Case Study on Landmark Judgment: K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra, 1961(Rustom Movie)

K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra on 24 November, 1961

Commander K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra was a 1959 Indian court case where Commander Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a Naval Commander, was tried for the murder of Prem Ahuja, his wife’s lover. The incident received unprecedented media coverage and inspired several books and films such as the 1973 film Achanak and 2016 film Rustom. Commander Nanavati, accused under section 302, was initially declared not guilty by a jury, but the verdict was dismissed by the Bombay High Court and the case was retried as a bench trial. This was among the last cases to be heard as a jury trial in India, as the government abolished jury trials soon after. Nanavati was finally pardoned by Vijayalakshmi Pandit, newly appointed Governor of Bombay and sister of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

FACTS OF THE CASE –

1. Nananvati, the accused at the time when he committed the murder of Ahuja was second in command of the Indian Naval Ship. He married Sylvia, his wife in 1949 and has three children. Because of his service, the couple after the marriage had to shift to different places. Finally, they shifted to Bombay.
2. The couple in Bombay through a common friend met the deceased Mr.Ahuja who had an Automobile business in Bombay. Ahuja was unmarried. Nanavati because of his service on the ship had to frequently leave Bombay leaving behind his family.
3. Ahuja and Sylvia became good friends and gradually their friendship turned into an intimate relationship. On April 27, 1959, Sylvia confessed to her husband Nanavati about her and Ahuja’s illicit intimacy.
4. Unable to bear the betrayal, angry Nanavati took from the store of his ship a semi-automatic revolver ans six cartridges on a false pretext, loaded the gun and went to Ahuja’s flat. The servant at Ahuja’s flat opened the door. Nanavati went to Ahuja’s bedroom and closed the door from inside and abused Ahuja by calling him a Swine. Nanavati then questioned Ahuja that whether he would marry Slyvia and look after his children. To this Ahuja replied saying, “Am I to marry every woman I sleep with?”. The accused Nanavati got enraged from this answer of his and placed the envelope containing the revolver on a cabinet nearby and threatened to thrash the deceased. The deceased made a sudden move to grasp the envelope when Nanavati whipped out his revolver from the envelope and told Ahuja to back off. A struggle went off between the two and in the course of the struggle two shots went off accidentally and hit Ahuja which resulted in his death and thereafter Nanavati surrendered to the Police.
5. Nanavati was charged under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The trial court convicted him under Section 304A of IPC and later under an appeal the high court converted it into S.302 of IPC.

JUDGEMENT OF THE CASE –

• It was held by the court that the conduct of the accused clearly showed that the murder committed by him was a deliberate one and the facts of the case do not attract the provision of Exception I of section 300 of IPC as the accused by adducing evidence failed to bring the case under General Exception Of IPC.
• Therefore, as a result, the court convicted Nanavati under section 302 of IPC and sentenced him to Imprisonment for Life.

K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra on 24 November, 1961