This Happened in a Family Court

(T.G. John, Advocate, Trichur)

'Marriages are made in heaven; but divorces are certainly made on earth.

The following is the strange story of Alice Melis from Cagliari, Sardinia.

Alice Melis ruled the roost, if ever a woman did. Every time her husband went out, she put a padlock on him, right where a man's pride is hurt most! And every night when timed Livio Melis, her husband, came home, he had to strip and stand while she unlocked him like a slave.

Sad little Livio had no idea what he was letting himself in for when he married pretty Alice. Alice's trouble was that she was madly jealous. She told friends shortly after the wedding that she was sure Livio was having an 'affair'. "But I will find a way to keep him for myself she swore.

Using her practical mind and exploiting Livio's gullible character, she double stitched a leather pouch to a belt and fastened a padlock to the buckle. Then she brandished her invention and challenged Livio "If you really love me and want to prove your faithfulness, you will wear this". Just to humour her, Livio consented. From then on the chastity belt was used every time he went to work or strolled out to the local cafe.

"I gave h because I was fed up with the scenes she made each day". Livio told a shocked domestic court-ten years later! "I, did not realise it would become a habit."

Domineering Alice treated him worse than a dog. The humiliation of wearing the belt tore his nerves to shreds. His once thriving pottery business collapsed and in the end he had to sell his shop. But while Livio drifted into hawking caged brids on street corners to eke out a miserable living. Alice prospered. She started embroidering table cloths, opened a souvenir shop and finally threw her husband out on the street.

"I was glad to go" timid Livio told the Court when they examined Alice's petition for separation. Her reasons: extreme mental cruelty and physical maltreatment. Ten years of living in a private hell were expressed in a few sentences by Livio "For the past two years we were living like brother and sister! It was she who betrayed me with other men and then told about it while unlocking the chastity belt. She would laugh and jeer at me in public. She called me a spineless creature and threw pots and pans at me."

Neighbours gave evidence that Alice had boasted of how she beat Livio to keep him under control. Dismissing the cruelty charges against Livio the Judge said 'The key to the issue is that belt. Any man who would suffer such indignity for so long would hardly be cruel to his wife!! He also granted a separation and ordered Alice to pay the costs.

The chastity belt was seized and sent to the Police museum. Livio was a free man at last, but as Alice returned to her shop and embroidery she remained as unrepentant as ever.

"I would do it again" she vowed the men I own, I own lock, stock and barrel!"

*                 *           *           *           *           *           *

Under the insidious onslaughts of modern permissiveness, family realities are recognised more liberally by courts of law in Great Britain. There is even a suggestion to change one hundred years' old title of Divorce Court to "The Family Division". In bygone years respectability was all. Victorian Judges solemnly ruled that it was manslaughter and not murder if a man killed his wife upon finding her in the act of adultery - but that it remained murder if he found his fiancee or mistress in the same happy position. Now-a-days such tiresome distinctions have disappeared from the law. In this post-Wolfenden age, it would probably be held manslaughter and not murder if a homosexual found his "friend" in bed with another man.

Courts in Great Britain have retreated so far from sound old principles of family life that there is no longer even a judicial consensus that a man is the head of his house. Far from it. Granting both a Surrey antique dealer and his wife joint divorce-decrees on the ground of respective cruelty to each other in October 1970, Mr. Justice Ormrod commented that the husband had wanted to be "that most unlikely thing - the master in his own house." I do not know that there ever was such a person" said the learned Judge who is himself .married. "I suppose once upon a time there was, but it seems to be today, when these feelings arise a man, particularly a middle-aged man, it leads to a succession of fight wars and battles between man and wife."

The police too can sometimes be remarkably appreciative of 'family realities'. As in the incident early this year, somewhere in England, when an escaping thief hotly pursued by two women, hopped in a cab and told the driver to drive like fury as his wife and mother-in-law were after him! Sympathetically, the cab driver sped away - only to be stopped later at a road block when his passenger was led away by the police. The man was a bank robber and the two women had been clerks trying to stop him! Yet the cab driver had little difficulty in persuading the police that he had genuinely believed his customers' story. After all what could have been more natural! The cab driver, the policeman - they had all wives and mother-in-laws.

The truth is that the Courts are for more earthly and pragmatic about family problems than most peoples realised. In particular, they are much less bourgeois - morality minded than many of our so-called ‘trendy' progressives.

The Sins of Adam

(T.G. John, Advocate, Trichur)

Kumar Hemendra Choudhary was the eldest son and heir-apparent to the big estate of Maharaja Acharya Choudhary of DIGAGHAT of the former East Bengal which later became Eastern Pakistan after the Partition in 1947 and has now become Bangladesh. Hemendra was a tall handsome young man of 25 studying in the Second Year B. A. Pass Class of Presidency College, Calcutta; From his age, it could be well deduced that he was not quite serious at his studies. Every year he avoided appearing at the examination. An ordinary student would have been turned out of the college for such omissions, but the British Principal of the college allowed him to continue in the same class year after year as he was the son of a Maharaja. He was also the captain of the Cricket Team of the college. He lived in Calcutta in fine style quite befitting a prince. He resided in a fine two-storied bungalow with lawn, flower, fruit and kitchen gardens and a bachelor as he was, he was living alone in the house with a full retinue of servants, cook, chowkidar, gate keeper and a driver for his Minerva saloon car.

It is sometimes said that there is scarcely any human being of culture and refinement who is not profoundly influenced by a sweet female voice or enchanted by the melody emanating from a soprano or contralto. Hemendra was no exception.

Hemendra had a telephone at his residence. It was in the early days of the telephone system when the 'Exchange' had to be called by the subscriber for getting connection. One fine morning, Hemendra lifted the receiver and asked for Presidency College - No. 423. From the other end, came the reply in a sweet voice, "Yes sir, sorry, the number you called for is engaged, will you please call after three minutes?" Hemendra hung the receiver on the hook. He was so pleasantly surprised by the enchanting melody of the telephone girl that he wanted to call her again immediately. He called again after 3 minutes, this time his heart was pounding heavily. "Are you the Miss who asked me to wait for 3 minutes forgetting 'College 423?" Out came the reply from the same soprano, "Yes Sir, but unfortunately, the number is still engaged. I am afraid you will have to wait for some more time".

"That does not matter, But may I know your name". 'Why should you know it', cooed the soprano. 'But if you are very particular, my name is Molina Sarkar'.

Next morning and thereafter, for several mornings in succession Hemendra was at the telephone talking to Molina. He came to know all about her, that her native place was Dacca, she came to Calcutta to find a job, that she was 21 years old and she got the present job of a telephone operator some 2 years ago. And later, he was informed that she was a good singer and was supplementing her income by working as a background singer in a local theatre and her great ambition was to become a Radio Artist. A young man and woman having thus become friendly over the telephone, things began to progress rapidly. Hemendra's car would often be seen in the evening before Working Girls' Hostel, where Molina was living, waiting for Molina to be taken out. And always it ended in dining out in First Class restaurants and seeing films.

Molina Sarkar was a dark statuesque girl with billowing hair, chiselled nose and lips and a chubby face. She was in fact a rare specimen of dusky beauty and known in her circle of friends as, 'Kasti Devi' (granite goddess) and 'Abu Rani' (ebony beauty) and 'Krishna Bhamini' (black enchantress). Inspite of her dusky complexion, she had an extra ordinary personality and her silvery voice even in her ordinary talk or rhythmic laughter would seem to the hearers like a sweet melody flowing from afar.

For six months, Hemendra and Molina flitted like love-doves with a song in their hearts and star-dust in their eyes. Within that period Hemendra through his influence with All India Radio Officials procured for her the job of a full fledged Radio Artiste. She was acclaimed as highly talented in Carnatic music. The greatest day came when Hemendra presented her a jewelled set, all set with diamonds and rubies and promised to marry her within three more months' time when his examinations would be over. Molina was eagerly counting the days, when things began to happen.

At the Radio Station, Molina acquired a girl friend. Her name was Mridula Mukherjee and she was a tall, fair and vivacious girl of about 24 with a fine figure whose work at the station was that of an announcer. Her large eyes with delicately poised eyebrows and lashed over with curved eyelashes were capable of stunning any young man. And gradually Hemendra began to switch over his time and attention from Molina to Mridula. This was resented vehemently by Molina who began to treat Hemendra contemptuously and the volcano burst into violent eruption when Molina declined with disdain all attempts of Hemendra to pacify her and meet her again. Considering his status, wealth and appearance, this scornful treatment by a woman was a new experience to him.

One January evening when it was bitterly cold outside, and a dense fog had enveloped the atmosphere, Hemendra Choudhary's car appeared at the Emergency Ward of the Medical College Hospital. Inside the car Hemendra was found in an unconscious condition, occasionally showing symptoms of severe pain in his left upper arm and great breathing difficulty. Steychnine was injected to improve his respiration but it proved to be of no avail. Complete respiratory paralysis occurred at 2 A.M. and in another 10 minutes, Hemendra was dead. The mysterious circumstances, under which Hemendra died necessitated a post-mortem examination which revealed that his death was due to respiratory paralysis on account of poisoning of the circulatory system by some virulent poison injected into the blood stream. On his left upper arm, there was a puncture like that of a needle with a tiny laceration on one side.

The investigation was taken up by the CID of Police. Molina was interrogated and a search of her room resulted in the finding of an unfinished woolen cardigan and nickel plated steel needle, about seven inches long.

Molina Sarkar gave a statement before the police about her relation with Hemendra and their marriage settlement and Mridula's entering his life which was resented by her. And how later one day, Hemendra came to her room in the hostel breaking all hostel rules, she was so disgusted with him that she even threatened to call police. Molina was sitting in her bedroom and knitting a cardigan when Hemendra quietly opened the door and closed it again behind him. Hemendra then rushed towards her and taking her in his arms threw her down in the bed in an attempt to violate her. Not able to resist him, she gave a thrust with the knitting needle that she had in her hand on his left upper arm. He jumped up in agony and ran out of the room and that she knew nothing more.

The knitting needle was subjected to examination by chemical microscopy when some black sticky substance was found on the needle point. It was found that it was poison akin to 'Curare'(arrow poison) obtained from the Andaman Island and that it was partly soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid and completely soluble in alcohol.

Molina Sarkar was arrested by the police on suspicion. It was pointed out that the needle was very old and rusty with which she could never have knitted the cardigan and that the needle had poison on it which she would have procured from Calcutta with a murderous intention. But Molina did not detract an inch from her previous statement. , She was sent up for trial for murdering Hemendra Chowdhary with a poisoned crochet needle and was committed to the sessions which gave her the benefit of the doubt and acquitted her.

The mystory of the case, however, cleared itself when after the acquittal Molina Sarkar, the Silvery Soprano, committed suicide leaving the following note :

"I cannot stand this life any more without my Hemendra, whom I have cruelly killed. I deserve no compassion".

On Pornography

(By T.G. John, Advocate, Trichur)

One of the most important teachings of the early Christian fathers was that sex was sinful and it was better to marry than to be consumed with lust. A glorification of virginity resulted in chastity being virtually identified with absolute celibacy. And yet only 700 years ago Saint Thomas Acquinas did permit pre-marital intercourse between those who were formally betrothed - on the understanding that they would not desert afterwards.

This sexual attitude lasted well past Shakespeare's day and is precisely the mortality which some have adopted today. The great hardening of this Western attitude - apart from a temporary rigour under Cromwell when adultery was made a capital offence - came when the Victorian middle classes set the moral tone in English society.

Some civilizations - among the Asians as well as the Eskimos - frown heavily on adultery, but offer the company of a host's wife to an over-night guest because they do not believe that it impairs anyone's chastity. In other communities unlimited sexual intercourse is permitted as most natural to young people before marriage and strict monogamy expected afterwards.

Are ideals of continence and virginity to be permanently abandoned in a long orgy of sexual licence - or are they merely cast up for re-examination, new thinking and responsible decisions on accepted morality?

It could have been only against such a background of diverse moral notions existing in different parts of the globe that two diverse judicial pronouncements were made, one in England and the other in India regarding a common issue :

"Whether the controversial novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' literary master-piece of the celebrated author D.H. Lawrenece - is obscene literature or not."

The novel earned a general reprieve in the Central Criminal Court in London in November 1960 when it was held that to read of the exploits of Constance (Lady Chatterley) would not 'deprave and corrupt' the reader. The contention of the prosecution that the book commended sensuality 'almost as a virtue' was rejected. In May, 1961, the Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate of Bombay held that the book is obscene, in an eighteen page judgment in a case in which four partners of a bookstall in South Bombay were charged for having been in possession of unexpurgated copies of the novel.

It is not my purpose to criticise judgments but some considerations mainly pertaining'to literary criticism might be advanced. It is difficult to say where frank literature ends and pornography begins. In the controversial novel we come across intimate description of about a dozen sexual intercourses in the minutest detail where the heroine Constance (Lady Chatterley) commits adultery with their game keeper. The book by itself 1s said to be a satire on the upper class aristocracy. Nevertheless, its potentiality as one of the best literary pieces of the present era could not be underrated.

What is pornography? A serious attempt has been made in America to distinguish between acceptable books which contain passages of erotic realism and sheer pornography which sets out simply to titillate. The stream of smutbooks in France makes no attempt to describe life as it is really lived, even in the most depraved circumstances. Its chief feature is its deliberate unreality. Psychiatrists analysing the structure of such stories find the writers deliberately seizing on out strongest taboos, religious and otherwise. They detect wishful thinking, an exaggerated revolt against all the social rules of sex. In the American analysis 'Pornography and the Law' by Dr. Eberhard, the two categories of books appear quite unmistably different - the one true to life and the other full of sex - fantasy and Freudian Nightmare. But the law still makes no clear distinction between these two classes of writings. Both types tend to be lumped together.

Coming back to that amiable young lady, Lady C. many famous books of the past are open to the objection now advanced against the novel of D.H, Lawrence. The 'Memoirs of Casanova' and even 'Candide' of Voltaire and some of Anatole France's novels are, a Puritan would say, tarred with the same brush. Yet no liberal education could be complete without these books. The very task of regulating literature is repugnant to the fair ranging human spirit; it is clearly inadmissible that Authority should be entrusted with the task of regulating literature. To crib, cabine and confine literature is clearly inadvisable.

The arms of Law are very long; but then let Her Majesty, the Law think twice before it touches the sanctum - sanctorum of the Goddess of Literature.

Ladies First

(By T.G. John, Advocate, Trichur)

The following case is one of the first known cases in English Criminal History where the dead body was disposed by dismemberment.

On 2nd of March 1725, a watchman found, much to his horror, a human head on the shore of the River Thames where the Tate Gallery now stands. It was placed on a tombstone in St. Margaret's Church yard where people Hocked to see it. Later it was hoisted on top of a pole and several people thought they recognised one Mr. Hayes who lived with Iris wife in the Tyburn Road. Catherine Hayes meanwhile was searching vigorously for her husband who according to her left her, saying that he was going to Portrayal. Finally she identified the head on the pole as that of her husband. By this time other parts of the body were found in Marylebone fields, in a pond.

The grief-stricken Mrs. Hayes overplayed her part a bit, which finally led to her arrest alongwith two other persons Wood and Billings, for the murder of her husband. Wood finally made a clean confession. Mrs. Hayes had apparently reasons for hating her husband and the most important being that he was a free-thinker and therefore, it was no more a sin to kill him than her dog. He had also told her accomplices that Hayes had murdered his two children and buried them under a pear and an apple tree. Mr. Hays was plied with liquor and murdered with a hatchet. The head was then severed over a pail to catch the blood. Mrs. Hayes wanted to boil the head to destroy the features but her accomplices were frightened of the operation and ran away with the head to a lime wharf near Horseferry Passage (now Lambeth Bridge) where they concealed it.

Wood died in Newgate prison before execution. Billings was hanged and Mrs. Hayes was sentenced to be burned alive as being guilty of petty treason (husband murder) and Mrs. Hayes was burned alive. This law continued in force in the land of Sir Edward Coke till 1793 and the last woman to suffer under it was Phoobe Harris in 1788.

And this one from the land of Clinton. The following is the case of a 28 year old Kentuckian sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband where the modus operandi of the disposal of the dead body was also dismemberment.

In 1947, Nira Housden and her husband bus-driver Charles Housden aged 29, lived in High Land Park, Michigan near Detroit. Nina was a very beautiful woman but she suffered from an insatiable jealousy continuously accusing her husband of infidelity although his diversions were only beer drinking and smoking. His weekly wage packet was only 65 dollars and this was hardly conducive lo extramarital relations. Made frantic by his wife's neurotic conduct, Charles Housden left her several times. But Nina's seductive cajolery always made the healing. Finally things reached a final pass, Charles got a Court injunction in his favour forbidding Nina to phone him during his working hours. Even that did not work out the desired result and the demented husband filed suit, for divorce despite protestations from his wife.

On 18th December 1947 Nina, playing the trump card of feminine cajolery and coquettishness persuaded her husband to meet her in her Highland Park apartment. There she plied him with drink and wifely lust until he collapsed, exhausted in the bed. And then she did it. A clothesline was looped round his neck and she strangled him with the ease of a professional.

The whole night she slept beside the corpse. In the morning she had her breakfast and rolled back the carpet, wadded the floor with newspapers and then in two lengthy and leisurely sessions (with an interval for sleep) she dismembered the corpse of the man whom she could not think of going with another. The blood stained newspapers and the blood stained dress were destroyed in the stove while each dismembered portion was weapped in gay X' mas paper (only four days for white X' mas) and each bundle tied with blue ribbon. The bundles were then piled in the rear seat of her Ford Car. Her intention was to drive to some secluded spot in Kentucky Hills and then dispose of the bundles. During the journey the car broke down at Toledo. Ohio. She was told by the Garage owner that it would take two days for repair but Nina announced her intension to the man that she would prefer to stay in the car all time than occupy a room in a hotel. When on the second day, a disagreeable smell permeated both car and eventually garage Mrs. Housden calmly told them that her back seat bundles contained venison. On X' mas Eve. the repair of the car was over but an inquisitive garage hand investigated the foul smelling packages in the back as the owner was taking a nap in the front seat. In the very first bundle a decomposed human leg was found and the police was instantly called to the scene. Nina Housden admitted the killing - 'My husband was not a bad man, but he was just running about with other women, and that was why I did it'. She comforted herself.

Found legally sane, she was indicted as a charge of first degree murder and found guilty.

Hot Mail and E-Mail Serves Lawyers

(By A.J. Jose Aedaiodi, Advocate, Ernakulam)

One need not own a computer to be an E-Mail owner. Anybody and everybody can have one or many E-Mail address. One need not be a paid subscriber to the web site or the Internet or such other service providers to own an E-Mail facility.

FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions

What to do or How to get an E-Mail address. The answer is simple and is more easier than the question. It is not very easily asked by one and all. Usually people do not care to bother. What one has to do is simple. One has to approach a Computer -Internet - E-Mail Service Centre, which is fast increasing along with the Telephone booths.

Second step is to tell the operator there to open a free "hot mail" address for yourself.

Then the programmes goes like this-Dial 172222 for access to the Internet connection. Enter your account number and pass word-which the operator knows. Thus you get access to the Internet you can click the mouse to the free hot mail, and you come across.

(1)    Click at sign up here.

(2)    Type your name.

(3)    Type your proposed hot mail address for Example your want your logo as "notaryjos."

(4)    Type your year of birth.

(5)    Click your country at India by moving the mouse across the screen.

(6)    And click at submit Registration.

Congratulations "Notarjos @ hotmail.Com." is your E-mail address. If your logo is not accepted try once again with another logo and submit Registration with a new or altered name till it is accepted. You can remember your pass word for future use.

It takes hardly seven minutes to register one hot mail address. You can register any number of hot mail address as you wish. If you do not use the hot mail for 120 days the Registration automatically gets wiped off.

Why One Should Have One?

Again the answer is simple. It is your private personal address. It is a notice board where you can write anything and send copies of the news and information to a number of persons. You can send a number of pages of printed material and even a colour photograph of your new born baby to your friend or anybody anywhere in the world provided that person's E-mail address is known to you.

What Lawyers do and How It Helps

How to helps a Lawyer is explained easily. A Lawyer in the Muniff’s Court Devicolam files a suit for injunction and obtains an Interim Order. The respondent wish to file a Civil Revision Petition before the High Court. Here comes your E-mail to help. If your Injunction suit and Interim Applications at Munsiff Court is made in a computer floppy by a few clicks of the mouse sitting in your office at Devicolam mountains the entire file is transmitted to the lawyer at Ernakulam instantaneously.

May be you are right; but how would that lawyer at Ernakulam know that a file is send to him and how will he reply or receive it and acknowledge.

If you want your Ernakulam Lawyer to instantaneously receive and go through the file you may have to tell him. Now you may ring him up over the telephone and say I have send an E-mail and that is all. Yes, what he has to do is just simple. Check his E-mail and to he may down load and print or the file remains saved in his mail box or he can get it anytime from anywhere in the world.

Anywhere In the World?

Yes one can get into the E-mail by operating from any computer connected to Internet. It does not matter if you are in Japan, New York or Rajakad. It is advised that you check your mail box once in a week or every day.

How to do that

Just walk into any booth or any computer with Internet and get into the internet and type your E-mail Address Logo and pass word; your information and all that is send to you with their E-mail address, date and time are all there for you. It is as simple as you think. Next time do not forget, to print your E-mail address on your letter pad, docket sheet and of course on your visiting card.

Yet another word; Your free hot mail address is advantageous because if you subscribe to an Internet connection and obtain your pass word as ad cos @ Md VSNL net in, and if you do not continue to pay the subscription your E-mail facility is likely to be stopped. But free hot mail address remains free and of course for your private personal use.

What else

Yes you can log in and go in for an E-chat with your colleagues. Lawyers from the world over can actually talk to each other on the computer with E-chat. Need I say more.

How Costly?

It would hardly take one local call to transmit a 200 pages file from one computer to any E-mail address. This is how it is done. Once you finish Typing or Scanning the matter and documents, the entire matter is collected and packed into one Electronic parcel. It is sent at a speed that would reach the destination almost instantaneously. We get confirmation on commanding to send that the addressee had been "served" but it will be "received" only when he opens his E-mail box. You can send a greeting card with all colorful embroidery to many persons at a single click to send. It would turn out to be cheaper than the cheapest and faster than the fastest, and you become, smarter than the smartest.