1 - The Injustice

Criminal Court Suratgarh, any day of any month 10 years back from today

“Considering all the evidence produced and arguments from both defendant and plaintiff it is proved beyond doubt that Mr. Manohar Lal Sisaudia was not responsible for the accident and eventual death of Mr. Rajesh Jaurani, his wife and their daughter. The court acquits Mr. Manohar……..”

The old man knew the verdict days before but hoping against the hope he was attending the hearings. He suddenly felt very weak and almost impossible to stand up. Slowly, he stood up and dragged himself towards one of the exits of the court hall. There was a lot of noise - people talking and attorneys moving in their black attires but for him it was a deafening black silence around.
Suddenly he stopped. His eyes fixated on the long shadow stretched on the floor for a moment then his gaze followed the source of the shadow. He saw the glittering spekless shoes, expensive trousers then coat and finally his eyes met with those of the single person he wanted to kill with his bare hands but could not. It was beyond his physical and financial might to cause any harm to renowned businessman Manohar Lal Sisaudia.

Sisaudia was the owner of a personality and had an air of typically shrewd businessmen. Through his gold rimmed spectacles, he was looking into old man’s black and white eyes surrounded by wrinkled skin and thicket of white drooping eyebrows. The old man looked at the demon with a straight face. Sisaudia was smiling. The old man noticed the smile. It was not a smile. For old man, it was a deafening roar of laughter, blended with contempt, gibe, pride and self-conceit which only he could hear and feel.

The old man beheld that smile as if he wanted it to pierce through his heart and drop him dead. He brought in all his will power to command his tears keep away from dampening his eyes. He had been crying alone through all these years but today he didn’t want to. Today, at this moment, he wanted to watch this smile closely because for rest of his life he had to live with this smile.

With unblinking eyes he scanned the smile playing on Sisaudia’s lips one last time and slowly met his eyes with Sisaudia’s. Expressions in Sisaudia’s eyes were a flawless match to his smile. Then he stepped forward, struggle his way slowly through the narrow gap between the door and Sisaudia’s strong six feet person to move out into the open lawns of court. Awning of gray cloud was hanging up in the sky but the old man noticed a laser-thin silver lining in the east too.
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Will Susaudia really go scot free? Find out>>