In His Defence

Sunder was a rustic fellow who was often considered dull-witted by some of his neighbors. One day, Sunder decided to make some ghee, but he didn’t have a suitable pot. Preoccupied with the desire for ghee, he took little notice of his circumstances. Commandeering a nice earthenware pot from a neighbor, the neighbor was understandably unhappy. Unfortunately, Sunder promised to return the pot, which broke within two days, knowing it was an unlucky incident.

When the ghee was made, Sunder stood the pot on the table and rubbed his hands with satisfaction. Now he had the ghee, but the cat, which was always hungry, smelled it. When Sunder attempted to glue and stick the broken pieces together before returning the pot, the cat delicately placed one of its paws into the mess.

Broken but patched together, Sunder hoped the neighbor wouldn’t notice its frailties. However, the neighbor saw it and shouted, “Hey! That pot has been broken. What are you going to do about it?”

Sunder didn’t wait anymore but hurried out of the house, repeating the neighbor’s words in his mind. Two days later, Sunder received a summons to appear before the magistrate for breaking his neighbor’s pot. He was indignant that anyone would make a fuss over an old pot but remembered a wise old lawyer who gave advice for a small fee.

Sunder went to the lawyer and asked how he could defend himself. The lawyer, having collected his modest fee, said, “There are only three ways to win this case. One, you can swear that the pot was already broken when you took it. Two, you can say you never borrowed the pot in the first place. Or three, you admit it but claim your neighbor broke it after you returned it.”

Taking his advice, Sunder rehearsed his defense. When the case was heard in court, the magistrate asked Sunder what he had to say. Standing confidently, Sunder declared in a loud voice, “Your Honor, I swear the pot was already broken when I borrowed it, and I am sure my neighbor broke it after I returned it. And what is more, I never borrowed the pot.”

With that, Sunder sat down, waiting for the magistrate’s decision. To his dismay, instead of dismissing the case, the magistrate fined him, saying, “Don’t you ever come into this court with such nonsense again!”

The story concludes with Sunder pondering his experience and the magistrate exercising justice fairly, albeit with a slight comic touch.