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Chapter 19 - 19

Arjun said, "Madhav Kaka, today I had a very strange dream. A little boy, perhaps five years old, woke me from my sleep and walked ahead of me, shining the light of a torch behind him for me to see."

The torch's white beam was casting a milky glow in the dark room. For a few moments, I remained suspended between confusion—wondering whether it was a dream or reality—but I knew clearly that it had been a vivid, living dream. The moment the little boy crossed the threshold of the room's door, he vanished into thin air.

From that instant, my sleep broke so completely that no matter how hard I tried, I could not fall asleep again.

"Madhav Kaka, what could this dream possibly mean?"

Madhav Kaka smiled gently and replied with deep insight:"This dream carries a profound symbolic meaning.

That child is your inner self, your soul, who has come to lead you out of the entanglements and darkness of life.

"A boy of five or six years represents innocence, the purity of the soul, and that untouched, truthful part hidden within you."Waking you from sleep is a clear sign that your mind or soul is calling you toward awakening. It is urging you to become conscious of something you have been ignoring. This 'sleep' is not merely physical; it may also be an emotional or spiritual slumber."Walking ahead of you—the child is a guide. He is showing you the path. It suggests that at this turning point in your life, you are seeking direction and light."Turning back and shining the torchlight for you—this means your past, or rather your inner self, is illuminating the way forward.

Even in darkness, there is light, and that light is coming from within you.

It is a reminder that you are not alone; your own soul is lighting your path."Madhav Kaka continued, "I have spoken to my nephew on your behalf. He currently assists a renowned criminal lawyer. He discussed your case with him, and the lawyer has assured us that he will help you at the earliest. Ask one of your family members to go and meet him. Though he belongs to this profession, he is a thorough gentleman and only takes up genuine cases."

Don't worry about the fees. My nephew, Suyash, will do everything possible to assist you. He will try his best so that you don't have to pay any fee, though you may need to arrange for the security deposit. His assurance itself is enough. If he didn't want to help, he would have clearly refused.

"Perhaps you have done some good deed that a successful criminal lawyer like Sudarshan Sinha has agreed to take up your case. He has sent my nephew to gather some preliminary information about your matter, which might help in securing bail.

Suyash could have handled your case himself, but there is no better lawyer than Sudarshan Sinha when it comes to getting bail for an accused in a murder case.

"Tears welled up in Arjun's eyes."Madhav Kaka, you are like a god to me," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "The way you are helping me and standing by me in this crisis—I will remain eternally grateful to you. You have shown such faith in me, an almost stranger.

I bow my head before you in sincere humility. Even my own people have not done for me what you are doing."Bail in a murder case is only the beginning, not the end.

For innocents like Arjun, it is merely half justice. The court says, "Prove that you are not guilty," but sometimes the very process of proving one's innocence breaks a man's soul more than anything else.

In the pitch-dark night, Arjun's mother sat near the doorway. Hope glimmered in her eyes, yet layers of exhaustion were visible on her face. On the other side sat Arjun's sister, Ranjana, and her husband, Sudhanshu. Arjun's mother was turning the beads of a tulsi mala with trembling hands.

Suyash sat with the three of them, discussing Arjun's case in a calm but firm manner. A quiet hope was steadily growing in everyone's heart. They all knew that their only remaining path was to engage a skilled and experienced criminal lawyer who could craft a strong strategy and secure bail for Arjun from the court.

Arjun's name had appeared in an FIR registered under Section 302 of the IPC—the charge of murder. People in the neighborhood had been gossiping about it all day. Newspaper photographers clicked pictures, and in certain sections of society, a verdict against Arjun had already been delivered.

But Ranjana and their mother knew he was innocent—he had been framed. Truth often fails to raise its voice because lies and conspiracies silence it.

Only a skilled lawyer could fight the legal battle and bring the truth to light.With Suyash's help, they managed to get in touch with the experienced criminal lawyer Sudarshan Sinha. There were many lawyers in the city, but in a serious case like murder, experience and reputation mattered greatly. Suyash had specifically advised Sudhanshu to insist on Sinha Sahab's name.

He emphasized Sinha Sahab's vast experience in criminal judgments, sessions courts, and the High Court. Everyone agreed with one voice.Names of other lawyers also kept coming up—lawyers who had spent hours devising strategies for people in trouble, gathered evidence from witnesses, and sometimes succeeded in securing bail for the accused, even sending several of them home with powerful arguments. Yet they were all familiar with Sudarshan Sinha's name. His record was clean and honest. He had handled bail applications in numerous murder cases—successful in some, unsuccessful in others—and this very honesty was his greatest achievement.

When Ranjana called Sinha Sahab, he clearly stated right at the beginning of the conversation: "My job is to stand with truth and fight according to the law."In cases of murder, the offense is non-bailable, meaning the police cannot grant bail themselves; it must be sought from the court. However, depending on the circumstances of the accused, bail can still be granted by the court.

(This is a settled legal principle— the granting of bail falls under the discretionary power of the court, and even in non-bailable offenses, the court may grant regular bail.)

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