The Last Resort

“I love you”, shouted a woman.
“Kill her”, said another voice.
“Bravo”, exclaimed another lady in the crowd.
“Long live the law” and many other such slogans boomed through the hot May air in Mumbai (then Bombay)….

As Shyam was making his way through the over-indulgent crowd, his mind was flooded with a torrent of emotions, both positive and negative. He couldn’t make sense of most of what was happening around him. He wasn’t aware of what people were thinking of him at that point of time (in fact, people’s opinion about him was the last thing on his mind ). But he vividly remembered each of the incidents, some five months back, which led to this very occasion ….

It was a cold December night. December evenings in Mumbai are great; the cool air soothes the day’s stress after all the hard work. The feeling of returning to your family on a Friday evening after work is rather difficult to articulate in words. Shyam Karnik was an accountant in an auditing firm in Nariman Point, and was very happy with his work. He was one of those people who might not have very big ambitions or plans in life, but go about doing their duty or 'karma' in everyday life and are more than satisfied. With the salary that he drew, he was sure of keeping his family well-fed and happy. Shyam had been married for about a year then; his family consisted of himself and his wife Preeti, who had seemed to prove ‘lucky’ for Shyam, as he loved to claim; he used to brag about her to his friends , ”My life turned 360 degrees after I married Preeti; I’ve never been so happy”. He was returning from work a couple of hours earlier than usual, thanks to a sudden rush of kindness from his boss. With a happy song on his lips, Shyam made his way back to his home as fast he could, thinking about the potentially wonderful weekend that lay ahead…

It seemed a bit unusual to Shyam that Preeti opened the door almost instantly after Shyam rang the bell (he was accustomed to Preeti taking a good minute or two before opening the door). What seemed more unusual was that Preeti’s smile appeared and disappeared before even he could say “Love you, honey”. When he explained the reason for him coming so early, she did not seem particularly pleased. Shyam could see that something was troubling her. When he asked her if he could do anything, all that she replied was “I’ve to go to the market and get some vegetables” and she was gone.
When she came back, after about half an hour, Shyam realized that the vegetables that Preeti had bought had a peculiar property: they were invisible!! But Mohammad Rafi’s ultra-smooth voice over the radio kept him from worrying about trivialities like his wife’s whereabouts. Unsuspecting by nature, he did not ask his wife questions that would have made her uncomfortable. However, he did keep this incident filed away in his mind….

This ‘unusual’ incident was then followed by a series of incidents where Preeti seemed strangely anxious and nervous. But the one thing that struck Shyam as genuinely alarming was the wrist-watch episode. One fine day when Shyam came home and was met by the cursory ‘good evening’ from his wife , he couldn’t help notice a Rolex watch lying beside his bed, on the floor. When he asked Preeti about it, all that she could come up with was “I found it on our stairway; it looked so beautiful that I decided to bring it home and give it to you”. What Shyam could not understand was that if she really wanted to give it to him, why would she place it on the floor of their bedroom. He had already given up the illusion that Preeti loved him as much as he loved her; her behaviour over the last few weeks had made it clear. He now started doubting the worst: that Preeti was having an affair with someone else. Due to fear of ridicule, he decided to keep tabs on his wife himself, rather than hiring private detectives. After applying for a ‘sick’ leave (without informing his wife, of course) he decided to watch all his wife’s actions. While Preeti was under the impression that Shyam had left for office, Shyam was hiding in the neighborhood, looking for that clinching evidence…..

It was 3 o clock in the noon and Shyam had almost absolved her of all his doubts when a man, who looked to be in his early forties, well-dressed and smart entered their house. Shyam could not believe his eyes; but he decided to play it cool and tackle the problem, step-by-step. What followed was the most brain-shattering, restless ninety minutes of Shyam’s life. As soon as the man left their house, Shyam immediately ran back to his house and rang the doorbell. Once again, Preeti opened the door with an expression filled with illicit mischief and exclaimed “I knew you w…” and stopped in her tracks….her physical condition left Shyam in no doubt as to what would have happened in their house during the last ninety minutes.

Shyam then explained, that he was waiting in the neighborhood and that he knew everything. He asked her to come clean with her confession, as there was no point lying to him now. Preeti then went on to narrate how she had met Vivek Bansal at a supermarket one evening and how he had impressed her with not only his personality, but also his speech. He was a successful businessman in the upper echelons of Bombay and was a man who knew the ways of the world. Then she said something that no self respecting husband would like to hear. She told Shyam that despite being a good husband, she did not love him and that she had found that love which she was looking for in Vivek.

Shyam, the good Samaritan that he was, decided, on hearing all this, to talk directly to Vivek Bansal and settle the matter. He approached Vivek one fine morning in Vivek’s plush, South Bombay office. Shyam identified himself as Preeti’s unfortunate husband and made Vivek an offer: if Vivek would marry Preeti and redeem her ‘honour’, he would forget all bitterness and recede away from their life, after divorcing Preeti. On hearing this, Vivek coolly replied, “If I have to marry Preeti just because I slept with her, I would have to marry a hundred other women!!! Get lost and don’t disturb me again” This set off a wave of rage in Shyam; a kind of rage that Shyam didn’t know he was capable of. He thought to himself, “Tonight I’m going to set things right”

The same night, he went up to Vivek’s apartment, with all his thoughts clear and concise. As soon as Vivek’s servant opened the door, without warning, Shyam pumped 6 rounds of bullets from the .38 caliber Colt that he had procured from a local goon, straight into Vivek’s body. Vivek was declared dead by the doctors even before he was admitted to the hospital. Vivek’s relatives summoned one of the best lawyers in town. To the lawyers, it was an open and shut case. Highly incriminating evidence, over half a dozen witnesses and plus the cold-blooded nature of the murder would have been enough to keep Shyam in the dungeons for a decade, at least.

However, the case took a topsy-turvy turn when it reached the courts. When Preeti testified, in front of the jury, it became clear to everyone that Shyam had murdered Vivek only after Vivek refused to marry her; there were at least three witnesses to the conversation that had taken place between Vivek and Shyam. There were also testimonies from other people who gave Shyam a ‘good character’ certificate. He was established, beyond reasonable doubt, as a man of principles. The courtroom was packed and people were anxious to hear the verdict of the jury…..

The jury delivered a stunning verdict, which made front-page news the next day. They had acquitted Shyam of the crime in a whopping 11:1 majority!! As he was being taken out of the court, the situation outside was chaotic. There were people cheering him on and shouting praises. But deep down, Shyam was scarred for life…….





Writer’s note : This was an incident which occurred in the late fifties and this case was one more reason why the jury system was abolished in India. The jury system had already began to draw a lot of flak and criticism for various technical reasons. Finally, the Government of India decided to do away with it and installed the Judge system. Whether it was for the better or for the worse is something which people are discussing even today.