Murder for breaking queue before a water tanker?

This case had come to me before about in about 26 or 27 years ago, when I was practicing in Gujarat High Court.

In some village, there was water scarcity. The Municipality used to supply water tanker for drinking water. The women, the children, the men, used to stand in queue for water.

Some one broke queue. Quarrel erupted. One man killed another.

I argued for bail for poor accused before High Court judge that it is unbelievable that people would kill anyone just on quarrel over queue for water.

I was young. I had not seen water scarcity in villages. Nor I had seen any village.

The Judge said, this is the seventh case I am hearing in this month where murder had
taken place over quarrel about queue for water supply!

I still remember, the Judge was Justice M. B. Shah, who later retired as Supreme Court Judge.

Haresh Raichura
13/4/2012