The case came up for hearing at exactly ten o'clock in the same bungalow. The monsoon rains were pouring down. Calcutta had turned into a swamp, yet an immense crowd of spectators stood gathered in the open field before the building. Among the women were Dinesh's wife and mother. Ten or fifteen minutes before the hearing, Jalpa and Zohra also arrived in closed carriages. The women were permitted to enter the courtroom.
The police witnesses began giving evidence. The deputy superintendent, inspector, daroga, and naib-daroga—all gave their statements. The lawyers on both sides cross-examined them, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy in these proceedings. The rules of procedure were being followed. Ramanath gave his statement as well, but there was nothing new in it. He gave a complete account of the preceding year of his life. He concealed nothing. When the lawyer questioned him, he said, "Jalpa's renunciation, devotion, and love of truth opened my eyes, and even more than that, Zohra's courtesy and guileless conduct opened them. I consider it my good fortune that I received light from the direction where others find darkness. I found nectar in poison."
After this, from the side of the defense, came the statements of Devi Din, Jalpa, and Zohra. The lawyers questioned them too, but what could be shaken from truthful witnesses? Zohra's testimony was especially moving. She said, "I saw that the person I had been sent to bind in chains was himself writhing in pain; he needed a healing balm, not chains. He wanted a hand to support him, not a push to send him down. Seeing Jalpa Devi's reverence and unwavering faith, I forgot myself. I became ashamed of my own baseness, my own selfishness. It was then that I understood how degraded and fallen my life was. And when I met Jalpa, the selfless service and radiant austerity I saw in her erased even the last traces of the old impressions in my mind. I grew disgusted with a life of pleasure. I resolved that I too would seek shelter in the shade of this very tree."
But even more remarkable was Jalpa's testimony. Tears came to the eyes of the spectators as they listened to her. Her final words were:
"My husband is innocent! He is innocent not only in the eyes of God but also in the eyes of morality. It was written in his destiny that he should atone for my attachment to luxury, and he did so. He fled from the marketplace hiding his face. If he ever wronged me, it was only this: in fulfilling my desires, he always used his imagination beyond all measure. To please me, to keep me happy, he never hesitated to take upon himself the greatest burdens. He forgot that a taste for luxury knows no satisfaction. Where it was proper to restrain me, he encouraged me. And even on this occasion I am fully convinced that his tongue was silenced only by threats to harm me.
"If there is a culprit, it is I, because of whom he had to suffer so much. I admit that I forced him to change his statement. If I had believed that he had taken part in the robberies, I would have been the first to despise him. I could not bear the thought that he should build his house upon the corpses of innocent people. During the days on which these robberies took place, my husband was in Prayag. If the court wishes, this can be verified by telephone. If necessary, the testimony of the municipal board officials can be taken. In such circumstances, I could have had no other duty than the one I performed."
The court asked the government lawyer, "Was any report requested from Prayag regarding this matter?"
The lawyer said, "Yes, but we have no dispute on that point."
The defense lawyer said, "This establishes that the accused did not participate in the robberies. The only question that remains is why he became an informer."
The prosecution lawyer replied, "What else could it have been but self-interest?"
The defense lawyer said, "My contention is that he was deceived, and when he realized that the fear because of which he had agreed to become a puppet in the hands of the police was an illusion, he was threatened."
There were no more defense witnesses. The government lawyer began his argument:
"Your Honor, today a case is before you of a kind that, fortunately, arises very rarely. You know the story of the Janakpur robberies. A number of villages around Janakpur were repeatedly robbed, and the police began searching for the dacoits. For months, police officers risked their lives trying to find the robbers. At last their efforts succeeded and information about the dacoits was obtained. These men were found sitting inside a house. The police immediately arrested them all. But you know how difficult it is in such cases to produce evidence before the courts. How afraid the public is of these men. Out of fear for their lives, people are unwilling to testify. Even those whose houses had been robbed withdrew when the opportunity to give evidence came.
"Gentlemen, the police were caught in this difficulty when a young man appeared and claimed to be the leader of these dacoits. He gave such a vivid and convincing account of the robberies that the police were deceived. In such circumstances, the police regard finding such a man as an unexpected stroke of good fortune. This young man had fled from Allahabad and was starving here. Finding such an excellent opportunity to make his own fortune, he resolved to serve his own interests. As an informer, he had no fear of punishment, and he hoped that, through the police's recommendation, he might obtain a good position. The police treated him with great honor and hospitality and made him their informer.
"It was quite possible that, unable to obtain any evidence, the police might have released these accused men and brought no case against them. But, deceived by this young man, they decided to prosecute. Whatever other qualities he may or may not possess, no one can deny the brilliance of his powers of invention. He gave such a lifelike account of the robberies that not a single link in the chain was missing anywhere. He had imagined the whole story from the first sprout to the appearance of the fruit. The police brought the case.
"But it appears that in the meantime he found an even better opportunity to make his fortune. It is quite possible that organizations opposed to the Government tempted him, and that those temptations suggested this new path to self-interest, where there was money as well as fame, applause as well as the glory of patriotism. He can do anything for his own advantage. For his own interest he can put a knife to someone's throat or put on the robes of a holy man. That is the goal of his life.
"We are glad that his better sense ultimately prevailed over him, whatever his motive may have been. It is just as objectionable for the police to punish innocent people as it is to release criminals. They do not bring such cases merely to display their efficiency. Nor is the Government so devoid of justice that it blindly brings worthless cases at the police's prompting. But who is responsible for the disgrace brought upon the police by this young man's deceptions, and for the thousands of rupees the Government has spent? Such a man should receive exemplary punishment, so that no one else may dare to engage in such deception. For a creature who has created such a world of falsehood, the path of remaining free to deceive society should be closed. The most appropriate place for him at present is one where he can have an opportunity for self-reflection. Perhaps in that solitude he may attain an inner awakening.
"You have only to consider whether he deceived the police or not. On this point there can now be no doubt that he did deceive them. If threats were made, he could have withdrawn his statement before the judge after the first court, but he did not do so even then. This makes it clear that the allegation of threats is false. He did what he did of his own free will. If such a man is not punished, he will again have the courage to employ his crooked methods, and his violent tendencies will become even stronger."
Then the defense lawyer replied:
"This case is an extraordinary event not only in the history of English justice, but perhaps in the history of justice throughout the world. Ramanath is an ordinary young man. His education too is very modest. He is not a man of lofty ideas. He is employed in the municipal office of Allahabad. His work there is to collect octroi dues. He habitually takes bribes from merchants and spends recklessly without caring about his income. One day, when an error occurs in the balancing of the accounts, he suspects that some money has gone missing from his hands. He becomes so frightened that he tells no one anything and simply runs away from home. Suspicion falls upon him at the office, and his accounts are investigated. It is then discovered that he has committed no embezzlement at all; it was merely an accounting error.
"Then he described how Ramanath fell into the clutches of the police, became an informer, and gave evidence. He said:
"'A new transformation then takes place in Ramanath's life, a transformation that turns a pleasure-loving, position-seeking young man into a man devoted to righteousness and duty. His wife Jalpa—calling her a goddess would hardly be an exaggeration—comes here from Prayag in search of him. When she learns here that Rama has become a police informer in a case, she comes secretly to meet him. Rama is lying comfortably in his bungalow. A sentry is guarding the gate. Jalpa fails to meet her husband. She then writes a letter and throws it before him, and goes to Devi Din's house. Rama reads the letter and the veil is lifted from before his eyes. He secretly goes to Jalpa. Jalpa tells him the whole story and urges him to withdraw his statement. Rama has doubts at first, but later agrees and returns to his bungalow.
"'There he plainly tells the police officers that he will change his statement. The officers offer him all kinds of inducements, but when none of them has any effect on Rama and they discover that there is no embezzlement case against him, they threaten to arrest Jalpa. Rama's courage breaks. He knows that the police can do whatever they please, so he changes his intention and supports his statement before the judge.
"'At the first court, the defense did not cross-examine Rama. Here he was cross-examined, but although the questions had nothing to do with this case, he answered them in such a way that even the judge could find no reason for suspicion, and the accused were sentenced. Ramanath was then treated with even greater favor. He was given a letter of recommendation, and perhaps a recommendation was also made on his behalf to the U.P. Government.
"'Then Jalpa Devi resolved to support the children and family of Dinesh, the accused who had been sentenced to death. She collected donations from here and there to provide them with the necessities of life. She did the household work with her own hands. She took the children out to feed them.
"'One day Ramanath, riding in a motorcar, saw Jalpa carrying a water pot on her head. His sense of self-respect awakened. Zohra had been appointed by the police officials to entertain Ramanath. Seeing the young man's mental suffering, Zohra was moved and set out with the intention of learning everything about Jalpa. She met Jalpa at Dinesh's house. So deeply was the courtesan affected by Jalpa's renunciation, service, and spiritual discipline that she became ashamed of her own life, and the two women became like sisters. After a week she went and told Rama the whole story. Rama left at once, spoke a few words with Jalpa, and went to the judge's bungalow. What happened afterward is before us.
"'I do not say that he did not give false evidence, but consider the circumstances and the temptations, and the gravity of this offense is greatly reduced. If that false testimony had resulted in an innocent person being punished, that would be another matter. Here, on the contrary, the lives of fifteen young men were saved. Is he still guilty of the crime of giving false evidence? He himself has confessed to his false testimony. Should he be punished for it?
"'His simplicity and goodness won over even a courtesan, and instead of misleading and distracting him, she became a lamp lighting his path. Is Jalpa Devi's devotion to duty worthy of punishment? Jalpa is the heroine of this drama. Her noble affection, her simple love, her devotion to righteousness, her fidelity to her husband, her self-sacrifice, her devotion to service—what virtue of hers shall we praise? If she had not appeared upon this stage today, the lights of fifteen families would have been extinguished. She has granted fifteen families a gift of safety.
"'She knew how bright her worldly future would become if she supported the police, how many of life's anxieties she would escape. Perhaps she too would have a motorcar, servants, a fine house, and expensive jewelry. Is there no value in such pleasures in the heart of a young woman? Yet she was prepared to endure this suffering. Is this to be the reward for her devotion to righteousness—that she should wander through life deprived of her husband?
"'In an ordinary woman who has not received a high education, does such devotion, such sacrifice, such reflection not indicate some divine inspiration? Does the fact that a fallen woman became a helper in such a cause have no significance? I believe it does. Cases like this do not come before the courts every day. Perhaps you will never again have the opportunity in your lives to hear such a case.
"'You have assembled here to decide one case, but outside this court there is another, much greater court where your judgment will itself be judged. The verdict upon Jalpa will be the verdict accepted by that vast court outside. That court does not concern itself with the fine points of laws in which we often become entangled, or with the complications through which we often lose our way, turning milk into water and water into milk. If you declare someone a criminal for repenting of a lie and telling the truth, for rejecting a life of pleasure and luxury and living in poverty, then you are not presenting the world with any lofty ideal of justice.'"
The government lawyer replied, "Moral feeling and ideals are certainly worthy of respect in their proper place, but a man who deliberately gave false testimony has committed an offense and should be punished for it. It is true that he committed no embezzlement in Prayag and that this was merely a mistaken belief on his part, but in such circumstances it was the duty of an honest man to defend himself when arrested. Why did he deceive the police by giving false testimony out of fear of punishment? That is something to consider. If you believe that he acted improperly, you will certainly punish him."
Now it was time for the court to pronounce its judgment. Everyone had come to sympathize with Rama, but at the same time it was taken for granted that he would be punished. The only question was what punishment he would receive. People drew closer with great eagerness to hear the verdict, pulled their chairs forward, and even the whispers ceased.
"The matter is simply this: a young man sought the protection of the police to save his life, and when he learned that the fear because of which he had sought that protection was completely unfounded, he withdrew his statement. If Ramanath had possessed integrity, why would he have sought the protection of the police at all? But there is no doubt that the police suggested this means of protection to him and thereby tempted him to give false evidence. I cannot believe that the proposal to give evidence in this case arose spontaneously in his mind. He was tempted, and he accepted the temptation out of fear of punishment.
"He must also certainly have been made to believe that the people against whom he was being prepared to testify were actually guilty. For where Ramanath has a fear of punishment, he also has a sense of justice. He is not one of those professional witnesses who do not hesitate to implicate innocent people for their own advantage. If that were not so, he would never have agreed to change his statement at his wife's urging.
"It is true that immediately after the first court he learned that there was no embezzlement case against him, and he could have withdrawn his statement in the judge's court. He certainly expressed this desire at that time, but the police threats prevailed over him again. It is natural that the police would threaten him on this occasion in order to save themselves from disgrace, because the police had no doubt regarding the guilt of the accused.
"Ramanath yielded to the threats. That is certainly his weakness, but in view of the circumstances it is forgivable. Therefore, I acquit Ramanath."