Chapter 2: In The Name of Humanity

"This is the last time I'm bringing my daughter here in the court." Vandita patted Rudhi lovingly, soothing her down. The sweetness of the lollypop had successfully charmed her to instant happiness.

"Infact, we shouldn't have got her out of Tulsipur in the first place." Vandita pouted her lips and gave a concerning look to her husband.

"I know Boudi, not Dada, but I'm to be blamed for this. I had insisted in bringing her here on this trip. I should've made sure that Mani Kaki is always there when you two would be out... I shouldn't have let her leave this morning."

Batuk let out a sigh as he held his arms out letting his niece jump into his embrace willingly.

Batuk was fond of Rudhi. Since the fateful wedding night when Awnirudh and Vandita had saved the newborn baby and had decided to adopt her, Batuk was always beside them, supporting them in every way possible.

For six months, Awnirudh and Vandita had decided to stay back in their ancestral home in Tulsipur, acclaimatising themselves to the newness of parenthood as well as their conjugal life. But, finally it was time for them to get back to their lives... The future that they had envisioned for themselves.

This trip to Calcutta was a prelude before embarking on the new journey of building their identity. The plan was to get Vandita her admission at the Hindu College whereas Batuk would enroll at the Calcutta Medical College. Awnirudh in the meantime had decided to buy a house with modern amenities in the heart of Calcutta, so as to assure that his almost new bride doesn't face any difficulties to commute to her college. However, it was on the second day of this Calcutta trip that Awnirudh and Vandita unwillingly got entangled with the Samaresh-Shashi Bala case.

....

The giant clock inside the courtroom ran faster than intended. Three hours passed in a jiffy and the defence attorney Lalmohan Chaturvedi brought witness after witness to testify Samaresh's innocence.

"Dada, why can't any of those women whom is he had wronged come to the court to testify against him?"

Batuk hushed in a lowered tone to his elder brother who sat in the row infront of him on the seat designated for the prosecutor.

"Because, few of them are dead, and most of them afraid." Awnirudh whispered back.

"Oh... So, you knew about this man's character from before?" Batuk asked him.

"Hm... A textbook definition of a sly monster." Awnirudh whispered back as the jury asked if the prosecutor would want to cross question any of the witnesses.

"Yes, My Lord. I would like to ask the last witness, Mr. Sankar, one question."

Awnirudh got up from his chair and walked towards the witness box.

"I heard you claimed to be neutral." Awnirudh stared directly into the witness's eyes.

"So, Mr. Shankar Raj, as far as I know, you are currently unemployed, and your family background is not financially remarkable either." Awnirudh paused.

"May I ask how you came to be in possession of that engraved rare Rolex watch that you are wearing?"

A soft murmur filled the tensed ambience of the courtroom as the judge, juries, defence attorney, everyone looked at the expensive golden watch that Shankar Raj wore in his left wrist.

"I...I... A friend gave it to me." Shankar Raj murmured.

"Oh... I see... The same friend seemed to have given a similar gift to Mr. Samaresh Sarkar as well, the same Rolex watch with his initials engraved on the chain... What a delightful coincidence."

The suppressed murmur increased, reverberating a soft hum inside the courtroom. Samaresh nervously licked his lips repeatedly and made futile attempts to cover his waist watch with his right hand.

"My father gave it to me... On my... On my birthday!" Samaresh suddenly yelped out,  sticking his tongue out a little and running it along his lower lip line once again.

"I don't know how he got one."

"He stole it... may be." Awnirudh promptly remarked.

"No... No... I didn't... I absolutely didn't steal anything. His father gave it to me for..."

Shankar suddenly fell silent.

"For?" Awnirudh asked him sharply and waited for a few seconds for him to answer.

"I'll tell you for what..." Awnirudh remarked curtly.

"My Lord, Samaresh Sarkar's father bribed Shankar to testify against Shashi Bala Debi."

"Objection, My Lord!" Lalmohan Chaturvedi growled.

"Objection overruled"

Awnirudh winked at Lalmohan.

"Thank you My Lord. I request the court to mark this watch as an evidence of bribery. That's all, no further questions."

Batuk almost clapped as the judge banged the gavel twice commanding decorum.

The defence attorney Lalmohan Chaturvedi was well prepared for the case. Winning this one against the mighty Barrister Roy Chowdhury would mean a new horizon in his professional career, an achievement more than anything that he had ever accomplished in his entire life! Chaturvedi presented evidences, some true and some staged, he made the witnesses speak exactly what he wished the juries to hear... In short, he had left no stones unturned to win this case.

"The prosecutor may produce his final evidences post which the court would proceed to a direct verdict." The judge announced as Awnirudh Roy Chowdhury got up from his seat.

"Samaresh Sarkar is charged with deception, breach of promise to marry, and denial of recognition of his biological son, all that which under British law is punishable. Samaresh Sarkar has not only breached his marriage promise to Shashi Bala Debi but also to several other women whose identity can't be brought into the open of this courtroom due to social inhibitions. As my last evidence, I would like to seek a minute's permission from the court." Awnirudh bowed down to the judge and stormed out of the courtroom.

"Barrister Babu... What happened?"

Vandita's heart thudded loudly as she rushed towards him the moment he stepped out from inside the courtroom. There was something fierce written all over his face and Vandita wasn't unaware of this expression.

She had to miss the second half of the proceedings as it was almost impossible to keep Rudhi calm inside the tensed atmosphere of the courtroom.

"Nothing... Where is Shashi Bala?" Awnirudh's voice was calm as his eyes searched around, spotting the lady sitting quietly on a small wooden bench in the lobby of the judge court.

Leaving a surprised Vandita behind, Awnirudh quickly pulled out the lollypop from Rudhi's mouth and hurried towards the seated woman.

"Barrister Babu?" Shashi Bala stood up the moment she saw Awnirudh approaching her with urgency.

"Here, I need your son for sometime." Awnirudh held his arms welcoming the little boy in his cradled hands.

"Follow me inside."

There was a sense of magnanimity, a sense of command that Barrister Awnirudh Roy Chowdhury was famous for. Shashi Bala nodded her head slowly and followed him quietly like a possessed soul.

Awnirudh looked at the innocent little child, staring at him with his big clear eyes.

"You deserve more in life, son. Definitely not poverty and defame. Forgive me for this." Awnirudh whispered to the child, rubbing the sticky lollypop gently on the boys lower lip and chin, ensuring that the tasty sweetness reaches the child's taste buds.

Batuk checked his waist watch as Awnirudh marched inside the courtroom, with Shashi Bala's son cradled in his arms.

"Exactly fifty eight seconds!" He murmured.

Awnirudh walked straight towards Samaresh Sarkar who was seated beside the defence attorney.

"How can you deny the fatherhood of such a child? Your son, Samaresh!"

Awnirudh held the little boy infront of him as the entire court witnessed the scene with rapt attention.

Samaresh Sarkar stood up slowly, quivering with excitement as he licked his lower lip in nervous anticipation.

The child cooed happily and stretched his arms to reach out to Samaresh Sarkar.

"My Lord, I understand there is no mean to test the biological connection of this man with this little angel, but let's all look at them..." Awnirudh plead to the juries drawing each of their attention to the child and the man standing infront of them.

"Are we as humans that blind to identify the connection?" Awnirudh held the child up infront of the court.

With widened eyes and thumping heartbeat, defence attorney Lalmohan Chaturvedi witnessed the dark veil of the final act shrouding his law career into irreparable wreckage.

Against all the rationality of evidence and testimony, the entire court observed how the innocent little child repeatedly stuck out his tiny pink tongue to lick his lower lip, and the striking similarity was hard to miss!

"Exactly like the father!"

Someone from the gallary called out.

"How cruel of him to deny such a lovely child!" Another added.

Samaresh Sarkar's face twitched as he moistened his lower lip once again, trying to force a spastic smile to hide his galloping heartbeat.

The child too, licked his lips once again in sync with his alleged 'father'.

Lalmohan Chaturvedi tossed his pen on the table and buried his face in his hands discerning his defeat in the Judge's eyes. Awnirudh smiled brightly at Shashi Bala Debi, as he handed the baby back to her.

"My client, Shashi Bala Debi is not looking for marriage or an alimony. It's the question of justice that had brought her to this court. Hence, I would like to plea to the court to grant this innocent child his due paternal rights, his share of monetory allowance and a share of his father's property once he is of the age. That's all My Lord."

Samaresh Sarkar, for a moment gathered the courage to look at the little boy cooing in his mother's arms.

'Such a beautiful baby!' He thought unmindfuly.

Is he really my son! I had no idea my son can be this angelic... Probably the best thing..."

His thoughts were brought back to the cold defeating reality as the judge thudded his gavel to announce the verdict of the case.

Samaresh Sarkar had lost the case, and in its place he won something inexplicable, something that quaked the concealed fatherly emotions that his heart of incapable of blossoming in all these years!

....

"Congratulations on your fiftieth win Barrister Roy Chowdhury." Lalmohan Chaturvedi held out his hand to commend his magnificent opponent.

"But we both know law is defeated today."

Awnirudh extended his hand graciously accepting Lalmohan's gesture.

"You are a gifted attorney Lalmohan Babu. And, I'll be indebted to you for letting Humanity win today. Thank you."

Lalmohan stood behind as he saw Awnirudh walked towards the black luxury car ready to leave. A strikingly handsome young man, with extraordinary similarities with the barrister held the door open for him before settling at the driver's seat. The aesthetic face of beautiful lady emerged from the backseat greeting him happily as Anirudh sat beside her, and a young toddler jumped on his lap and Lalmohan Chaturvedi's eyes framed the perfect picture of the happy family before the car sped ahead leaving a cloud of dreams behind.