The laws of the Indian land, inherited from the colonial powers, are there to protect the citizens, safeguard the nation, settle disputes and provide remedies to the affected thereby administering justice. Providing a common law system to a diverse country such as ours are different tiered courts in a pyramidal form with the Supreme Court at the apex.
A so called accused or a person falsely implicated or with stacks of allegations against him passes through the labyrinths of the complex and slow judicial process that includes filing of case, legal proceedings and trials, innumerable court hearings, never ending adjournments, petitioning, providing evidences that are circumstantial, appeals and counter appeals, among scores of other series of actions. The length of the trials extends beyond the imagination of the poor fish before he is eventually let scot free or condemned and damned for life! The painful attempts to prove one’s innocence takes a lifetime and inflict a hefty blow on the psyche of the individual. Allegations are fabricated, false evidences are provided and the defendant is denied to present his or her part of the story in a fair and meaningful exchange of arguments. The judge, prosecutor, lawyers are all hand in glove in this quagmire of deceit and fatten their wallets at the expense of the hexed victim. The poor middle class who barely get to meet their ends have a further can of worms in the form of exorbitant legal fees, hefty sums that are given as grants to prove one’s innocence.
In this bleak context, the individual loses his moorings and his life, which was meant to be cheerfully spent with his family, is wasted in doing the court room rounds periodically, only to hear a fresh date for further hearing. It is therefore natural that any honest Indian citizen is outraged and frustrated at how the legal order works ridden with flaws, quirks and oddities. But my father, a victim of fallacious and baseless charges, keeps his chin up, looks at the bright side of the scourge that has been haunting him for more than a decade, blows away the cobwebs by presenting a guest post titled “humour in court”, which is a ludicrous tale on our judicial system! So dear readers, read on..
Humour in court
In the face of adversity, it requires a lot of equanimity to see the humorous side of happenings and to appreciate it
Today (23rd July 2016), in the court as a defendant in a CBI criminal case, going on for the past 10 years, I had to wait for my turn for the roll call for attendance by entering the special enclosure. Before our case was taken up, two NIA (National Investigation Agency) cases were scheduled. The first one was postponed to a later date and the second case was about to meet the same fate. Among the eight under trial detainees, three were present (let us call them Abdul (with a luxurious beard), Ahmed (clean shaven except for a mustache) and Basheer (with an unshaven chin)). Basheer, when the judge was about to mention a fresh date for the postponed hearing, wanted to make a submission. He requested the judge’s permission to grow a beard ! The judge was gracious enough to dictate an order directing the jailer to consider his request, if it is not against the jail manual! (I was left wondering how another cell mate can sport a conspicuous beard – he was also carrying a cell phone)
Then our case was taken up and after the roll call, the junior advocate of the main defendant ( even though their Senior advocate, who was playing truant for the past 3 or 4 postings, was present and was standing in the veranda) sought more time to present their arguments . The judge (who was nursing a fractured shoulder with his right arm in a sling!) fixed the date as 24th August 2016. The junior advocate wanted some more time and the judge fixed 3rd September 2016. The Junior advocate accepted that date and sat down and within couple of minutes was on his feet again and requested a still later date. When the judge demanded to know the reason, he blurted out that he is getting married on that date and he had forgotten about it! The whole court including me burst out in laughter. The other advocates preset commented that the junior advocate did not mention about his good tidings and the Public prosecutor said that he has not been invited for the wedding!. The judge then fixed the date of next hearing as 24th September 2016 saying that it gives him enough time for the wedding and the honey moon thereafter. He also said that he is inviting the public prosecutor and the other advocates on behalf of the junior advocate on the assumption that he has his authority to do so !!!
I met the junior advocate later in the veranda and wished him all the best but cautioned him not to forget marriage anniversaries in future, as he can no longer afford to.
Hahahaha! Nice one.
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Thanks Indrajit ji..
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Good one! Now I know where all your writing skills pour from! And hope the case reaches a meaningful end at the earliest.
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Thanks Mayura…hope your prayers and wishes come true.
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Hahaha…Hilarious Sunita…I had a good laugh:) Will be sharing this:)
So happy to read your father’s writing. Please give my regards to him
The father-daughter duo is entertaining us, the readers, in unmatched ways.
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Merci DD, these are words of encouragement indeed..dad will be proud of this and he will see the messages for sure.
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Hilarious post! regards to your father…
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Thanks…I am sure he is reading all of these Hari
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hmmm…oh yes!
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HaHaHa. Hilarious. Even courts have some lighter moments. Wishing your dad a speedy acquittal.
One more thought. September 3 is a Saturday. They do not perform marriages on Saturdays in the South. I do not know where the court is and from where this advocate is coming from.
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Thanks SG..will need those wishes in plenty..
This is in kochi..and one never knows the real reasons for adjournment and postponement!
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Thank you very much and I value your best wishes. Regarding the marriage date being on a Saturday, the advocate is a Christian .
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Nicely done! Does he read Wodehouse? I’m going to guess he does. Or Henry Cecil… Anyway, pass on my comments to your dad.
OH! Tell him he may enjoy reading my blog…. ( What’s the point in a comment without a sales pitch? 🙂 🙂 )
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A very avid fan of PG and you have keen observation like Sherlock…and an avid salesperson… alternative professions at hand, courtesy..me!
Will surely pitch in for maximizing the page views..:)
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Thank you . I hope to read your blog and I am sure I will enjoy it
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He forgot his wedding day? I enjoyed the story, but I hope the junior advocate’s fiancée doesn’t get to hear about it. 🙂
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well, if that happens, i am sure he will ‘talk’ his way out!
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Lovely post uncle….n my dad is a judge
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Thanks Swapnil..
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Poor lawyer! Forgetting his own wedding date! What pressures he must be facing in his legal career 🙂 Please thank your Dad for sharing this humorous anecdote.
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Thanks Beloo..will convey your good wishes
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ey…wish you a happy teacher’s day
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Thanks Hari and hearty wishes to Priya too:)
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will do…
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Hilarious with the perfect blend of words.. convey my regards to your dad! 🙂
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Thanks dear..will do..
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Nice writing…will you join our team blog…?
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Please share more details on the team blog
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Ok im connecting you through indi blogger forum for details
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We have a blog untold view http://untoldview.wordpress.com/ it is a blog about peoples life and experience ,litterateur, philosophy and lifestyle.. We started with 6 members.
Adding new permanent guest writers who want to write. Also helping to build personal blog also. Promotion of your personal blog by our team for free. If you are interested then visit us and see the about page or mail us for details at- untoldview@outlook.com
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Give me s0me time..thanks for the consideration..
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Ok..take your time …after thinking about it ping us once.
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Really hilarious. I stopped on noticing court case and CBI. Nice rendering, thank god the junior is getting married so he will surely present in the court.ha ha..ha..good tiding from the married life…Regards to your Dad and hope the case comes to end so as the junior getting married.
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Thanks a lot and glad that you stopped by and found this piece amusing.
Thanks for the good wishes to my dad and yes praying that it comes to a favourable end soon.
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