Documentary Review & It' s Critical Socio- Legal Analysis

The documentary “The Talwar’s-Behind closed doors” presents incidents involving a double murder
case of a 13/14-year-old girl named Arushi Talwar, d/o dentist couple Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur
Talwar, and of the 45-year-old live in domestic help of the Talwar’s known as Hemraj Banjade. The
incident took place in Noida, UP on 15-16th May 2008. While there are various speculations regarding
who is the actual culprit of the crime, the incident gathered massive attention as till date it hasn’t
been proved who committed the crime.

The sequence of the events are as follows: -

 The murder took place on 15-16th of the midnight between 12 am to 2 am

 On 16th may at 6 am the house help Bharati rung the bell more than once after which Nupur
answered her on the door, as per Bharati Nupur was in tears and stated look what has
happened in Arushi’s room
 Eventually the police were informed, by the time police arrived the apartment of the
Talwar’s had a lot of friends and relatives
 The police took Arushi’s body for post mortem. The Police tried to check for evidences, they
did discover blood stains on the railing, on the stairs, on the terrace door which was locked.
No serious attempts were made by the UP police to break in to the terrace as they were
unable to find the key.
 Following this Hemraj was declared as the prime suspect, a team of police personals went to
Kathmandu as well to track him down. Meanwhile Krishna another Nepali who worked in the
clinic of Dr Rajesh Talwar has been picked up by police for questioning
 On 17th may a retired deputy SP KK Gautam arrives at the scene of the crime, not disclosing
that is retired and giving the impression that he is part of the investigation team. He met
with Dinesh Talwar brother of Dr Rajesh Talwar
 KK Gautam followed the blood stains on the stairs and broke the terrace lock leading to the
discovery of Hemraj’s body, concluding that he was killed on the terrace.
 A press conference by the then investigating police personal A Satish Ganesh Chief
investigator of UP Police stated that this is either a crime of passion or an Honour killing
 Following this the couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were seeking anticipatory bail, which
however is not under the provision of UP Police
 On 23rd may Dr Rajesh Talwar was arrested by the UP Police
 Another press conference conducted by Gurdarshan Singh was conducted in which he stated
that Hemaraj was killed first following which Arushi was murdered and accused the parents
of the crime. Stating that the daughter and the servant were aware of the extra marital affair
of Dr Rajesh Talwar which brought them closer and hence they developed a relation, on the
midnight of the 16th may Dr Rajesh found them in an objectionable sexual position and
therefore he committed the crime
 After 15d days of the inquiry conducted by the UP Police, the case was handed over to the
CBI. The investigation was led by Arun Kumar Supervisor CBI Investigation
 The suspect of the CBI then was three domestic help, Krishna who worked in Dr Rajesh’s
clinic, Vijay Mandal and Rajkumar. As per CBI the three of them along with Hemraj had
gathered on the night of 15th may in Hemraj’s room for drinking alcohol
 CBI Stated that they conducted a Narcos analysis test on Krishna in which he confessed to
the crime and mentioned Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal as his accomplice. Stating that they
had gathered in Hemraj’s room for drinking alcohol and discussed Arushi, they entered her
 room to sexually abuse her, this led to a scuffle in which they first killed Hemraj as he ran
away, and then killed Arushi.
 On the recommendation of CBI Dr Rajesh Talwar was released by the Ghaziabad Court
 However, after being held for maximum of 90 days Krishna and Rajkumar were released and
the charges against him were dropped.
 In surprising turn of events in 2009 the CBI team is changed and this time the investigation is
being conducted by AGL Kaul.
 The second team of CBI particularly suspected the involvement of the parents, the parents
were made to take a total of 6 test including Narcos test, polygraphy, brain mapping
 A summoning order for Nupur and Rajesh were initiated, one of the documents dated
November 6 2008 attached stated that the DNA of Hemraj was there on the pillow of Krishna
which was recovered from Krishna’s room, however CBI later claimed that this was a
typographical error, the supreme court accepted the version of CBI
 On 25 January 2011, Dr Rajesh Talwar was hit by someone as he walked outside the
Ghaziabad court
 The CBI asked to close the case but the chargesheet of the CBI compelled the case to be
initiated in a special CBI court
 As per CBI Rajesh Talwar was on the internet until 12 am and the router was not working
properly, the router was in Arushi’s room, the internet was active till 12 to 3:45 am, and then
it was switched off,
 On 26 November 2013, the couple were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Judge Shyam
Lal
 The couple challenged the verdict and on 12 October 2017, the couple was acquitted by the
Allahabad High Court
 Vaginal swabs for Arushi, two distinct DNA were found of Arushi and one more female, the
swabs were sent to CDFD Hyderabad, however at Hyderabad they did not find any DNA
related to Arushi, on one occasion Arun Kumar stated that some things shouldn’t be made
public in the interest of the society

Listing of the relevant stakeholders as Accused, Suspects, Authorities and their Role: -
 Media
 Krishna, Vijay mandal and Rajkumar were suspected and later accused
 Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar were accused
 Authorities such as UP Police, CBI Team led by Arun Kumar, CBI Team led by AGL Kaul, Forensic
Department
 Hemraj- 1st suspect

Issues for Consideration & Broad Outline of Objectives for Review: - The objective of the review is to
uncover the negligence by which the murder case was handled not only by the authorities but by
relevant stakeholders such as media, and the parents. Simultaneously the review aims to uncover the
underlining biases that were projected on certain class of section. It is important to explore the grave
injustice that has accompanied in the solving of the case, whether it’s the hindrance to a fair
investigation, or whether it is jeopardizing the fundamental rights of the accused.
Media: -
The role of media is extremely questionable during the entire investigation of the case. As soon as the
murder is reported, we can see media following traces rather intrusively. Not only did the enter the
house of the victim but they also recorded crime scenes distinctively, more than the presence of police,
media penetrated the crime scene excessively. Extremely vast coverage by the media definitely
deterred the police in its capabilities to conduct a proper investigation. They recorded Arushi’s and
Hemraj’s room, they entered the private property of victim without their permission and started
recording all details. Slowly it became a trial by media, where the media especially the Hindi media
started selling the narrative that it is the parents who have committed the crime. At one incident a
media personal started live shoot outside the Talwar’s garage claiming that there is a dead body inside
as he can smell something. Such acts only hint towards media’s farfetched attempts of gaining as much
TRP as possible. This culminated into media violating the Talwar’s right to privacy. They were constantly
subjected to media trial. The pressure by media built on the police where they held a press conference
and further intensified media’s claims of parents being the accused. Media’s aggressive attempt of
capturing each detail for maximum coverage definitely led to tampering with the evidence. Thus, se
can conclude that the media violated the accused and the victim’s right to privacy and by their
intrusion they tapered the evidence. The collective narrative sold by the media and by the police of
Arushi and Hemraj being involved sexually attacked the right to dignity of both Arushi and Hemraj.

Krishna, Vijay mandal and Rajkumar: -

As the case develops the burden of the guilt is shifted and imposed upon three domestic servants. Out
of which Krishna, was arrested without legal warrant, and was made to undergo narcotics test at least
twice. In the narcotics test the bias of the Arun Kumar team was also reflected as the test was directed
in a way to make Krishna admit the crime for which he was later acquitted. These incidents significantly
amount to the violation of article 20 that is no person accused of any offense shall be compelled to be
witness against himself, and article 22 as Krishna was arrested without legal warrant. The rigorous
process by which Krishna was made to go through has led to adverse effects on his well-being. His
mental and physical health has been affected after the trial and procedures that he was made to go
through. This has led to the violation and infringement of his right to life under article 21.

Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar: - Both Dr Nupur and Dr Rajesh witnessed a significant attack
on their fundamental rights during the trial. The assumptions and the narrative created by the media
and accepted by the public, had already declared them as criminals. This violated the principle of
innocent until proved guilty, and immensely affected their defence. It also created a hostile
atmosphere for them, as somebody from the mob hit Dr Rajesh Talwar when he was walking outside
the Ghaziabad High Court. As discussed earlier, extensive coverage by the media completely violated
the right to privacy of the couple and their private property. As the CBI team was changed, it came
with its own set of biases. The couple was made to undergo six tests including polygraphy, brain
mapping and narcotic tests. However, the admissibility and reliability of these tests have been a subject
of debate within the legal community, with concerns raised about the scientific validity and ethical
implications of such tests. This was attempted with the aim to receive a confession by the couple, but
the procedure put them in a place where they were made to witness against their self. In totality their
experience violated their right to life.
This notion is significant as in the Kathi Kallu Oghad v. State of Maharastra (1961 SC). The Supreme
Court set a precedent to the aspect of to witness against self. Similar to the Arushi Murder case, the
accused was made to provide handwritten samples, finger prints. The court ruled out those samples
on the ground of article 20.
Likewise, in the Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010 SC), Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of
neuroscientific investigative techniques, including narcoanalysis, brain mapping (BEAP), and polygraph
tests. The supreme court stated that protection against self-incrimination should be understood
through wider lenses of personal liberty and a fair trial. In an exceptional ruling the court also stated
the significance of privacy by encompassing mental privacy. And brain mapping test invade a mental
space of a person eroding their mental privacy. In such a scenario any extraction of information is
forced, unreasonable and cannot be provided under any statue. Such a test done without the consent
of the accused desecrates the notion of personal autonomy, the right to remain silent or speak
therefore are compromised. Such a judgement has widened the ambit of protection against self-
incrimination.
Despite the existence of such landmark rulings, the authorities continued with their methodologies.
Authorities UP Police, CBI Team led by Arun Kumar, CBI Team led by AGL Kaul, Forensic Department:
-
The role of the authorities in this case has led us to raise questions on the credibility and efficiency of
such institutes mandated for public welfare. To begin with, the police is culpable of initiating the series
of mishandling of the case. The police never ceased the crime area, multiple unknown people were
able to enter the crime area which significantly tampered with the evidence available. The police was
not eager and active to inspect the terrace, despite available alarming evidence such as blood on the
floor and on the terrace lock, where Hemraj’s body was lying, it only got discovered after 24 hours
later. No proper mapping of the crime scene such as collecting DNA, collecting finger prints were
initiated by the police. The body of Arushi was sent for post mortem with a significant delay. The bias
and negligence from the police were witnessed during the press conference where the police
spokesperson took the wrong name for Arushi and labelled that she was having objectionable relations
with the servant. With the overnight change in the investigation agencies twice, led to lack of proper
coordination between the multiple agencies which handled this case. This lack of seamless
coordination potentially resulted in gaps in the investigation and the handling of forensic evidence.
Each team came with its own set of assumptions and was driven to prove them in any way. The forensic
department and the results were manipulated or dealt with negligence to a point that no test was
conducted properly as discussed above such as the vaginal swab testing. Likewise, the facility where
post mortem was conducted was poorly managed to an extend that it did not have equipment to
freeze the body. All of these factors make us wonder whether irrespective of anything, was it pre
planned as to which direction the investigation has to go.
Hemraj:- Since the inception of the case, the focus has only been on Arushi and the parents. Hemraj
has already been declared and assumed to be the murderer of Arushi. However, we don’t know that.
It is essential to recognize that the rights of the victims, including Hemraj Banjade, are also crucial. the
primary question of the trail has only been who killed Arushi, and not much importance has been given
to Hemraj’s murder. Hemraj was subjected to same violations of the fundamental rights as the other
mentioned stakeholders. The sensation and buzz created around his identity has significantly affected
his right to dignity. Any forensic evidence related to him was also mishandled by the authorities.
Conclusion:-
Till date we do not know who killed Arushi and Hemraj. The documentary has sufficiently provided us
with evidences to state that the rights of the accused were sidelined with harsh motive and goals of
the authorities. The entire investigative process was rendered useless and baseless as it was heavily
driven by biases and pre-determined assumptions. Intensely driven by personal beliefs both the media
and the authorities significantly compromised the transparency necessary in investigation. Apart from
that its evident that the authorities were guided via a strong influence which contributed in
jeopardising the investigation and the enquiries. This double murder case is a stark reminder in the
importance of reforming authorities so that the citizens can reestablish their trust and faith in the
institutions of our country.
References:-

 The documentary The Talwar’s-Behind closed doors on Hotstar

 Allahabad High Court Dr. Rajesh Talwar vs State Of U.P. And Anr. , 2014 Criminal Misc. Bail
Application No. 29593 of 2014, CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 294 of 2014
 Allahabad High Court Dr. (Smt.) Nupur Talwar vs State Of U.P. And Anr., 2017 CRIMINAL APPEAL
No. - 293 of 2014

 Judgment on Right of an Accused Person against Self-Incrimination as Imbibed in Article-20(3)

of the Constitution of India

 Selvi vs. State of Karnataka on Privacy Law Library