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"When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises."

-Angela Merkel

Sampurnaa's pov:

It was now the defendant's turn to question me. To say that I wasn't nervous would be a total lie. The defendant stood up in an eerily calm way and came up right in front of the witness box that I was standing in.
She looked at me straight in the eye and asked, "Ms. Roy. From the information that I collected, it is evident that you were the only girl or woman associated with the red light area operation. All your female colleagues refused to be a part of all this owing to the risk involved. Why did you take the initiative of investigating Sridha's case and exposing Mr. Sequira?"

I was a bit taken aback at her question. It was so totally unexpected!
Nevertheless, I chose to reply carefully, "Why would I back out simply because I am female? It was my colleagues' choice so they chose to not partake in this expedition. It was my choice! I wanted to do this for Sridha."

Mrs. Prakash, the defendant simply smirked at what I had to say.
She clicked her tongue in a rude way and then said, "Are you really the saint that you are trying to portray yourself as or did you have some hidden motive behind all this? In fact you could be one of those involved in the human trafficking, drug smuggling and forced prostitution racket for all I know... You know several women...".

She was cut in between by a very annoyed prosecutor i.e., Mr. Indrayan Chakraborty, "Objection! Your honour, the defendant is trying to demean the witness' character!"

The judge replied with an 'Objection sustained'

The defendant apologised to him and then resumed the questioning, "Not all women are victims Ms. Roy! How can the court know for sure that you have not been staging all this deliberately with some ulterior motive? There have been several cases in the past where a genuine looking case turned out to be a hoax later! How do we here know that the evidence that you are presenting are legitimate?"

My temper was turning up a notch at each sentence she spoke.
I clenched my fist, pep talked myself to calm down and then releasing a sigh, I finally decided to answer this shrewd specimen of the human species,
"With all due respect Ma'am Defendant! I may not be a qualified advocate like you but I do believe that the judgment passed in a court of justice is based on the decision taken by the judge and not on the basis of someone's trivial thoughts and speculations! I can vouch that the evidence collected and produced is bona-fide. The rest is obviously up to His Honour!"

My answer sent loud gasps throughout the courtroom. I could actually see Zakir's jaw literally touching the floor. Sridha's eyes widened at my answer! I believe she's never really met the journalist who can be shrewd and snappy. Indrayan's face reflected a mixture of pride and sheer horror.

The defendant's face was the most comical. She had actually flushed red.
I bit my lip to refrain myself from doing anything stupid like laughing out loud.
The judge hit his gavel thrice followed by a thunderous 'Order! Order!'

Mrs. Vanita Prakash snapped out of her stunned reverie and proceeded to ask me the next question, "You said that you followed Mr. Sequira into his brothel. Why did you shadow him? Isn't it a violation of someone's personal space? I mean I know reporters like to have juicy storylines in their hands, but isn't this totally unacceptable from a mere studio correspondent? You are trying to accuse Mr. Sequira of crimes that do not befit him! He ran a brothel with his sister where willing sex workers earned a living. There are some statements that my assistant collected from the women there...."
She turned to face the judge and continued,
"Your honour! The advanced notice has already been submitted to you. With your permission I would like to play the recordings. They come with a video footage."

The judge accepted a paper that was forwarded by the bailiff. He checked the list of declared evidences and then after a while he said in a grim and grave way, "Permission granted!"

The defendant thanked the judge and her assistant helped her set up a projector and a portable screen. The lights were dimmed.

The video started playing:

A woman dressed in a saree like most of the women at Grant Road red light area was speaking in a cool and serene tone in Hindi, "I am an  immigrant from Bangladesh. I escaped from my abusive husband and in-laws and came here to Mumbai. I used to work as a domestic help but I had no shelter. I barely earned enough to afford a single meal. After I twisted my ankle once, a doctor at a government run hospital advised me to stop working as a domestic help. Since I was uneducated and alone, I had no other option. I started begging on the streets. One day Mr. Sequira and his sister, Frieda ma'am saw me in the streets. They took me under their care and even ensured that I got the requisite medical treatment. They gave me food, a roof over my head! Once I had completely healed, I requested them to give me a job. Frieda ma'am and Sir explained me about the job as a sex worker. I was initially hesitant but agreed later as I had nothing to lose. I work here in Jannah willingly. Till date, I have never been mistreated by anyone. All of us here are happy enough and we live better lives working together under the care of Mr. Sequira rather than being on the streets."

I was baffled! Who was this woman? How had I not seen her? Why was her statement and claim so different from the others?

The next video clip played where a young girl expressed her views. Her dialect seemed to be from Haryana:

"I was married off as a 10 year old to a 35 year old man. In the village I come from, child marriages are prevalent. I was pregnant at the age of 15 and widowed during the 6th month of my pregnancy. I was deemed as a bad omen by the villagers and they wanted me to commit sati (an act of self- immolation wherein a woman burns herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre. This practise existed in the ancient days but was later abolished and condemned as a heinous crime. The last instance of sati that sent the media into frenzy was sometime in the late '90s.)

I did not want my child to die, so I fled. I boarded a train and travelled ticketless. I reached Jaipur and saw a few villagers who had followed me. I ran again and hid in a truck. The truck was transporting marble to Mumbai. I found myself in a place called Dadar when the truck stopped. I fainted as soon as I walked in the sun for sometime. I went into labour. A man on the road rescued me and took me to a private nursing home. The doctors stabilised me but the child was premature and extremely malnutritioned. The man who had saved me knew Mr. Sequira very well. He took me to him. Mr. Sequira helped me out in my darkest hour. He even ensured my son's treatment and specially took care of his nourishment. Unfortunately, he died a year later due to pneumonia." the woman wiped her tears and the continued, "His sister was very kind to me and after giving me 3 years to totally recover from everything, she kept the proposal of working as a sex worker. I agreed after some thought. After all I had nothing apart from my body."

The video stopped playing.
The screen went blank.
The lights came back on.

There was a pin drop silence in the courtroom.

My widened eyes met Indrayan's dumbfound ones.

.................................

Indrayan's pov:

Oh God! This defendant?! Kotha theke? Kotha theke o pelo ei footage? (where from? Where from did she manage to get this footage?)
Who were those two women?

Had they really been helped or were they bluffing? For the first time in my 4 years of practice as a criminal lawyer, I was caught in a dilemma. My mind was totally blank!

I just did not know what more would be presented to us in the near future!

The defendant had a calm, triumphant look on her face. I turned to see Sampurnaa's face. She was doing a bad job of concealing her emotional turmoil.

The defendant cleared her throat in a pointy way and we both immediately looked away and shifted our focus back on the case.

Mrs. Vanita Prakash broke the uncomfortable retinence that had descended upon the courtroom by addressing her next question to Sampurnaa, "Ms. Roy! Contrary to your belief and false claims as the court just saw, the sex workers there are perfectly willing. So can we assume that the complaints filed by you and Ms. Ranjan about rape, attempted rape, molestation and what not are totally illegitimate and unjustified?"

Sampurnaa's shock was replaced by a sudden fury. She burst out without any prior warning or preamble,
"Excuse me Ma'am defendant! You are making baseless assumptions looking at these two women praising Mr. Sequira and his sister! You are hailing him as a compassionate philanthropist but there are several women who have  totally opposite opinions. Have you ever been in that brothel? Have you heard your own screams echoing in a room where you have been locked with lustful men? Have you ever lied helplessly while someone was trying to destroy your virtue... While someone was deliberately toying with your dignity? I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS! THE WOMEN WHO WERE RESCUED THAT DAY HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS! They have been violated! Their consent was totally secondary and meaningless! Sridha has been through this! A woman's virtue isn't something she gives away easily. A woman fights back always!
Have you ever tried to fight back while you had your limbs restrained? I can never wish for all that which happened at the brothel to the women who seek justice here today even upon my greatest enemy! This is about our JUSTICE! The justice we crave for!"

She was breathing heavily. The defendant was taken aback! Every single man or woman seated in the courtroom was a mere spectator. The judge himself seemed stunned at her unexpected, unedited and uncontrolled explosion.

He took a good minute to regain his composure before saying in his stern High Court Justice tone, "Ms. Roy, you are required to keep your emotions at bay at the court! This is the first warning that I am issuing against you! If you don't want to be held in contempt of the court, then I suggest that you keep your equanimity while you are in the witness box!"

Sampurnaa muttered a harried apology.

The judge hit his gavel again and all the court's attention went on him, "It is 5.30 pm now. I have another hearing following this. The cross examination would be continued on the next date i.e., 30th August. The court is adjourned for the day!"

He rose as did we to show our respect. Sampurnaa stepped down from the witness box and was immediately surrounded by Sridha, Zakir, Sridha's family and a few of the women from the brothel. Her juniors and a few other reporters who had been seated at the back came up in front and began bombarding her with questions.

She looked around frustrated and helpless.

She looked at me for help. I pushed my way through the crowd of people and rescued her from the harassment.

She followed me wordlessly.

She knew that I was a wee bit angry at her for losing her mind and rationality during the hearing but I guess she did not sense or recognize the pride I felt from within.

What she did needed guts and she totally had them!
She was like a raging fire... A fully fledged storm that would calm down only after unleashing tremendous rain, torrential winds and destructive thunder.

I obviously have to counsel her later but for now, we could just head out, away from the abstruse mess that we had on our hands!

...........................

Sampurnaa's pov:

What the hell was I thinking? I had been so idiotic and irrational!
Even after repeated warnings, I had failed to keep my irascibility to myself!

I feel so guilty!
If I ever do this again, I might as well forget getting the justice for every victim in the red light area racket!

Indrayan had not spoken a word. He was so damn silent! I had no way of knowing what was going through his mind!

He was just driving silently. I had no idea where we were headed to.
It seemed like we were going towards Marine Drive.

Finally, he parked his car near Nariman Point. We both got out. My hair flew everywhere as the cool evening breeze hit my face.

I followed him towards the promenade and he took a seat on the stone bench built.

The waves hit the rocks below us as the salty air caressed my face. Every moment, my anxiety was increasing.
I couldn't keep it in any further, "Say something! Chup kore theko na!(Don't be silent!)"

He removed his spectacles and arched his back a bit so as to stretch himself. He finally decided it was time enough to let go of his mysterious facade, his words came out harshly,

"What do you want me to say? You just screamed out in the court like it was a college stage drama! Why couldn't you keep your temper under check?"

To say I was hurt would be a severe understatement!
I was astonished! His words pierced through me! Did he not understand what I was going through standing in that witness box? A woman was constantly accusing me and Sridha of playing victims and was voluntarily assaulting my character!

I was dumbfounded.

He read my expressions and then spoke in an eerily calm manner, totally different from the harsh tone that he used on me, "Even if I consider your point of view Sampurnaa, do you think that was justified? She's a defendant! She's bound to ask you such questions! The key mantra to winning a legal battle, when you have true evidence and a genuine case, is to let things just happen. You have to trap the opposition in their own hollow trap! There is no point in draining out all your energy by inviting the judge to issue an order against you!"

I looked at the ground, embarrassed and ashamed.
I felt so damn miserable!

I could feel his gaze on me, but I couldn't look up.

He finally sighed and then said in the friendly way that he generally speaks to me, "Hey! Look up here! Did the journalist retire so easily?"

I immediately looked at him in a challenging way! He chuckled slightly.

I gradually felt my demeanor returning back to normalcy.

We both looked at the sea and just let the tranquility of the evening calm us down.
A while later, he broke the silence, "Up for ice cream?"

I asked in a surprised way, "What for? Even after what happened?"

His reply was unexpected, "It is for celebrating the tigress in you! So, what say, let's cool down that temper a bit!"

I nodded and ageed.

We drove to a Baskin Robbin's Ice Cream Parlour nearby and ordered ice creams. I paid for his ice cream while mine was paid by him. An even division!

Even though we were  levelheaded now and we had a fortnight in hand, we knew for sure...

This was just the early monsoon shower that announced the impending arrival of a fully fledged thunderstorm that could very well cause immense catastrophe...

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To be continued...

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A/N

I will update the next chapter as soon as my schedule permits me. Thank you for giving my story a read❤