Indian courts have always been unique in delaying justice to the people.
Meet Mr. Lal Bihari who fought for 18 years from 1976 to 1994 to prove to the law that he is “Alive”
If you have read The Cop and the Anthem by O Henry where a poor man tries desperately to commit a crime to get imprisonment, this man also did the same- trying to.commit crime to get his name in police records.
So the story begins in 1976 when Lal Bihari tried to establish a loom machinery setup in the land he inherited from his father. When he went to SDM to get the necessary permissions, he was denied the same. Reason- He was d**d in the government records!! Apparently his uncle took advantage of his father's d**th and bribed a government official to declare him d**d and usurp the land!!
Now Lal Bihari decided to fight his battle. He appealed against the case but how can one prove that one is alive!! After his initial attempts failed, he tried to commit some crime to get his name in the criminal record. He kidnapped the son of his uncle not to blackmail him but to force him to file a complaint against him. But his uncle refused to press charges and Lal Bihari returned his nephew back. Then he tried to bribe a government official and asked a cop to arrest him for bribing but the cop and government official both refused. He even tried to apply for widow pension for his wife in case he is declared “d**d” in government records!!
Next he started an organisation Mritak Sangh in 1980 to fight the cases of people who were declared d**d by the administration. Hundreds of people joined this group. His case attracted the attention of local media and they took his interviews. Lal Bihari decided to up the game by contesting elections against National leaders like V.P. Singh, and he got 1600 votes because of rhe publicity. He added Mritak to his name and called himself Lal Bihari Mritak. He barged into the UP Assembly shouting “Mujhe Zinda Karo” (Make me alive). This attracted the attention of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Eventually in 1994, the court asked to probe the matter and removed the tag of “d**d” person and finally he was declared alive after 18 years. He filed a case of compensation of 25 crores for his “d**d” person status for 18 years. And this case finally came to the court in 2018 after 24 years!! Also his Mritak Sangh has 21000 cases of people fighting for their identity and existence.
A few years ago a film was made on his life- Kaagaz starring Pankaj Tripathi.