New Delhi:
The young men who beat their professor to death in front of the entire college were acquitted, because all witnesses turned hostile.
Similar stories have often been in the headlines in the recent past.
In the NDTV expose in the BMW case - where on camera one could see how the defence and prosecution colluded with the sole witness to save Sanjeev Nanda, a rich businessman who ran over 6 people. Conviction came after 9 years after the crime.
In the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, her rapist and killer Santosh Singh was acquitted by the trial court, because the key witness, a domestic help was never traced after the police questioned him initially. Conviction came 10 years after the crime.
Then, the Jessica Lal murder case. In 2006 February, the trial court acquitted Manu Sharma, a politician son who shot the model dead for refusing him a drink. Because 32 witnesses turned hostile, including Shyan Munshi, who first told the police he saw Manu Sharma shoot Jessica - conviction came 7 years after the crime.
But in these cases all was not lost - despite the hostile witnesses, the court finally appreciated the circumstantial evidence.
Today both Manu Sharma and Santosh Singh are in jail - one facing a life sentence and the other death. Sanjay Nanda is in jail for 5 years.
And this is something that gives hope to the family of Professor Sabharwal - that though all witnesses have turned hostile, that may also be able to get justice when the case is heard in appeal.