A time to pause and think, not celebrate

it’s 3.30 pm. we have just about half an hour more before the supreme court concludes the second day of the hearing of bharat shah’s bail plea. and just like that, we hear those magical words dropping from justice m b shah’s mouth: “bail granted!� rashesh shah, the 26-year-old son of bharat shah, who has been fighting almost a solitary battle for his father’s bail, leaps up from his seat, almost unable to believe what he has just heard. vijaybhai, bharatbhai’s brother, breaks down and begins to weep. everybody in the court, even strangers, turn around to congratulate us in whispers. rashesh struts out to inform his mother that the nightmare has just ended. he struggled to find a phone, because cellphones are not allowed inside the supreme court. a generous lawyer offers his phone and rashesh makes his call to inform his mother, a woman, who has lived through this trying period with tremendous dignity. i notice a smiling kapil sibal emerge. i hug him and call him my hero. just then ram jethmalani comes to us with a warm smile on his face. rashesh rushes forward and touches jethmalani’s feet. as i walk out of supreme court, the media begins to hound me. rashesh, who is media-shy, gets into a car and leaves me all alone. my cellphone begins to ring, as calls from all over india begin to pour in for my reaction. this is what i tell them — “this is no time for jubilation, but for a deep introspection.� we must ask the state and the executives that don’t they need to behave more responsibly when they have such enormous power at their disposal? acts like pota, and mcoca, if misused, can do irreversible damage to the person against whom it is used.