Balls of steel

For reasons best known to me I have had the privilege of being able to see the legal system in the city of Mumbai up close and personal. Now like any other legal system, it has its set of faults and can at times come up with the most bizarre things that you heard of. Of course thats not untrue of any aspect of this world but then since I have some sort of knowledge about some of the courts, I shall divulge some things that I do hear out there

On November 7, 1993, a 21-year old man Avdesh Mishra decided that it being the auspicious occasion of Diwali he should visit his relatives. A resident of the western suburb of Goregaon, he decided that he would go to his nearby cousin's house. When he went to his cousin Chandramohan's house he noticed that the colour scheme of the rooms of the chawl did not quite appease his aesthetic sense. In his attempt to inculcate the appropriate knowledge about the need for art he told Chandramohan, " Tera baap bhikari hai kya? Diwali hote hue bhi colour nahin lagata?"(Is your father a beggar? Can't he afford to paint the walls to celebrate Diwali?)

Whether it was the comparison or his sheer disagreement over the need to paint the walls it will never be known, but Chandramohan thought it better to abuse Avdesh than let the comment pass. His brother, Hemantkumar who till that point was part of the general celebrations also thought it worthwhile to join his brother in abusing Avdesh. Avdesh having the typically high concentration of haemoglobin that is often seen in some males chose to strike out at his beloved cousins.

In the resulting fracas, Avdesh managed to land a solid kick right in Hemantkumar's family jewels and clutching them he went down. The unfortunate part was that Hemantkumar suffered what has now been proven to be a 'epileptic attack'. Chandramohan and his wife then rushed the unfortunate Hemantkumar to a nearby hospital only to find that there were no doctors there since they were also busy celebrating Diwali. So they brought him back home where he proceeded to pass away. Unfortunately, Chandramohan could not see him off since he had gone to call the police who along with him took Hemantkumar to the Cooper Hospital where he could be declared dead officially. The police then proceeded to arrest Avdesh. He was later released on bail.

During the trial Avdesh was charged with murder. However, Chandrakant and his wife were unable to agree where Hemantkumar received the crucial kick. Whether it was a married lady's unrequired modesty or just the truth we shall never know, but Chandrakant's wife told the court that Hemantkumar had been kicked in the back. Chandrakant however maintained his version.

But then came the clincher. The medical report stated that Hemantkumar despite being kicked where he was had sustained no injury in the concerned region. The medical report in fact only confirmed that Hemantkumar was dead but remained rather unsure about why. It said that it was cardiac arrest that killed him but the reason for the cardiac arrest was unknown and said that a kick had caused him to have the epileptic fit which eventually killed him. And so since there was not enough evidence against him ,Avdesh had the fortune of being acquitted by the court.


(this may not be entirely accurate and since I have not seen the medical report myself I don't know what exactly the report says. The version above is what the lawyer of the defendent managed to prove and said. It has been suitably modified but the facts of the case are all there. )