"You are aware how the hasty judgement of Pandya king Nedunchezhiyan resulted in sentencing the innocent Kovalan to death and the consequent tragedy of Madurai city going into flames, ignited by the righteous indignation of Kovalan's wife Kannagi, who demanded justice for her wronged husband. I have created the system of appeal, only to ensure that such an event should never happen in our country. In most of the cases, the people concerned accept the verdict of the judge. Only a few people, who feel that they have not got a fair verdict, choose to appeal. There is nothing wrong in giving another chance to the appellants" said the king. "Has the judge who heard the case come?" he continued.
When the judge arrived at his court, the king asked him to sit down and told him, "You are a wise and learned man with considerable experience in hearing cases. I have no doubt that you gave the verdict, only after ascertaining the facts through a thorough enquiry and weighing the evidence presented to you. However, since the person convicted by you has appealed against his conviction, the three of us - yourself, the Minister and me - are together going to review the facts of the case."
"Yes, Your Majesty" said the judge.
"Ok. Tell me the facts of the case."
"When a woman named Kanthamani was walking on the street, a man who was hiding somewhere in the street, suddenly came near her, snatched the necklace worn by her and ran away. People in the neighbourhood, on hearing the woman's cries, chased the thief. One of them caught the thief and took away the chain from him. Presently, other people also arrived at the place. They handed over the thief to the guards" said the judge.
"Oh, such a simple case!" remarked the king. "What did the accused say?"
"The name of the accused is Neelavan. He lives on the street, where the crime took place. He said that he was sleeping at his usual place on the street and that on hearing the noise, ran to the place to find out what was happening. He claims that people had mistaken him to be thief and caught him."
"In that case, how did the necklace come into his possession?" asked the minister, in a tone of derision.
"He didn't admit that the necklace was in his possession, or that it was taken away from him."
"Did anyone witness the person who caught Neelavan, grabbing the necklace from him?" asked the king.
"No, Your Majesty. People only saw a man catching Neelavan. I think it was not possible for people who were running towards the spot from behind to have seen the man grabbing the necklace from Neelavan." said the judge, somewhat reluctantly.
"Who was the person who caught Neelavan?"
"His name is Soman. He is a small merchant. He is a dignified person, respected in the society."
"Let me ask you one question. If the accused had been a dignified person and the person who caught him a man living on the street and if the accused had claimed that he didn't steal the necklace, what would you have done?" asked the king.
The judge hesitated for a moment and then said, "I would have considered whether his claim could have been true."
"When the person caught is one who lives on the street, we readily conclude that he should be the culprit! Ask the guards to check the background of Soman. Come and meet me after this enquiry is over" said the King.
The judge met the king after two days.
He told the king, "Please pardon me, Your Majesty! My finding was wrong. When I checked the background of Soman as per your advice, I learnt that he has huge debts. When the guards interrogated him, he confessed that it was he who snatched the necklace from the woman. Driven by an urge to raise money to meet the demand of some of his pressing debtors, he had, on an impulse, snatched the necklace of Kanthamani, thinking that since it was a lonely street, he would be able to escape, after snatching the necklace. But, when he saw that people were chasing him, he caught hold of a man running across the street and pretended to have grabbed the necklace from him. If you permit me, I will reverse my verdict, by releasing Neelavan and convicting Soman."
"You may do accordingly. To err is human. So, there is no need for you to feel bad about your coming to a wrong conclusion. Bear it in mind that you should focus on finding the truth, without having the background of any person in your mind" said the king.
thErndhu seyvahdhE muRai.
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