Know all about the Nanavati case that inspired Akshay Kumar's 'Rustom'

Long back in 1959 commander Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati a Naval Commander was tried for the murder of Prem Ahuja his wifes lover in a court case which received unprecedented media coverage and inspired several books and moviesCommander Nanavati accused under section 302 was initially declared not guilty by a jury under section 302 but the verdict was dismissed by the Bombay High Court and the case was retried as a bench trial The case was the last to be heard as a jury trial in India as the government abolished jury trialsA shot from the trailerWho was Kawas Manekshaw Nanavatiand SylviaCommander Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati was a commander with the Indian Navy He married English born Sylvia in 1931 They had two sons and a daughter With the nature of his job Nanavati was frequently away on assignments for long periods of time which is when Sylvia fell in love with a friend of NanavatisPrem Bhagwan Ahuja However Sylvia though in love with Ahuja doubted his intentions to marry her She had even expressed her desire to divorce Nanavati She had mentioned in a letter dated 24 May 1958 she wrote Last night when you spoke of your marrying and the various other girls you might marry something inside me snapped and I knew I could not bear the thought of your loving someone elsehellipCase for prosecution Source Blitz December 2 1961 Picmidday archivesThe confrontationOn April 27 1959 when Nanavati returned home from one of his assignmentsm he found Sylvia aloof and distant which is when he questioned her Sylvia who now doubted Ahujas intention to marry her confessed about the affair to her husband Nanavati went to the Naval base collected his pistol on a false pretext from the stores along with six cartridges completed his official duties and proceeded to Ahujas office On not finding him there went straight to his flat At Ahujas residence Nanavati confronted him and asked him whether he intended to marry Sylvia and accept their children Prem replied Will I marry every woman I sleep with and Nanavati killed him firing three shots says court recordsAftermathNanavati then headed straight to confess to the Provost Marshal of the Western Naval Command and on his advice turned himself in to the Deputy Commissioner of Police The jury in the Greater Bombay Sessions court pronounced Nanavati as not guiltyThe accused commander Source Blitz October 24 1959Picmidday archivesThe court caseThe main argument of the case was whether Commander Nanavati shot Ahuja in the heat of the moment or whether it was a premeditated murder While Nanavati would be charged under culpable homicide with a maximum punishment of 10 years in the former scenario he would be charged with murder in the latter situation the sentence being death or life imprisonment When asked by the judge Nanavati pleaded not guilty in court His lawyers argued it as a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder while the prosecution argued it was premeditated murderNanavati goes to jail Source Blitz September 17 1960Picmidday archivesThe verdictThe accused KMNanavati was an upright moral and patriotic person serving the country There were all the evidences that he had committed murder after being provoked and had no economic benefits in it nor was he a career criminal And he had willingly surrendered himself afterwards to the police The case went to the Bombay High Court which agreed with the prosecutionrsquos argument that the murder was premeditated and sentenced him to life imprisonment for culpable homicide amounting to murder The Supreme Court upheld the conviction Nanavati spent three years in prison Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit then governor of Maharashtra pardoned NanavatiThe Tragedy of the Eternal Triangle Source Blitz October 17 1959Picmidday archivesSupportThe incident both shocked and riveted the entire country Influential Parsis held regular rallies in Mumbai with the largest being an event held at Cowasji Jehangir Hall to support the Governors decree that suspended Nanavatis life sentence and put him under naval custody until his appeal was heard by the Supreme Court At that rally 3500 people filled the hall and around 5000 stood outside Nanavati also received backing from the Indian Navy and the Parsi Panchayat while the Sindhi community backed Prem Ahujas sister Mamie AhujaA shot from the trailerMovie similaritiesThe movie plot is based on the case where Rustom Akshay Kumar is a naval officer who married Cynthia Illeana DCruz against his fathers wishes Vikram Arjan Bajwas role is based on Prem Ahuja while Esha Gupta plays his sister Rustom is tried for murder in court with defence and prosecution lawyers fighting it out Akshay Kumars Rustom also uses the tagline 3 shots that shook the nation which was the headline used by tabloid Blitz which was championing Nanavatis cause that had caught public imagination that a 25p copy was sold at Rs 2 in those times