The honourable Apex court has been on an over drive for the last couple of months. One is always circumspect when it concerns the judiciary, after all who wants to be slapped with a ‘contempt of court’. The mere mention is enough to scare the s*** out of most of us who generally steer clear of these temples of justice. After all we are law abiding citizens barring of course the occasional traffic violation, which in any case is hardly considered a crime, with the traffic policemen as willing accomplices for their chai-pani or rozi-roti.
I had a brush with the judiciary once very early in life, just commissioned young army officer, I was asked to mark my attendance for some MACT case, motor accident for the ignoramuses. I of course had no clue about the case or the procedure at the court. The briefing by the venerable Adjutant of the regiment, a tall Punjabi whose claim to fame was basketball and keeping us youngsters on our toes literally, comprised just couple of syllables…… Go to the court, the dealing clerk was to explain the issue to me. Unfortunately he was summoned by the second in command just then, so I embarked on this adventure rudderless. I was attempting to glance at the file briefly on my way to the court in the proverbial one ton Nissan, which of course did add it’s two penny worth by breaking down mid way, and the driver dutifully opened the bonnet and started the famous chapati drill, assuring me that he will have it on road soon. The drill went on for a while and not wanting to get late for the duty, I decided to take the first available cycle rickshaw which passed by, mind you I was in uniform and was naturally quite self conscious travelling in a cycle rickshaw in the market place. We in the uniform normally avoided such means of transport, which were used by the commoners, snobbish, may be, but the decorum of the uniform had to be maintained. Anyway, this cycle rickshaw did serve the purpose as I did manage to make it in time to the court.
Now the next task was to find the lawyer, as those of you who are familiar with the legal fraternity will understand, was a herculean task, obviously he was not in his chamber, because there are no chambers really, just a chair with a small table and a typewriter under a tree was the office, where he was supposed to have been, but alas, he was missing. The enquiries with neighbouring “offices”, yielded no clues as they were either keenly involved with their clients or feigned ignorance, envious of our lawyer, having netted a case which with least bit of effort gets him a decent packet. Finally I located him at the tea shop, actually it was he who spotted me and put two and two together, my uniform again coming to my rescue. He said we were getting late and hence must hurry to the court of the honourable judge.
We made our way to the court, but not as you would imagine, but with frequent stops for gossip with his colleagues and some chit chat with the judges and their staff. Finally we reached a room, yes to my utter shock, this couldn’t have been a court, it did not look like any of those that we saw in umpteen Bollywood movies. Just a room with a couple of benches and a table and chair at the head, with crowd milling around, some policemen with presumably a convict in handcuffs, lawyers in black robes and in general a scene straight from any Street side tea shop barring the tea vendor. The lawyer asked me to find a place and make myself comfortable, while he got busy. On my enquiry about actions at my end , he said he was being paid to take care of this very issue, so just relax.
For sometime I just stood in a corner not wanting to attract attention, which of course couldn’t be avoided, standing out in uniform, the odd one out, who just did not belong there. Then the wait got longer for the judge to appear, so decided to find a place to park my rear. Having waited for close to an hour suddenly there was some commotion and then the honourable judge made his appearance at the head of the table. He looked around and saw me seated in the corner, ignored me thereafter and one after the other the cases were being disposed of with most postponed for next hearing on another day. This went on for almost two hours and I waited patiently waiting for our turn. Finally I spoke to the lawyer as to why our case was not being heard, to which he just responded by asking me to be patient.
Soon it was lunch time and the judge again disappeared . Now I got hold of the lawyer as to what exactly was going on, as he had promised me that it was a five minute job. He said there appeared to be some issue and he would check with the judge and get back. He went into the judge’s chamber and returned immediately, asking me to meet the judge, apparently he had asked for me. Not too sure of the goings on, I told the lawyer I really had no clue about the case, then what was it that the judge wanted to talk about. Anyway I ventured inside the chamber with trepidation, without the lawyer, blissfully ignorant of the case at hand, cursing the Adjutant for detailing me for this stupidity without any briefing, cursing the driver of the 1ton for breaking down.
The judge who resembled the Jolly LLB magistrate, Saurabh Shukla, with a similar balding pate and a rather obscene tummy, his white shirt doing its utmost preventing it from taking a peep but failing nevertheless. In fact the button finally gave in and was martyred, the ponch made its presence felt. The judge was taking a bite from his tiffin, rajma rice was on the platter, with a grain of rice reluctant to become part of the meal and sticking to a corner of his mouth. He took another spoonful and without even bothering to look at me, asked me, ” What’s your name Lieutenant?” I gave him my name and waited, while he took another spoonful and then finaly looked up from his plate and asked me, ” Why didn’t you rise when I entered the court?” I was nonplussed, not knowing if that was the norm and moreover no one in the court rose, so that appeared to be a decent defence and was immediately offered. He would have none of it. He mentioned that being a military officer I was expected to follow the norms and protocols. He said I could be charged with contempt of court for this offence. I immediately apologized in all sincerity, just wanting to get out of this mess at the earliest. Having finally obtained permission to leave, I rushed back to the lawyer and asked him as to why didn’t he brief me earlier on this issue. His defence was that this was a rather unusual feature for him as well. Anyway, having been chastised by the judiciary I vowed never again to get into these judicial quagmires.
I have a confession to make here, judiciary has a very old connection with me, my maternal grandfather was himself a judge. Some judicial blood obviously runs through my blood too.As luck would have, we found a dwelling in Luyten’s Delhi right next to the Delhi High Court in Bapa Nagar, this tenure in Delhi. Nestled amidst all the monuments and greenery the kala coat fraternity takes pride in the fact that they have usurped the complete road space in Bapa Nagar with residents at their mercy even to get their own vehicle out. No wonder we got this dwelling, unoccupied for almost six months, no takers obviously. Who in his right frame of mind would get into a hassle with the legal eagles. Mind you, the neighbourhood is teeming with the who’s who of the bureaucracy, but even they choose to ignore this menace. The lure of Luyten’s is too strong and so even we took the plunge and studiously avoided any interaction with these attorneys lest we invite a contempt being flung at us. It was not just us the residents, even our pets abided by diktats meekly. What was astonishing was that even the normally indisciplined strays too took the matter very seriously. It was a pleasant surprise the day article 377 of the constitution was given a burial, suddenly, the strays became very friendly with the pets, without any gender biases. Buddy our 10 year old lab was the object of affection by the neighbourhood stray who until the previous day was perpetually growling at him, itching for a fight. How the tides have turned ever since that day, this guy starts to follow him prostrating before him in surrender, leaving no doubt about his amorous intentions. Buddy of course continues to ignore him…….class conscious…..may be.
Original Comments:
Jatinder Singh Dhillon (2018-11-15):
Great one. The incident bears an uncanny resemblance to the Jolly LLB series of movies. What characterisation ?
Sos (2018-11-15):
Wow great write up sir.putting so many beads togather in the right sequence.
Sofie (2018-11-15):
Nice description. I guess this article is the closest that I have been to the Court!!
Sheraz Varma (2018-11-15):
Very picturesque writing. ..I could visualise the events unfolding. Perhaps the Judge should've learnt a thing or two from you about how you managed to reach the court despite the troubles… And your drawing a parallel to the look-feel of Jolly LLB is spot on…. Always loved this kind of dead pan humour … Sophisticated, not ribald. ..wish people like you would take time out to write more such honest prose ..
Amit Tripathi (2018-11-15):
Suyash nicely written. You are not rating judiciary very high…. With other two pillars of democracy, ie, legislature and executive setup already down, well its time for last bastion of democracy to gear up…
raju (2018-11-15):
Grt piece of writing. Lower judiciary have improved since I hope. Keep it up.
Sujay (2018-11-15):
Great work , very good satire on judiciary.
Ajay Kaila (2018-11-15):
Good work….keep writing.
Anonymous (2018-11-15):
Amazing piece..The author's style of narration is simplistic yet conveys serious issues in an honest manner. The message sinks in in a subtle way and hits hard. Its a challenge for a soldier to always carry the burden on his shoulders.. to narrate the dilemmas and oddities intertwined as humor and woven with factual experiences is an art not many have been able to develop less display.. .I expect many more knockout punches in future. Will keep returning to this page…Can't miss good reading..
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Haha….It wasn't till I reached the Bapa Nagar and the black coat traffic jam part that I realised its by you. Having enjoyed your gracious hospitality at Bapa Nagar that fine evening, I am sure I'd enjoy a quite chuckle at your fine write up as I meander through those narrow lanes every other day navigating my way through to the neighbouring Akash Mess.
Sandeep Malik (2018-11-16):
Arre bhai, MACT ka aage kya hua?
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Great piece sir! Keep em anecdotes coming
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Very absorbing. Keep it up.
nononsense (2018-11-16):
As most of the other cases it must have meandered in this maze for a number of years. I lost track or wasn't really interested. Thankfully when I went back to command the case was no longer pending.
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Always a pressure reading your articles.
Highly captivating and well women
Great
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Well woven
Sorry for the mistake
ANINDYA (2018-11-16):
The subtlety of the relationship of the judiciary and the armed forces tinged with humour makes aa good read. Humour makes the blog captivating .
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Suyash
Light read with a strong message. Deserve applause.
Sunil V Damle (2018-11-16):
As usual, well written Suyash. I could picture the activities as your story unfolded.
My view – as officers we must have basic understanding of legal proceedings. Possibly the Adjt too was clueless therefore palmed it off for a clk to explain
Satish Mallik (2018-11-16):
Suyash, having read all your blogs and other writings as well, I can see how the style is developing. This narrative is fluid and the beauty is in the subtle humor that you have used. Having been through similar experience, more than once, I could visualize the whole drama pretty well. I wait for more from you.
Manish Sain (2018-11-16):
A good read Sir! Keep them coming.
Unknown (2018-11-16):
Good writing. Keep at it
Soldiering On (2018-11-16):
Very well written, Suyash. Makes interesting reading and reinforces my feelings about the lower courts and our judicial system. The Supreme Court retains it's credibility or anarchy bred by utter lack of faith is not an impossibility. Kudos.
KPM Das (2018-11-16):
Racy narrative, interesting times.
Suresh Yadav (2018-11-21):
Excellent article as usual. Most of us in uniform have experienced this in our early years in service but the way you penned your thoughts it appeared as it was happening now.
NK (2019-09-06):
Great Suyash…. Very well written buddy. You took me back in time to Ghorpuri…I did not not know how to shave and used to be caught every now and then for not having shaved even though I had gone through all the motions you have so lucidity brought out in your article…..Our dorm mate Sunil Parmar came to our rescue as he taught me and few others how to avoid those cuts on our faces and shave like absolute professionals….. Thanks again Suyash n off course Sunil Parmar…..
