Rebecca Mammen John
John speaks to the National Law University, Delhi in 2014
NationalityIndian
OccupationSenior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India
Known forCriminal defence advocate

Rebecca Mammen John is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, and works primarily in the field of criminal defence. She has represented parties in several widely reported cases, including the families of victims of the 1987 Hashimpura massacre, Indian stockbroker Harshad Mehta, and the accused in the Aarushi murder case. She has also been appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor on occasion by the High Court of Delhi, and frequently comments in leading newspapers and the media on issues of criminal justice reform in India.[1][2][3][4][5]

Career

Rebecca John enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi 1988 and has been practising in the field of criminal law since then.[6] In 2013, John became the first woman to be designated a senior counsel by the High Court of Delhi on the criminal side.[7] She has represented the accused in a number of significant and widely reported cases, including representing Indian stockbroker Harshad Mehta in a number of cases concerning the 1992 securities scam early in her career.[1]

In 2012, she represented Kobad Ghandy, an Indian Communist writer and political activist, against charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was acquitted of the charges.[8] In 2013, she represented Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth in the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case in which he was ultimately discharged.[9][10][11] She has also represented Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, who were accused of murdering their daughter Aarushi as well as a domestic worker, Hemraj, in a widely reported case in 2008. Both were eventually acquitted by the Allahabad High Court.[3][12]

In 2010, John represented families of Sikh victims who died in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in the case against the Congress politician Jagdish Tytler for his alleged participation in the riots.[13][14] In 2015, John represented the families of the victims of the 1987 Hashimpura massacre, in which members of the Provincial Armed Constabulary were charged with killing more than 40 Muslim men. A Delhi court convicted 16 Provincial Armed Constabulary members of the murders, awarding them life sentences.[15][16] John also made a case for the award of compensation to the victims' families, along with advocate Vrinda Grover.[17] In an interview after the conclusion of the case, she described it as "a very very difficult journey, but the verdict, 31 years too late, was still a verdict we welcomed and [were] overjoyed about."[4]

In 2017, John represented politicians Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and Sanjay Chandra of the Unitech Group in the 2G spectrum case, in which they were acquitted by a special court in Delhi.[18] She has also represented and got discharged the Maran brothers in the Aircel-Maxis case[19] She has represented factory workers of a Maruti Suzuki plant; 13 workers were convicted of murdering a manager during a 2012 workers strike, while 117 co-accused were acquitted of all charges.[20] In 2016, she represented student and politician Kanhaiya Kumar and got him bail in a case of alleged sedition.[21][22] She has also represented Kanhaiya Kumar in a case concerning a fine levied on him by the Jawaharlal Nehru University.[23] The Delhi High Court ordered the fine to be set aside.[24] John is a part of a team of lawyers representing Congress leaders in the National Herald case.[25][26][27]

John is also representing several of the accused in the 2020 Delhi riots, foreign nationals belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat, who were arrested during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, and persons arrested near or at the site of protests against amendments to India's citizenship laws.[28][29][30] John has also represented the Chief Minister of New Delhi Arvind Kejriwal in several cases[31] including obtaining his acquittal in 2020 in a defamation case filed against him.[32] In 2020, John appeared for one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case (Nirbhaya case) pleading for the correct application of the law governing the execution of his sentence of death.[33][34]

In addition to private criminal defence, she has on occasion been appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor and government counsel in a number of cases. In 2018, John was part of a panel of lawyers appointed by the Delhi government to represent it in certain cases before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. The panel was temporarily dissolved by the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. John was reinstated after the Delhi Government reconstituted the panel, following a Supreme Court ruling that the Lieutenant-Governor did not have the power to interfere with actions of the elected government of Delhi.[35] In 2019, she was appointed as Special Public Prosecutor in the Ankit Saxena murder case.[36][37][38]

Rebecca John has also served as a statutory member of the Internal Complaints Committee of the High Court of Delhi which deals with sexual harassment complaints.[39]

Recently, she has been engaged as an expert for a forthcoming report published by TrialWatch of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.[40]

MJ Akbar v. Priya Ramani Trial

From 2018 through 2021, John represented Indian journalist Priya Ramani, the defendant in a criminal defamation case filed by former Union Minister M. J. Akbar after Ramani alleged, during the MeToo movement in India,[41] that Akbar had sexually harassed her in 1993.[42][43][44] CNN described the case as one of two high-profile criminal defamation cases that had recently shaken India's #MeToo movement.[45] The Court had summoned Priya Ramani on 29 January 2019, beginning a trial that would go on to last two years.[44]

John cross-examined the former Union Minister who took the stand[46] as well as the other witnesses produced by him.[47][48] She called Priya Ramani, her friend Niloufer Venkataraman and journalist Ghazala Wahab, Editor of Force Magazine, as witnesses for the defence. Wahab had accused Akbar of sexual harassment and assault, at the time she was a young journalist working under him, in a piece written in the Wire titled 'M.J. Akbar, Minister and Former Editor, Sexually Harassed and Molested Me'.

On February 17, 2021, the court dismissed the complaint against Ramani, stating the charges had not been proven.[49][50] Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey, of the New Delhi District Court, authored a ninety-one page judgment acquitting Priya Ramani of the offence of criminal defamation,[51][52][53] holding that "Woman has the right to put up the grievance at any platform of her choice even after decades. Woman cannot be punished for raising voice against sex abuse. Right to reputation cannot be protected at the cost of right to dignity."[54][55] The judgment was widely celebrated on social media.[56] It was later reported that Akbar's counsel stated that they would appeal the verdict.[57]

John stated in an interview "In that sense, I think, when you fight powerful people and you have only truth on your side, the journey becomes relevant to you personally. So I think this is probably the most important case of my career".[58]

Commentary

John has frequently commented on the subject of criminal law reform in India. In 2013, John spoke with Reuters about what she described as "really, really shoddy" Indian police investigation of rape, as well as the lengthy prosecution process in court.[59] In 2014, she was one of several lawyers who critiqued the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, pointing out that the proposed law could potentially allow accused persons to avoid penalties for the offence of rape.[60] In 2017, John spoke with SheThePeople.TV about improvements that could be made in the prosecution of rape charges.[61]

In 2018, John wrote for Firstpost, critiquing a Supreme Court recommendation for the framing of a new law to specifically address incidents of mob lynching in India, arguing that the focus should instead be on better prosecution and investigation rather than the creation of a new law.[62]

In 2018, John expressed support for the Me Too movement in India, encouraging victims to file criminal complaints and provide testimony in cases of sexual harassment and assault, while acknowledging the challenges, including extensive delays, in the criminal process.[63][64][65]

John has also stated her opposition to the death penalty,[66] and criticised inconsistencies in the application of the death penalty in India stating that there is "no uniform understanding of the requirements of rarest of rare doctrine".[67] John has critiqued the use of satisfying the 'collective conscience of society' as a ground to justify the application of thee death penalty, stating, "It is an amorphous term. It has become a catch phrase in Delhi. Nobody really understands what it means. It is part of the mindlessness of death sentencing. It is not possible to judicially determine what it means."[68] She has also criticised the practice of executing convicts without notifying their families, describing the practice as "against the humanitarian values the Indian state professes to uphold."[69]

In 2020, John was described by The Quint as "one of India’s most reputed criminal law experts"[5] and in an interview with Bar and Bench described herself as a criminal lawyer who serves the Constitution of India.[70]

Education

John studied law at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.[71]

Personal life

John has two brothers, both of whom live outside India.[72]

In 2011, John's mother, a retired school-teacher, was found murdered in her home in Delhi.[73][74]

References

  1. 1 2 Behura, Monica. "Indian women making a mark in the field of law". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Govt 'clears' file appointing special public prosecutors in Saxena case". Hindustan Times. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Aarushi Talwar Murder Case Verdict LIVE: Rajesh And Nupur Talwar Acquitted By Allahabad High Court". NDTV.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Lawyer Rebecca John Recounts The 'Very Very Difficult' Journey Of The Hashimpura Massacre Trial And Finding 'Joy' After The Verdict". HuffPost India. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 Sachdev, Vakasha (18 July 2020). "79 Year-Old Varavara Rao Gets COVID In Jail: Why Don't Courts Act?". The Quint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Behura, Monica. "Indian women making a mark in the field of law". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Garg, Abhinav; Singh, Smriti (8 March 2013). "Two women lawyers get rare honour". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "Ghandy: Police file same chargesheet - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "Sreesanth claims innocence, says never indulged in spot-fixing - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sreesanth, Chandila, Chavan discharged in IPL spot-fixing case". The Hindu. PTI. 25 July 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 November 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ↑ Praveen, M. P. (4 June 2013). "Sreesanth's counsel denounces decision to invoke MCOCA against cricketers". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Aarushi Talwar murder case: Talwars' acquitted, friends, family and well-wishers rejoice". The Indian Express. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "1984 riots victims question CBI report on Tytler". The Indian Express. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "Court upholds CBI closure report, gives Tytler clean chit - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "Most chilling murder in free India". The Indian Express. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. ↑ ANI (27 November 2018). "Hashimpura massacre: Five more convicts surrender before Tis Hazari court". Business Standard India. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Hashimpura 27 years later: 'No one cared for us then, why will they do so now?'". The Indian Express. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "2G spectrum verdict: Why the case fell flat". Hindustan Times. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  19. ↑ Khan, Aamir (3 February 2017). "Aircel-Maxis: Court discharges Maran brothers in Aircel-Maxis case". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "13 guilty of murder in 2012 Maruti factory riot that killed one, 117 acquitted". Hindustan Times. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "JNU row: Kanhaiya Kumar gets bail and a lesson on thoughts that 'infect… (like) gangrene'". The Indian Express. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  22. ↑ Jain, Ritika (3 March 2016). "Kanhaiya Kumar granted interim bail for six months; to walk out of Tihar Jail today". DNA India. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Don't take coercive step against Kanhaiya Kumar till July 20: Delhi HC to JNU". The Indian Express. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Delhi HC sets aside penalty imposed on Kanhaiya Kumar by JNU". Hindustan Times. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Jain, Ritika (27 December 2016). "'National Herald' case: Subramanian Swamy loses battle for documents in court". DNA India. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  26. ↑ Suresh, Smrithi. "#NationalHerald: Singhvi, Rebecca John, RS Cheema, Sibal, Swamy appear". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  27. ↑ Sen, Shreeja (10 December 2016). "Court to decide on Subramanian Swamy's plea in National Herald case on 26 Dec". mint. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  28. ↑ "Delhi HC nod to shift 955 foreign Tablighis to other accommodations". The Indian Express. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "Citizenship Act protests: Delhi court dismisses Chandrashekhar Azad's bail plea". The Indian Express. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  30. ↑ "Delhi HC bail for riot accused: Prison for convicts, not to send any message". The Indian Express. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  31. ↑ "Defamation plea against Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi High Court calls for case records". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  32. ↑ Tripathi, Karan (28 October 2020). "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Acquitted In Criminal Defamation Case Filed by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  33. ↑ Mathur, Aneesha (2 February 2020). "Nirbhaya Case: Have right to be treated fairly even as death row convict, Mukesh tells court". India Today. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  34. ↑ "Nirbhaya case convicts claim in HC they cannot be executed separately". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  35. ↑ "Delhi govt reinstates lawyers' panel scrapped by L-G". The Indian Express. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  36. ↑ "Ankit Saxena murder trial: Delhi government appoints counsels Rebecca John and Vishal Gosain". Scroll.in. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  37. ↑ "Govt 'clears' file appointing special public prosecutors in Saxena case". Hindustan Times. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  38. ↑ "Delhi govt appoints advocates as 2 special public prosecutors for trial in Ankit Saxena murder case". DNA India. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  39. ↑ "Judiciary Has Not Exactly Covered Itself in Glory When it Comes to Complaints by Women: Rebecca John". NewsClick. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  40. ↑ "Harsh Sentences for Peaceful Protesters in Hong Kong Raise Serious Concerns". Clooney Foundation For Justice. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  41. ↑ Dutt, Barkha. "Opinion | An actor, a journalist, a government minister: Who is next to fall in India's #MeToo wave?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  42. ↑ "MJ Akbar's 'stellar' reputation key to his defamation case, I said it's false: Ramani". The Indian Express. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  43. ↑ Saran, Mekhala (10 February 2021). "Akbar-Ramani Case: How a Journalist Was Tried for Saying #MeToo". The Quint. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  44. 1 2 "Priya Ramani Acquitted In Defamation Case Filed By MJ Akbar: A Timeline". NDTV.com. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  45. ↑ Kara Fox and Antoine Crouin (5 June 2019). "Men are suing women who accused them of harassment. Will it stop others from speaking out?". CNN. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  46. ↑ "MJ Akbar appears for cross-examination in defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani". Hindustan Times. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  47. ↑ "Defamation case: Cross-examination of M J Akbar's witnesses ends". The Indian Express. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  48. ↑ Singh, Aditi. "MJ Akbar v. Priya Ramani: Timeline of hearings from October 2018 till February 2021". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news | Supreme Court Judgments, High Court Updates, Indian Law Firm News, Law School News, Legal News in India - barandbench.com. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  49. ↑ ""Ray Of Hope": Bollywood Celebrates Priya Ramani's Acquittal In Defamation Case". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  50. ↑ Saran, Mekhala; Tripathi, Karan (17 February 2021). "Not So 'Stellar' After All: Court Acquits Ramani in MJ Akbar Case". The Quint. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  51. ↑ "M J Akbar defamation case: Verdict builds on Vishaka ruling, gives new legal shield to women". The Indian Express. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  52. ↑ Schmall, Emily; Bhagat, Shalini Venugopal (17 February 2021). "Indian Court Clears Journalist of Defamation Claim in #MeToo Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  53. ↑ "MJ Akbar: India ex-minister loses #MeToo defamation case to Priya Ramani". BBC News. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  54. ↑ Thapliyal, Nupur (17 February 2021). "MJ Akbar Not A Man Of 'Stellar Reputation', Delhi Court Says Based On Priya Ramani, Ghazala Wahab Testimonies". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  55. ↑ Kothari, Jayna (24 February 2021). "Priya Ramani verdict has expanded the law on sexual harassment". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  56. ↑ "'No words, just tears and goosebumps': Netizens welcome Delhi court's verdict acquitting Priya Ramani". The Indian Express. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  57. ↑ "Akbar's lawyers may rely on part of judgment in appeal". Hindustan Times. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  58. ↑ Singh, Aditi. ""Probably the most important case of my career:" Senior Advocate Rebecca John on trial in MJ Akbar v. Priya Ramani". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news | Supreme Court Judgments, High Court Updates, Indian Law Firm News, Law School News, Legal News in India - barandbench.com. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  59. ↑ Bhalla, Nita (16 January 2013). "Analysis: How India's police and judiciary fail rape victims". Reuters. Trustlaw. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  60. ↑ "Amendments to protect wives come in handy for husbands". The Indian Express. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  61. ↑ Gupta, Poorvi (2 September 2017). "Senior Advocate Rebecca John on 'How to humanize rape trials?'". SheThePeople.tv. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  62. ↑ "Supreme Court order on mob lynching strong, but new law will be useless unless existing rules are enforced". Firstpost. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  63. ↑ "#MeToo movement: Lawyers weigh in, delay not a problem, file police complaint". The Indian Express. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  64. ↑ Singh, Bhasha (22 October 2018). "'#MeToo is about speaking truth to power': Advocate Rebecca John". National Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  65. ↑ "Something Very Monumental Is Happening, and We Should Listen". www.vice.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  66. ↑ "Nirbhaya gangrape case: Death penalty does not deter crime, say activists". The Asian Age. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  67. ↑ "No uniformity on rarest of rare doctrine in awarding death penalty: Report". The Financial Express. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  68. ↑ "Study explores drivers of death terms". Hindustan Times. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  69. ↑ "India's secret executions raise concerns". Hindustan Times. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  70. ↑ Singh, Aditi (31 October 2020). "Shunning ethical dilemmas and maintaining balance: Senior Advocates Rebecca John, Sonia Mathur share their experiences". Bar and Bench. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  71. ↑ Campus Law Center, University of Delhi. "National Webinar | Trial by Media: Free Speech and Fair Trial under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973" (PDF). Delhi University.
  72. ↑ "Talwars' lawyer Rebecca John's mother murdered at home - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  73. ↑ "Rebecca's mother killed by man who painted house: Cops". The Indian Express. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  74. ↑ "Killers of Rebecca John's mother held". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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