'Formulate police verification mechanism for live-in domestic workers': Karnataka High Court to govt

The bench passed the direction while imposing life sentence on four accused persons in a 2009 triple murder case.

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has directed the state government to formulate a structured and mandatory police verification mechanism for workers residing within private premises. 

The mechanism may resemble tenant verification systems, with simplified online registration portals accessible to the public, a division bench of Justices HP Sandesh and Venkatesh Naik T ruled. 

The bench passed the direction while imposing life sentence on four accused persons, including two migrant labourers from West Bengal, in a triple murder case registered at the RT Nagar police station in 2009. 

The murder of Purushotham Lal Sachdev, a retired professor at IISc, his wife and their son was solved 20 months after the incident. 

"At the same time, widespread public awareness campaigns through print, electronic and social media platforms should be undertaken to educate citizens about safe hiring practices. However, while strengthening preventive mechanisms, it is equally important to ensure that migrant workers are not stigmatised as a class, since criminal liability is individual in nature and the constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India protect the dignity and equality of all persons. Thus, balanced judicial directions aimed at regulation, awareness, and accountability without discrimination which would serve the larger interest of public safety and social justice,” the bench said. 

The bench noted the difficulty in tracing and securing the accused persons in the case. "In this regard, streamlining of the guidelines is very much required. Thus, we hereby direct the state government to take a call on this issue." 

Case at hand

On February 15, 2009, Sachdev, his wife Rita and their son Deepak Sachdev alias Munna were murdered for gain by a gang of five persons. The gang robbed a gold mangalya chain, two gold bangles, one gold ring, Rs 30,000 in cash, seven silk sarees, a wall clock and two silver lamps. 

The suspects were Suchitra Haldar, a maid working in the deceased's house, her husband Dipak Haldar, both from South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Mohammad Sarbal alias Raj and Bidan Shikari, both from Bengaluru, and Pradeep Naskar, who is still absconding. 

The murder came to light the next day and police had to break open the main door to enter the house. Deepak's body was lying on the floor in the hall, while Rita's body was in another bedroom, which was locked. On further searching the house, police found Prof. Sachdev's body stuffed in a suitcase below the cot in another bedroom. 

Police managed to track down Suchitra and her husband only 20 months after the incident. Based on their information, Sarbal and Shikari were also arrested. On February 29, 2016, the trial court acquitted four accused on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove the case. 

On the state’s appeal, the division bench noted that considering the witness testimonies, coupled with other circumstances, the prosecution had convincingly established the fact that the accused and deceased were found together in the deceased persons' house. 

"It is further proved that the death of the deceased is homicidal due to strangulation. The manner in which the accused persons committed the murder of the deceased persons, the place, the time of incident and sudden disappearance of accused Nos. 1 and 2 (Suchitra and Dipak Haldar) from the house of the deceased persons are suggestive of the fact that the accused persons committed murder of deceased by strangulation and thereafter, escaped from the house,” the bench said, adding that the recovery of gold and silver ornaments and seven silk sarees at the instance of the accused persons further establishes that the murder was committed by four accused for gain.