MEN BEWARE.



A case came up for hearing at the court. The first case that has come up under the newly enacted or somewhat enforced ‘Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act’. The court hall is spell bound.

A woman judge chairs the court.

The lawyer representing the wife is a woman. The court hall is filled with media reporters, obviously women. The police present there were also women in uniform. The only men conspicuous by their presence or otherwise are the husband and his lawyer.

The woman lawyer is screaming left, right and centre to get justice for her client.

'Your Honor, this man is so cruel, brutal, nasty and pitiless, that he tried all the tricks up his sleeves in distressing, intimidating and harassing my client. He used to pester her for money, almost three to four times a week’

The husband’s lawyer woke up and said, ‘Your Honor,that was only small change to pay the auto fellow.’

‘But Your Honor, money is money and pestering for it amounts to dowry harassment’ the wife’s lawyer said. ‘This is nothing Your Honor; He even attempted to kill my client on two occasions’.

The husband’s lawyer woke to say ‘Objection’, but the judge has already overruled. He then went back to sleep.

The Judge asked the woman lawyer, ‘Can you substantiate your argument and prove to the court that this man attempted to kill his wife’.

‘Yes Your Honor. The first attempt was made on 27 September 2006. On that day, this man bought 15 liters of kerosene in a can. He bought it at Rs 30/ per liter, much higher than the open market rate, from Banarasilal oil merchants, Donghi chowk.’

The husband’s lawyer did not wake up this time, but the husband did and hence screamed. ‘Your Honor, that kerosene was meant for lighting up the lamps in the house and for cooking food as there is acute shortage of LPG. But certainly not to put off the light of my life, my wife’, he pleaded with folded hands wiping relentlessly tears flowing down his eyes, with the sleeves of his shirt. His wail fell on deaf ears, that includes his lawyer who is still sleeping.

The wife’s lawyer continued. ‘The second attempt was more planned, deliberate and premeditated. He purchased a two-way ticket for his wife and her mother, on the pretext of pilgrimage that spread for 24 days covering 12,467 kms, with 72 bridges and 9 tunnels.’

‘How does that amount to attempted murder?’ asked the Judge.

The husbands’ lawyer woke up just then and a smile crossed on the husbands face.

‘Your Honor, this is the evidence’ showing a railway ticket. ‘He planned to kill them by sending them in train which on some pretext or the other jumping off the tracks and into the rivers and killing all the passengers’

The husbands’ lawyer went back to sleep and grief came back on the husband’s face. All smiles for the wife.

‘My next point to prove his criminal tendency is he recently read few books written by some of the famous authors and watching a film or two produced by Ram Gopal Varma.’

‘I find nothing objectionable in your point. Everybody has the right to read and watch movies.’ The judge said.

This time neither the husband smiled nor his lawyer woke up, quite certain about the competence and skill of the other lawyer.

‘Yes Your Honor, but the books he chooses to read were ‘How to murder a Wife’, ‘A perfect Murder’, ‘Teach yourself the art of Murdering’. Then the movies like ‘My wife’s murder’
‘Madhyannapu Hatya’ (afternoon murder).’

The Judge noted the point and proclaimed the judgment. ‘After hearing the accusations against the husband, the court has come to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to prove him guilty and sentences him to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs one lakh to be paid to the wife. The wife is free to apply for a divorce and claim damages from him’.

The husband screamed ‘NO’. The whole world woke up, including his wife sleeping next to him. She asked ‘what happened, any bad dream?’

‘Yeah, I am canceling your pilgrimage trip with your mother’, he said.

‘Ok, go ahead and cancel the trip, I will file a case against you under ‘Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act’ she turned the other side showing her disgust.

He again screamed NO, which he could not himself hear.