The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Maruti plant violence: 13 charged with murder
117 ACQUITTED, VIOLENCE HAD BROKEN OUT IN 2012
ALMOST FIVE years after violence broke out at the Manesar factory of Maruti Suzuki, resulting in the death of a human resources manager and injuries to 90 executives and police personnel, the Gurgaon District Court Friday acquitted 117 of the 148 accused workers in the case. Of the 31 convicted, 13 were charged with murder, while 18 were charged with minor offences like rioting.
The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on March 17.
The incident took place on July 18, 2012, when an altercation broke out between workers and management at the Manesar plant over dismissal of an employee. In the ensuing violence, HR general manager Awanish Kumar Dev was burned to death, allegedly by rioting workers.
Following the violence, 148 workers were arrested, of whom only nine remained in prison until Friday, with others having beenreleasedonbailoverthelast four years. After the verdict, however, 22 were taken into custody.
Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal charged 13 of the convicts under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) as well as other IPC sections.
The defense, however, called the verdict a “victory” for the workers, with defense counsel Vrinda Grover saying, “This verdict proves that the case of the prosecution has been completely demolished, with 117 being acquitted, 18 being convicted of minor offences, and only 13 being charged with murder.”
“Many of those who are convicted were also members of the union, and we have been saying all along that there is targeted framing of union workers. We will take this case forward and challenge the conviction in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where we are confident we will emerge victorious,” she added.
The counsel for Maruti Suzuki, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, said that “the stand of Maruti is vindicated”.
“The court has sent a strong signal to labour workers and union members that they cannot take the law into their hands by committing violence of this magnitude,” he said. “The other accused were acquitted as some of the witnesses could not identify them in court due to time lapse of two years and also due to change in their appearance.” Pahwa added, “Prima facie, the judgment looks good and we will decide about whether or not to challenge it only after reading it in detail.”
Several workers' unions, meanwhile, held a meeting Friday to decide on the future course of action. Khushi Ram, a member of the Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union, said, “All factories of the company from here to Bawal will boycott lunch on March 16, a day before the quantum of punishment is announced. We will also not celebrate Holi.”
Ram said the unions will hold another meeting on March 17, depending on the sentence pronounced, to decide on the next step.