Deepika Singh Rajawat, fired by Kathua victim’s parents for not appearing in hearings, takes credit for the verdict

Lawyer-activist Deepika Singh Rajawat, who was relieved from the Kathua case by the victim’s parents, tried to come in the limelight following the verdict yesterday. In light of the Kathua rape and murder accused being sentenced to life imprisonment; Rajawat decided to earn some brownie points by trying to take credit where it isn’t due. Unfortunately for the lawyer, everyone is aware of her hypocrisy which has made her the laughing stock of the nation.

After the judgment, Rajawat stated, “It is a light of hope. It is a step that we need to appreciate. It proves that judiciary does not come under pressure. Satyamev Jayate (it’s the victory of truth). This victory belongs to all the communities, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.”

While one can ignore the communalizing of the sentence and perceive the statement in a positive light, her subsequent statement makes one raise their eyebrows. She said, “Right from Day 1, the case was challenging for me as I stood against my own people and community. Standing against your own people was a challenging job.”

This is completely absurd and hypocritical as the lawyer had been relieved from the case after it had been shifted to Pathankot Trial Court. The father of the victim had filed an application before the Pathankot court stating that Deepika Rajawat won’t be representing them in the case anymore, expressing a lack of confidence in her. The application read, “keeping in view her apprehension and non- appearance in this case…I hereby withdraw my power of attorney issued to Deepika Singh Rajawat and now she is not my advocate.”

The lawyer, Mubeen Farooky, who had been appearing for the Kathua victim’s family, said that the application was moved by the victim’s father as Deepika Rajawat had “no time” to appear in the case. He said, “More than 110 hearings in the case have taken place and more than 100 witnesses have been examined. But Rajawat has appeared in the case only twice. She has been claiming that she is receiving life threats because she has to appear in the case. It was decided that it is best to relieve her of this responsibility.”

In order to defend her unprofessionalism, she had tweeted:

I was there with them when no one was. Now since the rainy days have passed, they are winding up with me just because I could not regularly attend the trial which is taken care of by senior criminal lawyers.
I don't blame them. it is the human tendency which travels in genes.

— Deepika Pushkar Nath (@DeepikaPNath) November 14, 2018

Instead of looking into her own misdemeanor, the lawyer decided to make snide remarks on the family and their ‘genes’. She expected them to put up with her even though she wasn’t abiding by her ethics as an advocate and neither was she representing her client in the court. She just wanted her name to be attached in the case even though she wasn’t of any help to the victim’s family.

In spite of this attitude, now that justice has been sought, Deepika Singh Rajawat has tried to come in the limelight once again. Playing with the Kathua victim’s family’s emotions, she is trying to use the case for her own benefit and popularity. Her attempts at usurping credit are quite shallow and won’t do her any good, if anything; only her hypocrisy is being showcased.