The ‘Double Standard’ Debate: What is more important- A lie or a life?

How much is a human life worth? More importantly, when did protecting a life become more important than protecting a lie?

Every murder begins long before someone dies. It begins with choices- choices that hide the truth to deceive and manipulate, or in worst cases, to eliminate the one person standing in the way. The greatest tragedy isn’t just the person losing their life. It’s that someone else, at some point, gets to decide what happens to the life of another person.

That is precisely what makes the alleged murder of Pune businessman Ketan Agarwal so disturbing.

According to police, Ketan, who was engaged to Siya Goyal, died after falling from Lohagad Fort. Initially believed to be an accident, the case later took a dramatic turn when investigators alleged that he had been deliberately pushed, leading to the arrest of Siya and her alleged boyfriend, Chetan Chaudhary. Police further allege that the murder was planned in advance and that the two had discussed the conspiracy before carrying it out. As the investigation has progressed, both accused have reportedly shifted blame onto each other, each claiming the other played the bigger role.

The latest developments have only made the case more unsettling. During police interrogation, Siya allegedly claimed she disliked Ketan because he wore a hair patch. She also reportedly said she feared calling off the marriage because it would bring embarrassment to her family and damage their reputation and therefore thought that killing Ketan was ‘easier’ than hurting her family. These are reported statements from the investigation, and the case remains before the courts.

But these claims have been strongly disputed by Ketan's family. His father has said the family never hid the fact that Ketan wore a hair patch and that Siya's family was informed before the engagement. He has repeatedly questioned why she did not simply refuse the alliance if she truly did not wish to marry Ketan. Adding another layer to the case, Siya's own parents have publicly stated that they had asked her multiple times whether she was happy with the marriage proposal and whether she wanted to marry Ketan. According to them, she consistently replied that she liked him and wanted to go ahead with the wedding.

If these reported accounts are accurate, one question becomes impossible to ignore: if honesty was always an option, why did killing become the easier choice?

This isn't the first time India has witnessed allegations of betrayal ending in death. The Raja Raghuvanshi case similarly shook the nation, with investigators alleging that a marriage became the backdrop to a planned killing. Different cities. Different people. Different circumstances. Yet the same haunting pattern emerges: relationships allegedly ending not with truth, but with violence. The tragedy of such crimes rarely ends with the victim. In Ketan Agarwal's case, the grief reportedly proved unbearable for his grandfather, who passed away days later. Whether directly linked or not, it is a heartbreaking reminder that when one life is taken, the pain often ripples through an entire family.

Reflecting on the incident, an educator with over three decades of experience, Prof Dr Florence Handique Rabha, Head of Electronic Media and Anchoring from the Royal School of Communication and Media, Assam Royal Global University, says that preventing such tragedies starts with open communication at home. She stresses that "Young people should feel safe sharing the truth of their lives with their parents," while reminding both parents and children that "Violence is never an answer."

The most disturbing part isn't only the crimes themselves. It's what follows.

Instead of collectively mourning the victim and demanding justice, society often splits into camps. The conversation shifts from the person who lost their life to defending narratives, ideologies and identities. Somewhere along the way, the victim slowly disappears from the discussion.

That is where the debate around pseudo-feminism enters.

Recently, commentator Priyanka Deshmukh, who claims to be a feminist, faced criticism after appearing to question or downplay aspects of the allegations against Siya. In one post, she claimed that Siya had been forced into an arranged marriage she never wanted and alleged that Ketan's death was an accident while accusing the police of fabricating a murder case under pressure. In another now-deleted post, she went a step further, writing that "Ketan Agarwal deserved it" and adding that "every arranged marriage should have the same logical conclusion."

Such remarks drew widespread outrage, not merely because they questioned the investigation, but because they appeared to trivialise the loss of a human life before the courts had even reached a verdict. The debate grew even more polarised as videos circulated showing Siya Goyal allegedly making an obscene gesture toward the media while being escorted by police, an image that many saw as further deepening public anger.

Real feminism has never argued that women should escape accountability. It stands for equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice. Equality does not mean assuming innocence because of gender, just as it does not mean assuming guilt because of it.

There may be countless Priyanka Deshmukhs around us, not necessarily by name, but in mindset. People who are willing to overlook cruelty, excuse violence or celebrate a death simply because it aligns with their worldview. That is perhaps the most frightening part of all. It tells us that sometimes, the biggest threat to justice isn't just the crime itself, but the willingness of society to rationalise it. At the end of the day, a society doesn't lose its humanity when a crime is committed; it loses it when the crime begins to find supporters.