Either You Want Your Daughter To Marry Or To Be Happy; You Can Only Get One!

 

“Love is love

Everything else is something else.” — Scott Stabile

Jaya looked from the open kitchen door towards the adjoining living room, while stirring the vegetables in the pan. Teesta was sitting cross-legged on the living room sofa, her eyes trained on the television screen. Head slightly tilted, the spectacles perched on her nose, she was chuckling silently sometimes. She was probably watching a comedy movie, Jaya thought.

Watching movies was Teesta’s only source of entertainment during Sunday evenings. In her tumbleweed hairdo, loose fitting t-shirt and pajama, she was looking more like a truant schoolboy than a grown-up woman.

Sighing silently, Jaya poured a little water into the pan and placed a lid on it’s top. Those sparkling pair of eyes behind the specs reminded Jaya of Tarun, her husband. Teesta had inherited her father’s brilliance. How unpredictable life was! Jaya wanted to spend her entire life with Tarun, yet destiny had other plans for her. The vegetable curry had started to simmer.

“Maa! Listen!” Teesta’s yell broke her reverie. “I have invited a few of my friends next Sunday to celebrate my new job. Is that okay with you? You don’t need to bother about the food. I’ll order something online,” she informed her.

“Okay, dear. No problem.” Jaya turned off the gas burner. Dinner was ready.

*

When Jaya looked down, the magnificent spectacle took her breath. It was the confluence of the two mountain rivers– Rangeet and Teesta. Nestled among the mountains was this hamlet Tinchuley, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. There were verdure pine forests all around.

“Beautiful! Isn’t it?” Tarun’s voice jolted her out of her reverie.

“Yes. It’s simply breathtaking,” a beaming Jaya replied.

It was their honeymoon trip to the mountain town Darjeeling. They stopped on their way back to Kalimpong at this Lovers Meet View Point to witness the surreal view.

“Lets make this trip memorable. I have decided to name our daughter Teesta, if we ever become fortunate enough to have one,” he suggested.

“But what if we have a son? What will be his name?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“Hmm… well, we can name him Rangeet,” he guffawed.

*

All those seemed to be the memories from a previous life now. Jaya wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. The coloured photographs of Tinchuley on the open pages of the magazine ‘Manabi‘ made her travel vicariously to the place. She was a regular reader of the women’s magazine. Its latest issue covered Tinchuley in the travel section. She absent-mindedly turned the page over. The next couple of pages covered the Lets Talk section where a panel of expert counsellers answered readers’ mental health queries. She tried to focus on reading the questions and answers and forget Tinchuley.

“I was in a relationship with a boy in college for more than two years. One day, he left me saying he never loved me and always wanted to end things to focus on his career. I am shattered. I tried to move on, but I never did. Please advise me. –Anonymous”

Jaya rolled her eyes. These young girls! The only problem they ever faced in their lives is break-up with a guy. Irritated, she shut the magazine. They would never know how difficult life could get sometimes.

Tarun had died in a car accident when Jaya was seven months pregnant, leaving her all alone to fend for herself and her unborn baby. It was a long, arduous battle of raising a daughter single-handedly while managing to secure a livelihood.

Teesta was a brilliant student. True to her name, she was bubbling and effervescent like a mountain stream. After obtaining her engineering degree, she landed a lucrative job at a tech firm. Now Jaya had only one unfinished business– to find a suitable boy for her daughter and arrange her wedding. Then she would be free from her responsibilities.

*

It was a sultry Sunday night. Teesta’s party was almost over. The guests had started to leave one after another. Jaya looked at the mess at the dining room, took a deep breath and tucked the pallu of her saree in her waist. She needed to clear the left-overs from the plates and place the plates in the kitchen sink.

“Can I help you, mashima?”

Jaya glanced up. It was Imran, Teesta’s friend from college. The boy looked quite handsome in his bristly moustache and straggly beard.

“So nice of you beta, but I…”

“Please mashima. Let me help you.”

The boy was surely trying to be helpful, but was there any specific reason? Her brows furrowed in anxiety. She had often noticed him glancing with admiration at Teesta. She was liberal enough to not bother about her daughter inviting her friend belonging to a different faith at home, but surely Teesta and Imran couldn’t be a couple. That would be… well, that would be simply impossible.

*

Teesta was humming a happy tune while getting ready when her mother stormed into her room.

“Where are you going you?” her mother accosted her.

“Maa, I’m going to Imran’s place. I told you yesterday about today’s party. Today is his sister’s birthday,” she answered calmly.

“Are all of your friends invited?”

“No, Maa. All of Shabnam’s friends are invited and only I am invited among Imran’s friends.”

“Why only you? Tell me.” Jaya started to lose her temper. This couldn’t be happening. Her daughter couldn’t let her down in this way. She would try to prevent the disaster with all her might.

“Maa, you know how much I love to eat biriyani. And Shabnam makes delectable biriyani. That’s why she has personally invited me to her birthday party.”

“What are you trying to hide Teesta? Do you… err, do you love Imran?” she asked hesitatingly.

“What? No!” Teesta waved a deprecating hand. “Bye for now, Maa. And stop overthinking.” She left the room in a huff.

*

It was Sunday. Teesta was watching a movie sitting cross-legged on the living-room sofa. Jaya finished cooking dinner and entered the living room. She tiptoed to the sofa and sat silently beside her daughter.

“Teesta, I have something important to discuss with you.”

“What? Tell me,” she replied, her eyes still glued to the television screen.

“Dear, you have finished your education. You have got a job too. Now it’s high time to settle down.”

“Settle down… what do you mean, Maa? Am I not settled?” Teesta was baffled.

“No, you are not. It’s high time I should start looking for a suitable groom for you.”

“No, Maa! Please! No!” she sounded horrified.

“Why? Do you have anyone in mind? If you have anyone in mind, don’t hesitate to tell me. I don’t have any problem if he is suitable for you.”

Teesta switched off the television.

“I have someone in mind. But I’m afraid if it will be a suitable match according to you.”

A shiver ran down Jaya’s spine. Was her worst fear going to be true?

“Is it… Imran?” she trailed off.

“No, Maa. It’s not him.”

Jaya sighed in relief. “Who is he? Please tell me. You can bring him home someday. I want to meet him,” she sounded eager.

“Maa, it’s not a guy. It’s a girl I love. I’m in a committed relationship with Shabnam, Imran’s sister,” Teesta answered calmly.

“What? What are you saying? Have you gone crazy? She is just your friend… isn’t it?” Jaya shrieked in disbelief.

“No. She is more than a friend to me. I never felt attracted towards men. But I never had the courage to confess this to you. Now that you want to get me married, I think it’s important for you to know my truth. I don’t like men, I like women.”

Jaya was shellshocked. She sat motionless on the sofa for hours. If Teesta and Imran being a couple was impossible, Teesta and Shabnam being a couple was simply preposterous.

*

It was a bright, sunny day. The morning air was crisp. Jaya was sipping her morning tea sitting on the balcony. The Gulmohar tree across the road was in full bloom, it’s chartreuse branches with fiery red flowers a stark contrast against the pale blue sky. The breeze bullied the reeds forcing them to swish and sway to it’s vagaries, forwards and backwards, this way and that. Everything was as it had been yesterday and the day before. The cuckoo bird continued it’s ‘coo-coo-once-is-not-enough-here’s-another’, coo-coo call, pleased with its own poetics, its rhythm unfaltering. So much had transpired, yet nothing had changed. Jaya felt as if her world had turned upside down. Whenever she thought of Teesta’s confession, her eyes turned moist. She was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness. If only Tarun were alive, things could have been different. He could have counselled her, comforted her. All these years, Jaya tried hard to be a good mother, but now it seemed that she was an utter failure. Where did she go wrong?

The morning ritual of having tea sitting on the balcony was over. Jaya got up, the empty cup on her hand. Suddenly her eyes fell on the stack of magazines on the glass-top table in the living-room. Yes, the counsellers of the Lets Talk column of Manabi could help her. Hurriedly, she put the cup in the kitchen sink and washed her hand. Then she opened her mailbox and started to compose a mail.

“The major issue I face is about my daughter’s sexuality. She is a lesbian and feels no emotional attachment with any male. I feel very depressed sometimes. I just want her to marry a man and live a normal life like everyone else. Please help me. –55-year-old single mother.”

*

Jaya opened the latest issue of Manabi with trembling hands. She glanced through the contents quickly and took a mental note of the page number of the Lets Talk section. She quicked flipped over the pages. Yes, her letter was there on the top of all others. She was too excited, her heart beating wildly, like a teenage girl secretly reading her lover’s letter. She started to read the reply:

“Your daughter is very brave. Coming out to one’s family requires a lot of courage because we live in a heteronormative world. If we are not able to step into who we truly are and remain closeted, we may feel deep sadness. I encourage you to seek support groups for LGBTQIA+ individuals and their family members. Your daughter is absolutely normal and she is not alone. You have two choices — either you want your daughter to marry or you want her to be happy. You can only get one.”

Jaya decided to visit a psychologist for further clarity. It was about her daughter’s future and she didn’t want to take any wrong decision.

*

It was Sunday. Teesta was sitting on the edge of the sofa, fumbling with her mobile. She placed the dinner order online. She was feeling knots in her stomach. She didn’t know why her mother didn’t cook and instead asked her to order dinner online. Apparently, her mother had important discussions with her, so she didn’t waste time cooking dinner.

“Order placed. Now tell me what you want to discuss now,” she said nervously.

“I have some questions. If you want to spend your life with a woman and not with a man, what will do about children?”

Teesta was elated. It was a good question.

“Maa, I can always adopt a baby. There’s no problem in that.”

“What about security? What if you want to go to a hospital at three in the morning?”

Another thoughtful question.

“My partner will be with me in any crisis situation. Besides, we have safer cabs now.”

Jaya fell silent for a few moments.

“Invite Shabnam for dinner next Sunday at our home. I want to meet her. Tell her I can also cook delectable Biriyani,” she said finally.

Teesta was beaming with pride. She knew her mother could never be wrong. Never.

Editor’s note: This month’s cue has been sent by Manjul Bajaj, the author of Come, Before Evening Falls (shortlisted for the Hindu Literary Prize in 2010) and Another Man’s Wife (shortlisted for the Hindu Literary Prize in 2013) and In Search of Heer (listed for the JCB and other prizes in 2020). She has also written two books for children—Elbie’s Quest and Nargisa’s Adventures.

The cue is from her book In Search of Heer.

“The breeze bullied the reeds forcing them to swish and sway to its vagaries, forwards and backwards, this way and that. Everything was as it had been yesterday and the day before. The cuckoo bird continued its ‘coo-coo-once-is-not-enough-here’s-another’, coo-coo call, pleased with its own poetics, its rhythm unfaltering. So much had transpired, yet nothing had changed.“

Image source: Tanishq Mother’s Day ad/YouTube

2022 Was Significant For Me As The Year I Became Financially Literate

 

“Time is like a flower, Krishna said once. I didn’t understand. But later I visualized a lotus opening, the way the outer petals fell away to reveal the inner ones. An inner petal would never know the older, outer ones, even though it was shaped by them, and only the viewer who plucked the flower would see how each petal was connected to the others.” — The Palace of Illusions, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

So how did the petal of 2022, that is set to fall away soon, unfurl for me? If there’s one colour I’d assign to this petal, it’d be the indigo-green colour– the colour of placid water of an ocean. No choppy currents, no waves.

On the surface, the year looks mundane. The same sun rose everyday. The same sun set everyday. Day after day. Night after night. It isn’t a year of any momentous happening. Just the same humdrum, dreary life went on. Yet as each year of our lives makes us evolve in some way or another, so did 2022.

2022: the year I became financially literate

By the end of last year, I fortuitously came across a free session on managing personal finance by “Women on Wealth”. I was deeply impressed. Finance was something I was not comfortable dealing with, though I started earning very early in life. Almost immediately after attending their free introductory session, I visited their website and enrolled for their course on Personal Finance. This was followed by another course on Stock Investing.

After completing both these courses, I’m confident of taking charge of my finances. What’s more, I’m now glad to be part of a thriving community of intelligent women who discuss finance.

Less than a third of the population of India are financially literate. According to this report, only 27% of Indian adults– and 24% of women– meet the minimum level of financial literacy as defined by the Reserve Bank of India. But it’s especially important for women to take a stand when it comes to financial decisions.

The position of women in the Indian society is especially vulnerable as they are expected to always please their husbands and in-laws. What may seem like an innocuous suggestion, may turn out to be a life-changing mistake on the woman’s part. And so finance is not just about learning jargon or investing, finance is a mindset. This is my most important takeaway from the courses.

In my youth, I committed one such financial mistake that I regret to date. All the jewellery gifted by my parents and relatives during my marriage were in my ex-husband’s safekeeping. After we got divorced, he refused to return any of those pieces of jewellery. And all my valuable pieces of jewellery were just lost. Now I realise that in my naïveté, what a grave mistake I committed at that time.

My advice to all women reading this article is that never confuse love with worldly possessions or money. And never keep your streedhan in your husband’s or his family’s safekeeping just to please them. Either keep it in your individual locker, or with your parents, or in any place that is not accessible by your spouse.

And I’d be eternally grateful to 2022 for marking the beginning of my journey to be financially literate.

A new posting, new learning

Mid-year I got transferred to a new place. In my perpetually peripatetic life, 2022 marked another posting to another new place. And a new posting always mean to me exploring new places, meeting new people and learning something new along the way.

Celebrating Durga Puja in my own way

“In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October.” — Alexander Smith

In my part of the world, the month of October is associated with festivities, the greatest among them being Durga Puja which is celebrated with much pomp and splendour all over Bengal. On Dashami, the final day of the Puja, the idol of the goddess is immersed in the river followed by the traditional ritual of “Sindoor-Khela” where married women apply vermillion on each other’s faces. The sepulchral afternoon sunlight always made me melancholic. Add to that, I can’t any more take part in “Sindoor-Khela” due to my marital status.

But these past couple of years, I’m actively trying to create newer, brighter memories of Dashami celebrations. Attending the Dashami get-together of “Status Single” has become almost a ritual for me now. “Status Single” is India’s first and only community for urban, single women. On Dashami, we, the singletons of ‘Status Single’ Kolkata Chapter, met at a cafe, chattered and laughed together, clicked selfies and shared our stories of struggle and survival with each other and most importantly, participated in the festive revelry.

2022 – Moving ahead with new meaning

“If you want to change the world, first try to improve and bring about change within yourself. That will help change your family. From there it just gets bigger and bigger. Everything we do has some effect, some impact.” — Dalai Lama

2022, for me, was a year of many such small changes, of trying to forget the painful past, of finding closure, of forging new connections, of looking for newer meanings in life. With that, adieu 2022.

Image credits Diego Zarulli, via Canva Pro

Being Single Can Be More Liberating And Fulfilling Than You Imagined!

Being a single woman is not as rare as you might think. Neither is it an unhappy experience. 

“People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.”

~ Kim Culbertson

Some months ago, I was visiting the Kolkata Book Fair. It was late winter, the afternoon weather balmy. I was wandering among book stalls, all alone.

A peddler was selling coffee and cold drinks, sitting under a huge colourful umbrella. Sipping a cup of coffee feels good in winter afternoons, so I bought one cup of coffee.

Bags filled with newly bought books were balanced precariously in both my hands. I somehow managed to take the coffee from the vendor and handed him the note. Then I found a place to sit nearby.

I placed the bags by my side and began sipping the warm cup of coffee. Now I started to notice the people visiting the book fair.

Unlike me, most of them had companions – college sweethearts who had probably bunked classes to enjoy an afternoon together, middle-aged married couples walking side by side, or a clutch of buddies – everybody seemed to be in the company of others.

Though on closer inspection, a few single souls like me could also be found, their numbers were few and far between. What was surprising, and somewhat comforting too, was the fact that I enjoyed my lone trip to the Book Fair very much.

I earn enough to afford to buy any number of books I want. So I ended up buying quite a few books. Singlehood, after all, is not as bad as people think. I was married once and I know the other side of the story very well.

Marriage still a must for women

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.”

~ Carl Jung

The institution of marriage is overrated, at least in our country. This is especially true in the case of us women. Women generally do not choose their partners. It’s usually the menfolk who carefully scrutinise the prospective brides, just as people scrutinise a commodity before buying it.

During this process of scrutinisation, all factors like the bride’s age (whether within the range of bearing a child or not), complexion (fair complexion is always a priority), length of hair, family background, caste, community, educational qualification (educated women can take better care of future children’s studies), are considered.

The irony is that in spite of the institution of marriage being patriarchal and highly biased, it is accorded highest priority by women. Women make it a goal of life to get a suitable husband, which in turn helps to keep a redundant institution like marriage relevant, even in this age of woman empowerment.

True, human beings are social animals and we seek the company of another person in our journey of life. But does the mere presence of another person in life eliminate the possibility of loneliness in life? Probably, NO.

As Robin Williams said, “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.”

My single life

“And when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, Freedom or Loneliness?”

~ Charles Bukowski

Having experienced a toxic marriage, I am enjoying my new found singlehood very much these days. Imagine living a life where you don’t have anybody to dictate terms or you don’t have people in your life with whom you are required to adjust forcibly.

How will you feel? Liberated, independent, free… isn’t it? I too felt the same.

But all is not hunky-dory about singlehood. Our pet dog died recently. Ever since that incident, my mother is saying that her time is also nearing. And that I need to think about my future now.

I got very scared. Death is inevitable. We all know that. But we don’t want to think about that possibility. How will I manage to survive once both my parents are no more? What if I suddenly fall ill?

I get panicky whenever I think about a future where I don’t have anybody to stand by me and I am left all alone to face life. I am financially stable and working, but what about the emotional support?

A future for single citizens

These thoughts led me to think seriously about chalking out a plan of action for future. I googled a lot and realised that I was not alone. The 2011 census data shows that 15 million elderly Indians live alone. Almost three-fourths of them are women.

According to this report, the elderly population in India is expected to reach 300 million in 2050, accounting for 18% of the total population in 2050.

I also came to know about the still-nascent-idea of community living for senior single citizens.

Nishi Malhotra, a former consultant editor with the World Bank in Washington DC, started a group for single people aged 50-60 on Facebook in 2017. It is called the JOY community (Just Older Youth).

It is for singles who want to live and grow old together in a community so that they can be of support to each other as they age and can move into the same neighbourhood once they retire.

According to this report, those individuals, who are connecting online via Facebook, Whatsapp  groups and offline through monthly meetups for coffee, plays or gatherings etc. are exploring several options.

These range from mushrooming community retirement complexes in the country to layouts like studio apartments, single BHK, villas cottages or condos.

A lot of retirement communities are also coming up across the country. Elderly single women, whether unmarried, widowed or divorced, are the prized investors in these communities.

These retirement communities offer healthcare, security, comfort and companionship all under one roof.

You can find love later in life too

Last but not the least, if you haven’t found the love of your life in your youth, the possibility of finding love remains in your autumn years too.

I recently read about Happy Seniors, a Pune-based matchmaking agency, which has connected a lot of live-in couples. These stories of finding love again at an age when companionship is needed the most, are really heart-warming.

Let’s strive to make singlehood less fearsome and more of a liberating life choice. Cheers to singlehood!

Featured Image Source: Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels

City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (10)

 

Epilogue

The most striking feature in my quest for justice is that stumbling blocks have come from the very institutions designed to protect citizens like me. These institutions failed miserably to perform their duty. It took HC intervention for justice to be delivered. Along the way, there were immense mental harassment and unspeakable public humiliation.

 

This incident is remarkable for various reasons. First and the most obvious is that justice was restored only after HC intervention whereas it's loss was egregious in the lower court. Secondly, if I being a government official have to wage such a battle to get the justice that is my right, what happens to ordinary citizens seeking justice can easily be comprehended. Thirdly, this is a blatant instance of connivance between the lower judiciary and the lawyers, which underscores the fact that lawyers are above the law of the land. This unholy nexus is truly alarming.

 

The rule of law prevailed at the end, but it should not be denied in the first place.

Acknowledgements

This story is very close to my heart because it’s based on my real-life experience. Maya Angelou wrote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” As I bare my heart in this story, I become free of that agony.

Some thank yous are in order:

Fellow officers of Hooghly district, Moumita, Manasree, Sreanwita, Jayanti di, Hooghly District Registration Employees Association and all my well-wishers in the department for their unwavering support during trying times. I owe a lot to all of you.

Lawyers of Diamond Harbour Sub-Divisional Court for always standing by me through thick and thin.

Moumita, Manasree, Sreanwita and Dipayan for reading the manuscript of this story and giving thoughtful feedback.

References

·  “Investigation to Trial: The Book for a Common Man: Criminal Law” by Abhilash Malhotra

·       West Bengal Legal Services Authority (https://wbslsa.bangla.gov.in)

·       https://www.criminaladvocate.in

·       Shivam Goel: LinkedIn

Image Source: Unsplash

City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (9)

 

Chapter 7

“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

-         Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

No matter how hard you try, some wounds never heal. And some humiliations never pass into oblivion. They remain with you. In time, they become a part of you. At times, they try to embitter you. At other times, they try to make you vengeful. You wonder whether in your quest to exact revenge, you are becoming more like the person you always hated. This thought humbles you, once again.

 

But what about the professional ethics? Isn’t it applicable to the so-called noble profession of practising law? Or has the profession lost it’s dignity because of some unworthy practitioners? You wonder.

 

(Note: Section 35(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961, says, “Where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise a State Bar Council has reason to believe that any advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct, it shall refer the case for disposal to its disciplinary committee.)

Image Source: Unsplash

City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (8)

 

Chapter 6

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

-         Elie Wiesel

March, 2023

Aloknagri Civil Bar Library

A meeting was in progress, chaired by the Learned Additional District Judge. He was an erudite man, well-versed in law and could recall in vivid detail the recent developments and orders passed by the Supreme Court of India. He was explaining how a public servant should not use his/her official position to exact personal revenge against those he spites. He added for good measure that the learned lawyers of his court might face troubles in my office because of the hostility that had arisen. At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder aloud whether withholding certified copies of a case was also of the same kind: using one’s official position to harass another. He was visibly embarrassed and said that he would ensure that the certified copies of all the case orders were delivered to me. But it was too late. I didn’t need any of those documents any more, I informed him. He hastily concluded the meeting, urging all the stake-holders to participate in the work with open heart and without any reservations.

 

25^th April, 2023

High Court, Calcutta

In the second hearing, The Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta directed the learned Judicial Magistrate, 2^nd Court at Aloknagri to prepone the date for the hearing of the joint Compromise petition sometimes in the first week of May, 2023. And mentioned in it’s order that “if no such settlement is effected, the instant revision shall continue.”

 

4^th May, 2023

2^nd Court, Aloknagri

It was a hot, humid day. The court-room was bursting at the seams as many legal luminaries of the Aloknagri Bar Association was present inside the court-room. They didn’t want to miss the chance to witness the hearing of the historic case that was going on inside the court-room. May be, they were chuckling silently thinking how they were able to harass a government official. Nishapati, the famed Vice-President of Aloknagri Bar Association was arguing in favour of Debjyoti. He was saying how the insolent officer was “harassing and humiliating” the poor Debjyoti and how he would not spare even the Prime Minister of India if he dared to harass his poor brethren of Aloknagri Court. Accordingly, the judge fixed another date for another hearing.

 

Meanwhile, after the hearing was over, few legal luminaries accosted the lawyer appointed by me and demanded an apology (at least verbal, if not written) from the officer, as a pre-condition for withdrawing the case.

 

Needless to they, all of them were disappointed.

 

15^th May, 2023

2^nd Court, Aloknagri

The case was finally withdrawn as the summer vacation was about to start and after re-opening of the court, as per the directive of the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta, the case was supposed to continue in the High Court itself. And Debjyoti was willing to further visit the High Court as unlike Aloknagri Court, it was not his familiar turf.

 

My six-months-long ordeal finally came to an end.

Image Source: Unsplash

City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (7)

 

Chapter 5

“The beauty of standing up for your rights is others will see you standing and stand up as well.”

-         Cassandra Duffy

March, 2023

Finally, a quash petition was filed in the High Court of Calcutta in spite of all efforts by the opposite party to persuade my lawyer not to take up the case. But just the day before the hearing, the case number was found missing from the next day’s Cause List. By this time, I had lost all hope.

 

Still, the next day, I dragged myself to the High Court, praying fervently to all the gods for their blessings. The lawyer mentioned before His Lordship how, all of a sudden, the case went missing from the Cause List. Luckily, the next day was fixed as the date of hearing. Surprisingly, when I came out of the court, the opposite party’s lawyer accosted me for an out-of-the-court settlement. How I tried for the settlement of the dispute for all these months and how it failed! Now, outside the High Court, a different drama was unfolding.

 

Next day, on the 15^th of March, the opposite party’s lawyer appealed for an amicable settlement of the dispute during the hearing. The warrant of arrest was recalled and a timeframe of 15 days was set for the amicable settlement of the dispute.

 

(Note: The legal system generally uses the term “quash” to question the legitimacy of a specific legal action, order, or document.

One can quash a criminal complaint if it is found to be filed with an ulterior motive.

The High Court has wide powers to quash criminal processes in specific cases. This will prevent abuse of the legal process and ensure justice.)

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City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (6)

 

Chapter 4

“The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.”

-         Aristotle

February, 2023

It was a period of fear, of uncertainty. On the one hand, it had become clear that it was impossible to get justice from the lower court. On the other, there was some apparent difficulty in the way of appealing to the High Court of Calcutta. Finding no other way out, I wrote two letters to the Chairman of the Sub-Divisional Legal Services Committee of Aloknagri. The Additional District Judge is the ex-officio Chairman of the SDLSC. In the first letter, I requested for an advocate to plead for me in the case against me. The second letter was for an amicable settlement of the dispute. The Chairman, consequently, appointed a lawyer, but the said lawyer didn’t receive the appointment letter. In the second case, also, the proposal for the amicable settlement of the dispute was rejected by both the Civil and Criminal Bars.

 

(Note: The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 has been framed to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.)

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City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (5)

 

Chapter 3

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.”

-         Montesquieu

January, 2023

Aloknagri

 

One fine morning, the summon from the Aloknagri Court reached me. I was shellshocked to find that while the server of the Aloknagri Court showed 24^th February, 2023 as the next date of hearing, someone had very carefully applied whitener on the date and had written the date of 17^th January, 2023 as the next date of hearing. Both Girindranath and Nishapati were representing Debjyoti.

 

The judiciary of our country is often accused of procrastination. We have all come across reports of how the backlog of cases is one of the most severe issues with the Indian judicial system. According to a recent report, the pendency across courts in India rose to a whopping five crores after Covid (published in “The Probe”, an independent news media platform on April 30, 2023).

 

Quite naturally, my surprise knew no bounds as in my case, the hearing date was preponed by around a month, “considering the nature and urgency of this case.” To my horror, I couldn’t find a lawyer to defend my case as there were threats of physical assault from the opponent.

 

The case was heard on an urgent basis on 17^th January, 2023 in my absence and arrest warrant was issued against me by the Judicial Magistrate of 2^nd Court, Aloknagri Court. Both Girindranath and Nishapati were representing Debjyoti.

 

But more surprise was waiting for me. As the improbability of getting justice from the Aloknagri Court dawned on me, I tried to obtain the certified copies of the court orders so that I could appeal to the High Court of Calcutta. But to my utter surprise, all attempts to obtain certified copies proved futile. And Debjyoti’s lawyers were trying their best not only to bring him justice by hook or by crook, they were also not leaving no stone unturned to ensure that no certified copies of this particular case were issued, so that there would be no possibility of the case being heard at the High court of Calcutta. Ensuring that all the doors to get justice was closed for the opposite party, the so-called legal luminaries of the Aloknagri Criminal Bar Association demanded a written apology from the officer. They didn’t want to linger the case, they royally proclaimed. “Let her submit a written apology to us and we’ll withdraw the case. What’s the point of dragging the matter?” With this, they gleefully thought, they have sealed the fate of the case.

 

(Note: Every judgment passed by a court of law has to be on merits, irrespective of the fact, whether or not, the defendant appears before the court of law and defends himself. In the matter of Maya Devi v/s Lalta Prasad (2015) 5 SCC 588 it was held that the absence of defendant to contest the suit does not invite a punishment in the form of an automatic decree.)

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City of Lights & (Il)legal vibes (4)

 

Chapter 2

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

-         Laurell K. Hamilton

Panic and I are old acquaintances. I first met Panic in the corridors of the Engineering College where I studied. In that first year of college, when ragging was rampant in the name of “introduction” of the newcomers, I first knew what Panic was. This churning in the stomach, this loss of sleep – all these were the bodily manifestations of panic-induced stress. Much water has flown under the bridge since that first year in college, and every stressful episode in my life was accompanied by Panic. In that December afternoon, amidst the sea of black-and-white clad humanity who were deriving sadistic pleasure by harassing me, I again met Panic. I had a panic attack.

 

My days went in a blur. My nights were sleepless. The doctor in the OPD of the nearby government hospital prescribed sleeping medications and referred me to a psychiatrist. But the medication-induced-sleep brought with it lurid nightmares. For the first time in life, insomnia seemed preferable to sleep.

 

Meanwhile, I came to know that Debjyoti had filed a complaint against me in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Aloknagri. Girindranath, the Secretary of Aloknagri Criminal Bar Association, was pleading the case for him. Most surprisingly, cognizance was taken without any sanction from the State Government. Was the ACJM not aware that in such cases, previous sanction of the government was necessary before taking cognizance? Or were there any other compulsions? Nobody had the answer.

 

(Note: Under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, “A Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence on complaint shall examine upon oath the complainant and the witnesses present, if any, and the substance of such examination shall be reduced to writing and shall be signed by the complainant and the witnesses, and also by the Magistrate.

 

Again, under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, when any person who is or was a public servant not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Government is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no Court shall take cognizance of such offence except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, or the State Government, as the case may be.)

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