As the Pereira case continued on Wednesday, the Bombay High Court asked the prosecution to look into why no case was made against the other five who were in the car.
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Pointing a finger at the media for allegedly carrying ‘incorrect’ reports pertaining to his case, Alistair Pereira, 22, who allegedly ran over 15 people on Carter Road, killing seven and injuring eight on December 12, 2006, has urged the Bombay High Court to consider his case in all fairness.
He has said that the evidence on record is sufficient to prove his innocence. However, he urged the court to pass an order directing the media and the police to act ‘fairly and truthfully’, to avoid miscarriage of justice.
He added that the stories carried by some TV channels and in newspapers are contradictory to the evidence. He said it had earned him a bad reputation and if it is reflected in his trail in anyway it would cause irreparable loss to him. He alleged he and his family had been victimised by the press and had been erroneously portrayed as murderers.
He also said the media dragged him into other cases which he was not even involved in, and had not correctly reported that he had also paid Rs8 lakh in compensation. “I have been judged by the media. I have also lost my reputation which is affecting my career,” Pereira’s affidavit stated.
This, he said, had led to the delay in his father’s heart surgery. Alistair also had to quit college to help his father in his business. He asked the court to keep in mind his age and the circumstances under which the accident took place and give him a chance to improve himself. Pereira’s advocate Manjula Rao also told the court that the Press had made false allegations against Pereira. Hinting that the Press should be allowed to do its job, Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar said, “The media is unkind more often than not.”
Why no action taken against the other five, asks HC
As the Pereira case continued on Wednesday, the Bombay High Court asked the prosecution to look into why no case was made against the other five who were in the car that day. “What happened to the five great people who were present in his car?” Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar asked. He asked the state to take into account the whole evidence on record and check if they could not be charged with anything but drunkenness in a public space.
Also, assuring just disbursement of the compensation amount to the families of the deceased and the injured, a division bench of the Chief Justice and Justice SC Dharmadhikari on Wednesday said that the Rs4.5 lakh that was to be given to the victims in the form of fixed deposit receipts. The heirs of the deceased will get Rs50, 000 each and the injured Rs12, 500. The next hearing in on June 28.
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