Illegal - Justice, Out of Order (2020): Season 1, Episode 3 - Take The Stand - full transcript

Take The Stand

Sometimes, I wonder
why does the past even exist?

Every time, at every turn,
the past gets in the way.

I wish I had an eraser
to erase all the traces of the past.

But, unfortunately, it doesn't exist.

The past never fades away

and it keeps affecting the future.

Is it something else?

Is it about your father?

Listen. You're a lawyer.
You work at a law firm.

He's your client.
You're his defence lawyer.



It's purely work. That's all

I know, mom.
- 'And you don't have to worry about me.

You're not betraying me. Really.

Guilt should be
the last thing on your mind.

Just go and win this case.
And make me proud. Okay?

I am Neeraj Shekhavat.
Women ask me out all the time!

Every day, at least 10 new women
try to talk to me.

Three of them send me
nude pictures of themselves.

And I don't even have to ask for it.

Last year, a girl started stalking me.

I had to put a restraining order on her.

I'm not starved for sex.
It's like a buffet for me.

I choose which dish to eat on what day.

Rape and sex are not connected.



Why would I rape someone? Are you even
listening to me, girl? - Be respectful.

What?
- Be respectful.

I'm your lawyer, Neeraj.

This is how he talks.

Neeraj, do you need a spokesperson?
- No.

So, Akshay, can I please talk
to my client? Can we continue?

Why would I rape that girl...
- Vartika.

Her name is Vartika.

I had no need to rape Vartika.

No one ever has the need to rape.

Bro, what kind of a lawyer have you
got me? She's twisting everything I say!

I'm your lawyer. I'm not your cheerleader.

Stop being a cry-baby.
- Niharika, take it easy.

You are a rape-accused. The prosecution
will grill you with questions.

If you're so sensitive,
you will react at the wrong time.

I'm going to represent you.
You'll have to tell me the whole truth.

Shall we move on? Let's continue.

When was the first time you met Vartika?

Some three months ago,
Neeraj came to the bar late at night.

Thank you.

You don't smile much.
Are you not happy here?

No, sir. That's not true.
I'm very happy. This is my dream job.

If you're happy, smile. You never know
who might fall in love with your smile.

Sir, I have to set the bar.
If you don't mind, may I?

You should be grateful that I'm
trying to teach you something.

For a bartender,
your personality is very rough.

When I refused to learn from him,
he wanted to learn something from me.

How to mix drinks.

Should I add more soda? Oh no!

I'm so sorry. Please take this.

You should be wearing one of these.

I felt disgusted.

And when it kept happening,
I discussed it with the HR.

He touches me inappropriately
without my permission.

Bro, I was shocked

I told her that if she has a problem,
she should come and talk to me.

So, she lodges a complaint against you,
and the HR sends her back to you? - Yes.

Does your organisation not have
a Vishaka Committee

where employees can complain
about sexual harassment?

It's a mandatory thing. Do you know that?

Ours is a highly reputed organisation.

It's not a lowly place where
women are teased every day.

Is he being serious?

One day, I was in the lift with him.

I stood quietly. He stopped the lift
between the 13th and 14th floor.

Sir, that day, I understood
that the matter was far from over.

Neeraj wouldn't forget so easily
that I complained against him.

Ma'am, please check this out.
We have CCTV cameras in the lift.

Had Mr Shekhavat been guilty,
you would have seen it here.

When I entered the lift,
I was busy on my phone.

I didn't know that Vartika was in there.
If I knew, maybe I wouldn't have entered.

She said hi to me first.

And the lift never stopped.

Sir, they have tampered the CCTV footage.

I was going to lodge a fresh complaint,
but then I got a job offer elsewhere.

Before leaving, I wanted to warn
the other girls who were working there.

So, I wrote that blog post.

Just to warn them?

She was a psycho.
That's why she wrote the blog post.

It wasn't just a social service, sir.
I wanted to teach Neeraj a lesson.

But two days later, I got a call
from my new employers.

And they told me that they had
given my job to someone else.

And you think that it was
because of Neeraj?

When I went to meet them, they told me
they didn't have a vacancy for bloggers.

'They said, 'Finish your training
with Hyperion, then we'll see.'

I thought I wouldn't have
many prospects without the training.

And it was only a matter of 45 days,
so I didn't argue.

Neeraj, why didn't you
sue her for the blog post?

It was an anonymous blog post. Why would
I give attention to a publicity stunt?

Does she even trust me?

I completely believe you.

But in court, they can ask you a question.

Had it been another woman,
wouldn't she have quit the job

or been more careful?

It's not about being careful, sir.
They wanted me to be scared.

What happened on the night of August 8?

What happened on the night of August 8?

This is the CCTV footage

of her coming out of your room.

She looks quite scared.

I don't know why she looks scared.

I had gone to the party at Gulati's house.
You can call him and ask him.

I was really drunk.
I came home early and passed out.

I don't know when and how
she came into my room.

Is that normal?

Can anyone enter your room
whenever they want?

Sir, when it's all done,

people give you all sorts of names..

But that night,
when it was happening to me,

I had no name, sir.

There was only one thing.

Fear.

On the night of August 8,
I learned how to be fearful.

It's a lie! And the story about
the cigarette burns

is the biggest lie in the world!

So, what are our options?
- I don't know.

What do you mean you don't know?

A Rs 4 billion merger is dependent
on the fate of this case.

Akshay Jaitley, the corporate lawyer.

I thought you'd ask me
if I felt he told the truth or not.

Well, you are no lie detector.
But I know him since we were kids.

Just knowing someone from childhood
is not a character certificate.

Niharika, you weren't asking him
questions. You were attacking him.

Akshay, I need to trust him.

No, Niharika. That's the difference.
He needs to trust you.

Sexual harassment, CCTV footage,

a blog post by the victim...

Are you really going to use
this argument against me?

Just because he had the gun,
he must have fired.

Don't try to trap me using
this false equivalence.

Niharika, Neeraj is not
that kind of a guy, okay?

I've known him for years.
He would never rape someone.

So, what kind of a guy is he?

Do you think rapists come
with a warning label?

They are all normal, respectable people.

It's just that for a moment,
they think they can get away with it.

These are people who are hungry on power.

They consider women
to be slightly inferior.

And guess what?
Your friend ticks all the boxes.

If that's what you think,
why did you accept this case?

Can I even trust you
with this case anymore?

Finally, we're back to trust issues..

I'm Neeraj's lawyer.

I'll do everything it takes
to give him the best defence.

You will have to stop driving
from the back seat.

You need to trust me.

Neeraj's case is being
widely covered on TV.

Well. Your son has
invited it upon himself.

Along with my son,
your daughter's involved too.

My daughter?

When was the last time
you met your daughter?

Why do you ask that?

It's obvious that you lied to me.

Neeraj's lawyer is no one else
but your daughter Niharika.

Do you really think she will defend him?

How did you convince yourself?

You think she'd defend him just
because she's his stepsister?

Niharika is a highly professional lawyer.

Yes, she is my daughter.
But that's not relevant to Neeraj's case.

Surya, I don't know if you're
lying to yourself or to all of us.

This is just an opportunity for her
to get back at you.

And you're gifting
this opportunity to her.

Hi.

Sorry, I'm late.

That's alright. I know
that traffic could be bad.

Yes.
- Will you have something?

Have you had breakfast?

We are not here to have breakfast.
So, tell me why you wanted to see me.

Destiny can be
a strange storyteller, Niharika.

I had never imagined that my son would
one day be accused in such a case

and that my own daughter...
- Stop.

Please stop.

Don't say that word.

I'm neither your own nor your daughter.

Let's stick to a lawyer-client
relationship, Mr Shekhavat.

Perhaps that would be better.

And if you think that I'm planning an act
of revenge by misrepresenting Neeraj,

bury that thought.

But if you don't trust me,

you can talk to JJ and hire
another lawyer. I don't mind. - No!

You're the best for this.
I know it. I trust you.

Good.

I have one condition, Mr Shekhavat.

Nobody else apart from you and your wife
knows that we're related, right?

Correct.

Well, I want you to promise me
that that will remain unchanged.

It has taken me a very long time,

a lot of tears

and a lot of courage

to bury that past in my heart.

If the past resurfaces
because of you or your wife,

I will leave the case.

I swear I'll walk out.
- That won't happen.

Nobody will find out anything.

I promise you.
- Thank you.

Hey, make the girl pout.

Hey, girl! Turn your face this way!

Turn over here!
- 'Yes, of course...'

Hey, where are you going?
- This is her lawyer. Let us go.

Try another photo filter.
- Yes. That's more like it!

Do you have permission to do this?
- What permission are you talking about?

Do you know that you're violating
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution?

First, show us your teeth.
- What?

Look at this.

She bit me.

The blood has congealed.

If you plan on biting us too, warn us
in advance. We'll keep our distance.

You may complain against her for
biting you. But if that photo is leaked,

I'll complain against you.

Hey, Rambha. Let's go.

Fuck off, you bitch!

Had she gone to meet my son?

Why had she gone to meet my son?
- I met your grandma too.

Ma'am!
- What do you want from me, you bitch!

Fuck off!
- Ma'am!

Meher, I'm Niharika. I'm a lawyer.

I'm here to free you.

My freedom is in death.
Will you get that for me?

You're in jail for 15 years.
Instead of fighting, you want to die?

No woman has ever been hanged in India.

If you can't give me death, fine.

Do one thing. Give me a knife.
I'll kill myself. Come on.

Minister, Mr Jaitley is here.

Hello. Greetings.
- Welcome, Mr Jaitley.

Have a seat.
- How are you, sir?

Well, I'm just signing new schemes
designed to serve the people.

That's wonderful.

You are known as
the servant of the people.

Mr Jaitley, don't mock me.

It's the truth! I'm not kidding.

What will you have? Tea or coffee?

I'm good, sir. I don't want anything.

Is there a specific reason
why you petitioned

in the Supreme Court
against capital punishment?

My petition is against
capital punishment for women.

Not against capital punishment in general.

The courts order
capital punishment for women,

but no government actually
executes the order.

They rot away in jail and die.

Mr Janardhan Jaitley,
the best lawyer in India,

is fighting a pro bono case,
and that too, in the Supreme Court.

If I remember correctly,

the last time you fought a pro bono case
was in 1997.

That was 22 years ago.

This is an affidavit. It says that you
are being harassed in jail.

That they are torturing you
emotionally, mentally and physically.

In fact, you are serving two sentences.
Life imprisonment and death by hanging.

They can't give you two punishments
for one crime.

I think you're fighting this case
not against capital punishment

but against our government.

Oh! Why do you think so?

You don't understand that in India,
they sentence women to death,

but they can't execute the orders.

If we punish women, people say that
the government is killing righteous women.

And if we don't execute capital
punishment, people will say

that the government doesn't want
to punish terrorists and murderers.

This is wrong! Hey, where are you going?

Why does nobody listen to me!

I spoke to the Prime Minister.

We'll give you the Meerut seat ticket
in the next Lok Sabha elections.

In return, you withdraw this case
against capital punishment.

Why are you doing this to me?

What will you gain from it?

Minister, you're offering the Meerut seat
to a person who hails from Kanpur.

Mr Jaitley, you live in Delhi.

Meher, don't give so much importance
to yourself. I'm just doing my job.

Think about what you'll say
in the mercy plea. See you tomorrow.

So, do we have a deal?

Of course. Welcome to the Jantantra Party.

Hey.
- Hi.

A buddy tells me that you
didn't like the 'teetar kesari'.

Funny. Yes. I puked my guts out

Sorry about that.
- It's okay.

I'm also sorry that for the last few days,

I've been quite tense about Neeraj's case,

and I behaved like a complete asshole.

It's okay.
I'm used to you being an asshole.

Ouch! Nucker punch!

I'm glad it hurt.

Hey, come on! You and I
can't continue like this.

Like what?

Niharika, we can't change whatever
happened between us in the past.

But we can control the future to come.

Whether we like it or not,
the truth is that we work together.

So, if we walk around carrying the burden
of the past, how will we work together?

Honestly, I feel like everyone here
is carrying the burden of the past.

JJ and Puneet. You and I.

You and I...

You and I don't need to be like that.

So, what? We're going to be like
movie stars? 'We're just friends.'

Friends.

Yes, that'd be nice.

Okay, then. Let's try that.

Okay. I'm getting late for the court.
I'll see you later.

I'm going there too.
Shall I give you a ride?

Oh, wow! Driving with a friend!

Let's do that.

Can you give me a spoon?

Let me help you with that.

What you did in the Sameer Adhikari case
was very impressive.

A bit dramatic, maybe.
But, I guess, that's your style.

Just like in this Neeraj case,

where you refused
to defend him 2 days ago,

but now you've taken up his case.

So, was that a drama, or is this?

For a lawyer, your social skills
are very poor.

I'm representing Vartika.
- I see!

She's the victim.
Do you know why JJ picked you?

Because you're a woman...
- Lawyer.

That's good. I hope you remember that.

You don't even know me,
and you're judging me.

You risked everything
to bring Sameer Adhikari down.

I'm sure you have a conscience.

I'm sure that if you've done so much...
- Just be careful of JJ.

You'll think that you're driving the car.
But he always controls the steering.

Go on. Underestimate me.

You considered him to be
a rapist 2 days ago.

Now, 48 hours later, you're defending him.
Something must have gone down, right?

Think about it.

Puneet.

How are you?

I've heard that you and your dad
are making quite a bit of money.

Move on! How long will you
keep cribbing about it?

Niharika, shall we?
- Yes.

Sir.
- Yes.

Did you want to see me?

Yes, Randeep. It's our first hearing
in the Neeraj case.

Yes, sir. I've heard about it.

No matter what happens in the court,
we will lose on the media front.

I didn't get you.

In the court, Neeraj will
claim to be not guilty.

The media will try their hardest
to prove him guilty.

Because that's how they'll get
sensational news. - Got it.

I have a job for you. You have
to prepare a different story for the media

that will benefit us, and not Puneet.

1663, 582/2,

the State (NCT of Delhi)
versus Neeraj Shekhavat.

Sit down.

Neeraj Shekhavat, under Section 375
of the Indian Penal Code,

you have been accused
of raping Vartika Tripathi.

Along with that, under
Sections 351, 340, 503 and 354,

you have been accused of assault,
illegal confinement, blackmail,

criminal intimidation
and sexual harassment.

Mr Neeraj Shekhavat, I'm sure you've been
provided with the FIR, the charge sheet

and the witness list.

Your Honour, the prosecution wants
to make amendments in the evidence.

What amendment? We haven't
been told anything about this.

That is why I said 'amendment', Ms Singh.

Your Honour, if the prosecution starts
playing games right from the start...

Your Honour, Ms Singh is forgetting
that it's just an amendment.

It's not new evidence, and I'm
well within my rights to do that.

Come on. The hearing hasn't even
begun yet. And you're already...

This is the forensic report...
- Niharika.

The rape kit is already present
in the evidence... - Niharika.

The defence shouldn't have
a problem with it, okay?

Niharika...
- Positive.

We got it just a short while ago.
Otherwise,

I would have shared it with
the defence. - This is impossible.

Sir, I didn't do anything with Vartika
on the 8th! - Go over there and sit!

Ms Singh, have you not prepared your
client on how to behave?

I'm sorry. - As it is, my throat is bad.
And we still have...

86 more cases after this.

Tandon, we have 86 more cases.

Defendant, what do you have to say?

Not guilty, Your Honour.
- Not guilty, sir.

Your Honour, this forensic report arrived
yesterday afternoon. - Relevance?

Why are you showing it to me now,
in the court?

Ms Singh, it's the same report now
as it was 24 hours ago.

Your Honour, the prosecution clearly
wanted to catch us off guard.

Your Honour, I really don't understand
what Ms Singh is trying to say.

Tandon, stop playing games.
I'd warned you at the beginning.

The next hearing will be 8 days later.

Neeraj, go with Manav. I'll catch up.

This is okay.

You wanted to ambush me, right?

You wanted me to get unsettled upon seeing
that the rape kit result was positive.

You take Ms Vartika to the car.
I'll be there. - Yes, sir.

Take this. I'll be there soon.
- Yes.

Rape does unsettle people, Niharika.

The rape kit indicating a positive result
means that the rape did take place.

Naturally, it's unsettling
for any normal person.

It's not a conspiracy theory.

You got this 24 hours ago.

Yes. Had I told you about it 24 hours ago,

you would have had 24 hours
to stifle your conscience.

You know that what you did
was downright unethical.

You're saying this? Really?

So, why do you work for JJ, then?

How did he lure you into taking this case?

That everyone is entitled to a defence?

Did he say it himself, or did he
send one of his flunkies to say it?

Everyone is entitled to a defence.
That's why they're called accused.

And how can you defend that man?

He has raped a girl. Remember that!

What did he say?

If you didn't rape Vartika, why did
the rape kit give a positive result?

Niharika, I'm telling the truth.
- Ma'am, the car is here.

If you're telling the truth, how come
your DNA was found in her body?

Niharika, I don't know!
The rape kit might have been tampered.

Rape-kit tampering? Seriously?

So, you think I'm lying...

Sir, people are watching us.

Ma'am, I think something is wrong.
We should leave.

Here he comes.
- He is the one.

You should go home.

Where is Niharika?
- In the washroom.