the security guard Rajinder Singh at the deceaseds residence it was found that
Priyadarshini Mattoo was lying under the double bed and there was no movement of her body.
Thus an FIR under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was lodged at his instance at the
Vasant Kunj Police Station. In the statement recorded under Section 161 of Cr.P.C.,
Priyadarshinis mother suspected the involvement of the accused and then he was brought in and
a probe was launched against him.
The investigation in this case was done by the CBI. The matter came up for hearing before the
Additional Sessions Judge S.C.Mittal who framed charges against the accused. As many as fifty
witnesses were examined. After the evidence was produced by the investigation agency, the
Additional Sessions judge G.P.Thareja acquitted the accused of all charges in 1999.
After a huge public outcry, in 2000, the matter came up for hearing at the Delhi High court. The
court over ruled the trial courts judgment and awarded death penalty to the accused. In 2010, the
Supreme Court gave its judgment in answer to the appeal made by the accused. The apex court
commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.

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ANALYSIS OF THE CASE

There was a major hurdle in the case faced by the prosecution: shoddy investigation and
tampering of evidence. Rape was proved by the DNA tests. There were several points of
evidence in favour of the prosecution in the case. For example, The broken visor of the helmet of
Santosh and fracture in his hand besides the 19 injuries on Mattoos body was in favour of the
prosecution; so also the several complaints by Mattoo to the police established motive and eye
witness accounts proved that Santosh was seen outside Mattoos house minutes before the
murder.1
Apart from this, the accused was also seen outside Campus Law Centre on the day of the
incident. The Trial Judge had also arrived at a categorical conclusion that on 23 January, 1996 in
the evening at about 4.50 p.m. the accused was seen standing outside the flat of the deceased by
her immediate neighbor Kuppuswamy. Vikas Sharma was the witness who had sold some plastic
containers on the day of incident to the deceased around 4.20 p.m. just before the accused was
noticed outside the flat of the deceased which showed that the deceased was in her flat around
that time. It had been found to be so by the Trial Court. Jaideep Singh Ahluwalia, the Security
Supervisor had also seen the accused at about 5.30 p.m. near the residence of the deceased. The
accused was also noticed by O.P. Singh, Advocate, on his bullet motor cycle getting out of the
parking area of B-10, Vasant Kunj and proceeding towards Vasant Kunj area around 5.30 p.m.
There was no material on record to establish that the witnesses had any perverse intention so as
to advance the case of the prosecution in any way by resorting to tampering.2
It had also been proven that the accused possessed a helmet with a visor and later on with the
investigations, it was found that the accused had hit the deceased with the helmet 19 times. There
were parts of the visor that contained some blood stains. There was enough evidence to nail the
accused and no scope for his acquittal.
1 http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/case-comment-on-priyadarshini-matoo-case644-1.html 5th September, 2014 5.17pm
2 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/priyadarshini-mattoo-case-santosh-singh-acquittal-exposesmanipulation-by-police-cbi/1/255912.html 5th September, 2014 5.18pm
12

There was a medical examination conducted of the accused. He had claimed that he had
sustained the said injuries on January 14th, 1996. However, medical examination proved that
these wounds were not old, they were fresh. This contradicted the false plea of the defense.

13

The Trial Court came down heavily on the role of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
(CCMB), Hyderabad alleging attempt by their senior scientists to suppress the unfairness of the
CBI which was glittering like gold from the records.3 The Trial Court attacked the Delhi Police
for their alleged inaction in the case. The court said that the Delhi Police attempted to assist the
accused during the trial as Santosh Kumar Singh was a very influential man. The trial court said
that the working of the staff of the Delhi police explains the fact that the rule of law is not
applicable to the law enforcers and their near and dear relatives.
However, the disturbing fact was that in spite of so many arguments in the favour of the
prosecution, the trial court acquitted Santosh Kumar Singh and gave him the benefit of doubt.
Stating it as a failure by the CBI to produce non tampered and proper evidence, the court
acquitted the accused.
This judgment by the trial court created quite a stir in the country. It exposed the Judiciarys
helplessness towards bringing to justice the people who are considered powerful and committed
the crime. It showed the direction where the country was headed to. Everyone was shocked with
the judgment. No matter how justified the Trial court was in giving the judgment, it was injustice
to the people who had faith in the judiciary as it is known as the guardian of the laws and
peoples rights.
Following this judgment, there was a public outcry against it. Media came to the fore. There
were follow ups of this case everywhere in the country. The media reported all the glitches in
producing the evidence, the role played by the CBI, the role played by the police to get the
accused acquitted etc. Observing all of it, justice for Priyadarshini seemed to be a long way to
go.

3 Supra 1
14

After a gap of seven years, due to popular pressure and delivery of justice, this case was
reopened in the Delhi High Court. This case was tried in the High Court and it awarded the death
sentence to the accused. The HC commented that the trial courts findings were very perverse
and unfair in nature. The view of the Trial Court as regards the inadmissibility of the DNA test
was not tenable in the eyes of law in as much as the court ought to have accorded due and fair
consideration to the reports procured by the expert evidence at the instance of the CBI.4 The
Delhi High Court canceled the reason provided by the Trial court that the CBI did not function
properly. Hence, the Delhi High Court removed the accused from the umbrella rule of benefit of
doubt extended by the Trial Court.
It is said that even the state does not have any right to take a life. However it is a sincere opinion
that there are exceptions to that rule as well. When someone grossly violates the laws of the state
and commits a crime which casts a shadow in the society, even the state can take his life and set
an example to the people to deter them from violating the law further. Hence, these statements
hold true in the instant case. The accused committed a ghastly crime and the argument against
capital punishment does not hold true in this case. The guilty in the case deserved the death
penalty as sentenced by the High Court. However, the Supreme Court commuted the death
sentence to life imprisonment. This move is considered as unfair and not just on the part of the
Apex Court.

4 http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/life-sentence-in-priyadarshini-mattoo-case-family-is-shattered-57340 7 th
September 2014 6.50pm

15

Justice R.S. Sodhi of the Delhi High Court said, If the Supreme Court says that it is not the
rarest of rare case, then thats it. I felt, while delivering the justice that this was very serious and
as per the circumstances he had been troubling this girl for years. She had approached every
possible police station and was ultimately given protection. Yet, he didnt care for the law: he just
barged into her house, raped her and murdered her. I thought this was the limit.5
Balance sheet of aggravating and mitigating factors has been elucidated both in Bachan Singh vs.
State of Punjab6 and Machhi Singh vs. State of Punjab7 case. Guidelines have been indicated by
the Supreme Court as to when this extreme sentence should be awarded and when not. In short, a
balance-sheet of aggravating and mitigating circumstances has to be drawn up and in doing so,
the mitigating circumstances have to be accorded full weightage and a just balance has to be
struck between the aggravating and mitigating circumstances before the option is exercised to
award one sentence or the other. The rarest of the rare doctrine was laid down in these cases
which provide that life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence constitutes an exception to
the rule.8

5 State (Through CBI) vs Santosh Kumar Singh 2007 CriLJ 964

6 1980 CriLJ 636
7 AIR 1983 SC 957
8 Supra 1
16

After an examination, it was observed that the murder took place in horrible circumstances. The
accused had mercilessly strangulated Priyadarshini with the heat convector wire. He also hit her
head with the helmet many times and disfigured her face. The post mortem report proves the
above mentioned circumstances. This brutal murder would deserve nothing less than death
sentence. However, the apex court erred by commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment,
possibly on humanity grounds. But according to Article 141, all the judgments of the Supreme
Court are binding on all the courts in India. Hence this judgment would set a precedent for the
cases that would be dealt with in the future for rape and murder convicts. The exception is of
course the Nirbhaya Case where all the convicts in the case were sentenced to death using the
rarest of rare doctrine.
The cruel manner of killing Priyadarshini justifies the award of death sentence to Santosh Kumar
Singh. In State of Haryana vs. Nirmal Singh9, it was held that if the case fell within the rarest of
rare doctrine then death sentence is justified. The injuries meted out to the victims showed that
they must have been men of high depravity and brutality devoid of all human feelings.10
In the case of State of Mizoram vs. Lalrinawma11, the accused confessed his crime and remained
firm on his confession throughout; therefore the death penalty was commuted to sentence of life
imprisonment.12 However, in the instant case, the accused had not given any indication of
repentance. In fact he had given false pleas (one of them being the plea about the source and date
of his injuries) and he tried to prove his innocence in the court. But all the evidence was stacked
against him.

9 1999 CriLJ 662

10http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/161033/?formInput=State%20of%20Haryana
%20vs.%20Nirmal%20Singh 7th September 2014 7.49pm
11 2000 CriLJ 2358
12 http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/660779/?formInput=State%20of%20Mizoram
%20vs.%20Lalrinawma 7th September 2014 9pm
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This case highlights the helplessness of the judiciary and the delayed justice. When the accused
was tried in the sessions court, the trial was bogged down by crooked investigation probe and
unreliable evidence. The main witnesses were not examined. So, the judgment given in the
sessions court may be justified due to lack of evidence.
However the question is that, can the judge let off a person whose guilt he has been convinced
about just because of lack of evidence. Well, the answer is yes. This is because law relies on
evidence. In every trial, whether the judge is convinced of the guilt or not, his judgment should
be justified with all the evidence collected and then he can reach to a conclusion. But this
principle may not apply in all the cases. For example in the instant case, the judge has the power
to summon witnesses under Section 311 of the Cr.PC13. He could have summoned the key
witnesses who were not examined by the investigation agency. This could indicate a major lapse
on the part of the judiciary.
The Supreme Court also sentenced the accused to imprisonment for life. Their reason for this
was humanity and that this case did not fall under the rarest of rare category. But does this also
mean that our judiciary is full of mercy for the people who commit heinous crimes and deal with
them leniently. These are definitely questions to ponder.

13 Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 20th edition

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ROLE OF MEDIA
Media is one of the pillars of democracy. One of the main functions of the media is to influence
public opinion. It is capable to change the whole view of the people at large. The media plays an
important role in bringing the accused to justice. The media is one of the important institutions of
the society which has the power to penetrate through the power houses in the society and ensure
that justice is meted out.
Under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India14, every citizen in India is granted the freedom
of speech and expression. This right also includes the freedom of Press, as interpreted by the
Supreme Court in the Express Newspapers vs. Union of India.15 Freedom of press guarantees the
freedom of the people to be updated about the happenings in the country and around the world.
Hence, media is indispensable in a democracy. Media ensures peoples participation in the affairs
of the country as it creates awareness about the happenings in the country.
However the right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute as it is bound by
Reasonable restrictions. Keeping this in mind, the media is also responsible to the people. It is
its duty to provide information to the people. However, it cannot commit contempt of court in the
process.
This is one of the cases where the concept of media trial comes into play. This concept of media
trial is not new in India. This trend became popular with the Jessica Lal murder case where the
accused Manu Sharma, who was acquitted by a sessions court, was sentenced in the High Court.
The media was responsible for the reopening of the case and acting as a catalyst to deliver
justice. The role of the media would seem commendable. However, some of the masses believe
that the media trial of Jessica Lal Murder case was a gross interference on the part of the media
on the working of the Judiciary. They believe that they have crossed the reasonable restrictions in
the freedom of the press and committed contempt of court.

14 The Constitution of India - P.M.Bakshi, Universal Law Publishers

15 AIR 1958 SC 578
19

Let us relate this concept to the Priyadarshini Mattoo case. When the case was tried in the
Sessions court, the court acquitted Santosh Kumar Singh and gave him the benefit of doubt.
However due to media pressure, the Delhi High court reopened the case and sentenced the
accused to death. Later however, the Supreme Court commuted the sentence to life
imprisonment. But the point is that, media pressure brought the Judiciary to its toes. The case and
the acquittal became a great topic of discussion among news channels and aroused the peoples
attention.
The role of media can thus be seen in three perspectives:
1. Media is the ultimate torch of Indian Democracy. In a land where even the guardian of
the Constitution and the Indian Legal system that is the Judiciary is pressurized (by the
so-called creamy layer of the society) for their own vested interests, the media is one of
the most important tools to keep people informed and give a perspective to people. As it
is a democracy, peoples participation in the process is imperative and peoples
participation can be ensured only if they are informed about the happenings.
2. The second perspective is medias interference with the Judiciary. It takes a certain view,
reflects that view and influences the people. The media does not look at the two sides of
the same story and it takes a popular stand against the matter. It is observed that many a
times, it has a pro plaintiff bias. This is to say that it takes the view of the prosecution
easily. This might be beneficial but our country believes in the principle of fair trial. So,
this characteristic of media is often criticized.
3. The third perspective is the kind of attention that media pays to high profile cases. If a
girl was shot dead at an extremely expensive bar amidst the elite people (Jessica Lal) or a
big party involved (Priyadarshini Mattoo), the media tends to pay more attention to those
high profile cases. However, it is an opinion that this perspective cannot be blamed
completely on the media. It is the people who look forward to those high profile,
publicised and sensational cases. So, the media cater to the needs of the people.
Thus, these are the three perspectives that people look and opine about the media.

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CONCLUSION
The Indian Courts are very powerful with virtually no accountability. But they do have a
tendency to go wrong. Sometimes the judges may adopt a certain bias towards one party instead
of being neutral. However the political pressure that mound up on the judiciary can be disastrous.
The role of the judge is to provide fair and just interpretation of the law.
Secondly the courts have to award judgments which are purely legal in nature. There are no
moral or ethical grounds to be considered by the judge except in some rare cases. Moreover, the
courts should not be influenced by external pressures like media. This is because; the media has
an adverse effect on the opinion of the judges. Judiciary as the law enforcement agency in India
must strive to deliver justice in any circumstance without fear, ill will or favour.
The Judiciary should also speed up the process of delivering justice. For example, Priyadarshini
Mattoo Case took 11 years to be decided. This trend is disturbing as Justice delayed is Justice
denied.
Media does play an important role in a democracy. It creates awareness among people regarding
the issues in the country. However it should not become a burden on the democracy. When it
comes to media trials, it may seem beneficial to a chunk of masses but to the others, it is
interference in the working of the judicial system. With reference to the instant case, Media did
play an important role to reopen the case and ensure that the purpose of justice is served.
However this trend should not continue any further. If it continued, media would have a biased
opinion on the cases which could be disastrous to the spirit of justice. Also, interference in the
court proceedings would amount to contempt of court.
Media has the freedom of speech and expression. But it is subject to reasonable restrictions as
provided in the Constitution of India. So these reasonable restrictions are to be complied with.
The suitable way to regulate the media for the courts would be to exercise the Contempt of
courts jurisdiction. The courts have been provided the powers to punish for their contempt.
These powers should be exercised against the channels and newspapers who do not comply with
their restrictions. The media cannot be allowed expression that can create prejudice in the trial
itself.
21

Thus this case explains us the improvements required in the Indian Legal System and the
regulation of press. The objectives of this study were fulfilled and all the research questions were
answered.

22

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books referred:

Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 20th edition

The Constitution of India - P.M.Bakshi, Universal Law Publishers

Articles referred:

Crooked Prosecution, Helpless Judiciary, Economic and Political Weekly, (Dec. 11-

17, 1999)
TADA: Hard Law for Soft State, Economic and Political Weekly, (Mar. 25-31, 2000)
Of Criminals, Martyrs and Innocents, Sumanta Banerjee, Economic and Political
Weekly, (Dec. 16-22, 2006)

Websites referred:

www.jstor.org
www.manupatra.com
www.indiankanoon.org
www.legalservicesindia.com
www.ndtv.com
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
www.indianexpress.com
www.thehindu.com
www.nchro.org
indiatoday.intoday.in
theviewspaper.net
www.mightylaws.in
www.westlawindia.com
www.rajdeepandjoyeeta.com
www.tribuneindia.com

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