The first time I went there, I was a cub reporter. Kalpnath Rai, a union minister, had been arrested for providing safe haven to some underworld types. During the initial days of the court hearings, he would be quite composed and confident. But as the dates went on, his calm crumbled and he would weep like a baby. It was not just the interminable court proceedings that moved him to tears. He was mortified at the thought of the ride from Tihar to Karkardooma. Apparently, the other undertrials riding with him would pinch him, threaten to pull out his hair one at a time and slash him with blades.
But coming back to the feet touching - at every hearing there would be a huge serpentine line of people from his constituency - men, women and even children. And while Kalpnath Rai sat outside the court, waiting for his hearing, they would come and touch his feet. Kalpnath Rai was never able to prove his innocence but for his constituents, he remained a venerable figure.
The next big case I covered at Karkardooma involved notorious gangster Babloo Shrivastava. He had just been extradited and brought back to India. The first day that he was in court, I happened to be the only reporter there - quite by chance. There was a lot of police presence and I asked some cops what it was all about. They said Babloo was being brought in. In the packed courtroom, I got my first glimpse of the man. Of average height and built, there was nothing about him that gave any indication of the several cold-blooded murders he is accused of. In fact, he looked quite the worse off from the trip to India and looked desperately in need of sleep.
As he stood in the dock, his other accomplices were brought in. And lo and behold, the same feet touching happened. Babloo the gangster was respectfully greeted by his former gang members by bending and touching he feet, actually just his knees. Right there in the middle of the court room with the judge looking on. So there is some code of ethics even among theives.
And on my latest visit to Karkardooma, I witnessed the same show of respect. The day after Holi, I landed up there to follow up on the Shivani Bhatnagar case. Ravi Kant Sharma, former big IPS guy and current fallen hero, was there. None the worse of the years in prison. (I believe he spends his time playing badminton there) He walked in, at a totally unhurried pace, hand in hand with a constable. As he paused outside the courtroom, a cop in uniform came up to him, bent down, and touched his feet. He stood in the dock with the other accused persons. But soon began grimacing. He was not only given permission to sit down, but was actually provided with an orthopaedic back-rest as well. Three vacant chairs later, sat his wife Madhu Sharma. Madhu, who had earlier earned the sobriquet of The Rottweiler for her spirited-made-for-tv defense of her husband and her equally hysterical attack on the Delhhi Police, the Media and Pramod Mahajan, looked slightly subdued. But as the hearing progressed, I realised I was wrong. Out of deference to the court, she made no loud noises, but everytime the prosecution made a point, she would smirk, laugh a silent, disdainful laugh and scribble furiously.
Interestingly, Ravi Kant was also allowed an interview with his lawyer without any written application. Perks of being a former IG I suppose.
Anyway, the point that is coming out is that jail and accusations of heinous crimes do not seem to erode any of the respect these men seem to have earned. Strange that even in court, even while living in jail, there are enough people around who are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and come to court, just to fall at their feet.
first published:March 21, 2006, 12:28 ISTlast updated:March 21, 2006, 12:28 IST
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Everyone knows that touching someone's feet is a sign of respect for them. But I have seen the strangest feet touching exercise happening at the most unlikely of places. The Karkardooma Court.
The first time I went there, I was a cub reporter. Kalpnath Rai, a union minister, had been arrested for providing safe haven to some underworld types. During the initial days of the court hearings, he would be quite composed and confident. But as the dates went on, his calm crumbled and he would weep like a baby. It was not just the interminable court proceedings that moved him to tears. He was mortified at the thought of the ride from Tihar to Karkardooma. Apparently, the other undertrials riding with him would pinch him, threaten to pull out his hair one at a time and slash him with blades.
But coming back to the feet touching - at every hearing there would be a huge serpentine line of people from his constituency - men, women and even children. And while Kalpnath Rai sat outside the court, waiting for his hearing, they would come and touch his feet. Kalpnath Rai was never able to prove his innocence but for his constituents, he remained a venerable figure.
The next big case I covered at Karkardooma involved notorious gangster Babloo Shrivastava. He had just been extradited and brought back to India. The first day that he was in court, I happened to be the only reporter there - quite by chance. There was a lot of police presence and I asked some cops what it was all about. They said Babloo was being brought in. In the packed courtroom, I got my first glimpse of the man. Of average height and built, there was nothing about him that gave any indication of the several cold-blooded murders he is accused of. In fact, he looked quite the worse off from the trip to India and looked desperately in need of sleep.
As he stood in the dock, his other accomplices were brought in. And lo and behold, the same feet touching happened. Babloo the gangster was respectfully greeted by his former gang members by bending and touching he feet, actually just his knees. Right there in the middle of the court room with the judge looking on. So there is some code of ethics even among theives.
And on my latest visit to Karkardooma, I witnessed the same show of respect. The day after Holi, I landed up there to follow up on the Shivani Bhatnagar case. Ravi Kant Sharma, former big IPS guy and current fallen hero, was there. None the worse of the years in prison. (I believe he spends his time playing badminton there) He walked in, at a totally unhurried pace, hand in hand with a constable. As he paused outside the courtroom, a cop in uniform came up to him, bent down, and touched his feet. He stood in the dock with the other accused persons. But soon began grimacing. He was not only given permission to sit down, but was actually provided with an orthopaedic back-rest as well. Three vacant chairs later, sat his wife Madhu Sharma. Madhu, who had earlier earned the sobriquet of The Rottweiler for her spirited-made-for-tv defense of her husband and her equally hysterical attack on the Delhhi Police, the Media and Pramod Mahajan, looked slightly subdued. But as the hearing progressed, I realised I was wrong. Out of deference to the court, she made no loud noises, but everytime the prosecution made a point, she would smirk, laugh a silent, disdainful laugh and scribble furiously.
Interestingly, Ravi Kant was also allowed an interview with his lawyer without any written application. Perks of being a former IG I suppose.
Anyway, the point that is coming out is that jail and accusations of heinous crimes do not seem to erode any of the respect these men seem to have earned. Strange that even in court, even while living in jail, there are enough people around who are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and come to court, just to fall at their feet.
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