Fateful Contract

Custody Clash

Tejasswi and Karan were stunned to see the director of Sunshine Orphanage appear as Rohan's witness.

"Your honor, I'd like to point out that this woman is Mrs. Dixit, the director of Sunshine Orphanage—the entity the defendant manipulated to falsely assert her adoption of baby Saanjh. Yet, Director Dixit's statement provides a stark contrast," Mr. Chowdhury explained.

The judge peered over his glasses at the individuals before him and declared,

"Before testifying, the witness must take the oath."

A man presented the religious book for the oath, and Mrs. Dixit pledged that her testimony would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, invoking God's assistance.

"Do you, Director Dixit, recognize Miss Tejasswi Sharma, Mr. Karan Kundrra, or her daughter Saanjh Kundrra?" Chowdhary questioned, indicating the direction in which Tejasswi and Karan were seated.

"I know them as the relatives of Mrs. Anjana Kundrra, but we haven't had a personal meeting."

Director Dixit's lie was executed with precision, leaving Karan and Tejasswi in shock. They exchanged a glance of disbelief, and Karan offered comfort by squeezing Tejasswi's hand.

"But they assert that they adopted baby Saanjh through your orphanage, Sunshine, who was born just last year."

Director Dixit confidently declared, "There is no registration of a baby girl named Saanjh, born in March last year, in our orphanage. Additionally, no baby girl under a year old has been adopted from our orphanage in the past year."

As proof, Mr. Chowdhary submitted the records of Sunshine orphanage, a fact that Tejasswi, Karan, and Vicky were well aware had been tampered with. The exchanged smirks between Rohan and Chowdhary conveyed the truth to these three.

"Your honor, may I have permission to cross-examine the plaintiff's witness?" Vicky asked with confidence as he stood up.

Granting permission, the judge nodded with a sigh.

With a smirk, Vicky addressed the woman in the witness stand in a requesting tone, "Director Dixit, could you kindly repeat the testimony you gave a while ago?"

"Objection, your honor. The defense lawyer is unnecessarily prolonging the proceedings. There seems to be no valid reason for him to insist on Director Dixit repeating her testimony," Chowdhary stated to halt Vicky's line of questioning.

Presenting a fabricated witness, it was clear they harbored apprehensions about the defense lawyer's potential to unveil the deception.

"Your honor, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I couldn't hear the witness previously. I kindly request a repeat, just once." Vicky's polite request resonated with the judge.

"But, your honor..."

"I overruled the objection. The defense lawyer is merely asking for the repetition of the testimony. I see no harm in revisiting the same information."

Vicky expressed gratitude to the judge, then turned to Director Dixit, delivering his request with a polite veneer and a sly grin. Director Dixit echoed her earlier words, stoutly refuting any connection with Saanjh's adoption. Tejasswi and Karan, though taken aback and irked, weren't surprised; after all, they knew that birds of a feather flock together, and in this case, Rohan and his lawyer proved to be peas in a pod.

"Director Dixit, you claim Saanjh was never registered at your orphanage, yet these legal adoption papers proudly display the Sunshine orphanage name and the director's seal on the processing letter. Mind shedding some light on this peculiar situation?"