Dispute arose between two neighbors
One said it was Monday
The other said it was Sunday
Together they went to court
And engaged best lawyers of
bar
One became Plaintiff’s
lawyer
The other became Defendant’s Lawyer
Plaintiff pleaded it was
Monday
Defendant denied the claim
And insisted for heavy
burden
On plaintiff to prove his
case
Lawyers on both side
Led evidence oral and
documentary
But none produced a calendar
before court
To see what the day it was
Evidence was examined
Precedents were seen
Arguments were heard for days
And finally the court held
Plaintiff had failed to
prove his case
And suit was dismissed
A shooting pain rose in
heart of plaintiff
‘How court denied his case
when every calendar in town
showed it was Monday!’
Is there darkness in our justice system!
What kind of justice is this!
His heart cried.
He vowed to fight up to
Supreme Court
And lawyers on both sides
agreed too
-2-
After fifteen years
When matter came to Supreme
Court
Plaintiff’s counsel humbly
urged
“ There is no judgement of Supreme Court
as to at what point a day begins
and at what point night ends:
Unless the law is cleared by Supreme Court on this issue,
It cannot be decided whether it was Monday or Sunday!
The enior Counsel urged this point involves large number of cases,
pending in various courts!
The bench smiled and granted
leave.
Matter remained Supreme Court for five years.
4
After five years when matter
was heard
The another bench smiled and
said,
“Concurrent findings of all
courts
and hence no question of
interference!”
Plaintiff’s lawyer(me) in
Supreme Court
urged, and begged,
please see this calendar!
It clearly shows it was Monday and Not Sunday
as held by all courts below!
The Supreme Court Bench said,
"Here we can't see new evidences!
Here we can't see photographs of actual position on ground!
Here we can't see CC TV phootage to know truth.
We don't see TV!
We don't read newspapers!
We have to go by strict rules!
We have to go by what is record of case only.
No New Evidence Here!!!!!!!!
5
Plaintiff's Lawyer (me) in Supreme Court,
Advised his client
“File another fresh suit
This time ask your lawyer to file calendar”
and returned papers by post
back to the plaintiff
The postman lost file in transit,
And the case came to an end
And in all these years of suit
life,
The lawyers had moved
From rented premises to
bunglows
And their sons had entered at
Bar
To fight a fresh suits for neighbors
If they were still not sure
Whether it was Sunday or Monday!
6
According to an eminent jurist (me)
The first court was guilty
Of deciding an issue without
sufficient data,
And of not refusing to grant
a judgement
Though it had right to refuse judgement
unless calendar was filed by either side advocate.
And the last court (Supreme Court) was
guilty
Of admitting matter with
right hand
And dismissing it with left
hand,
And of not realizing that Supreme Court
was the last opportunity for a man to get justice done!
And the lawyers were of
course not guilty of Anything
As they were just doing
their duty
To educate their children
And to settle them in
profession
The postman was also a great culprit
Who lost the case papers in
transit
Particularly when two neighbours
Are still not sure what the
day it is!
Had he not lost papers,
Today my son would have been arguing
the same case with latest knowledge of Law!
Alas! The fleets of years glide on,
And I never saw my client again.
Alas! Alas!
Haresh Raichura
Note:
1.
The poem is based
on an actual case with slightly different facts. The fact of postman losing
returned case papers is completely true.
2.
Impression of a
Judge’s right to Refuse Judgement is
based on refusal of Justice Whittaker to
participate in judgement, in Baker V Carr 369 US
186 (1962) as mentioned in Constitutional Law- A Political Case Book, by Jerome
R Corsi and Mathew Ross Lippman on page 24
Tomato Soup for Judges and Lawyers.
