The Windows Rattle with Kharak Singh's Rattle
You must have heard this quote from your childhood, but you may not know the story behind it.
Kharak Singh was the paternal uncle of the Maharaja of Patiala, the most influential large landlord of Patiala and also the village panchayat sarpanch.
One day, getting fed up with the banter, he came to his nephew and said that the seat of the session judge of the city is vacant, make me a judge.
(In those days any session judge was ordered by the British Viceroy)
After writing leave from his nephew, Kharak Singh went to the Viceroy, the Viceroy read the letter.
Viceroy Name?
Kharak Singh'
Viceroy Education?
Kharak Singh. "Do you want to bring the judge or the schoolmaster?"
Viceroy laughing, "Sardarji, I mean, have you received any education in law or not, how will you distinguish between good and bad?"
Kharak Singh stroked his mustache and said, "Why should I carry a load of books like a donkey for so much work? I have been making Panchayat decisions for years.
The Viceroy thought that he should be confused with the Maharaja who had recommended him and his uncle, signed the petition and issued the decree of Kharak Singh Justice.
Now Kharak Singh returned to Patiala and arrived in the courtroom as a judge the next day. Coincidentally, the first case was murder.
In the dock, there were four accused on one side and a crying woman on the other side.
Before sitting on the chair, Justice saw the parties carefully and understood the matter.
A police officer came with some paper and said, 'My lord, this woman is Kranti Kaur. It is alleged that these four people have killed her husband.'
Justice Kharak Singh asked the woman for details.
The woman said, "The one on the right side had a spear in his hand, and the other one had a sickle in his hand, and the other two had sticks in their hands. All four of them came out of Kumad's house and killed Khassim (husband) by beating him to death."
Justice Kharak Singh looked at the four with anger and asked, 'Why did you kill the man, you scoundrels?'
The man standing on the right side said, "No Sir, I had many (shovels) in my hand."
Kharak Singh angrily said, "Whatever happens, the man is dead, isn't he?"
Then he grabbed a pen and started to write something, suddenly a person wearing a black coat stood up and said, "My lord, stop, this case is very complicated, it was a land dispute and the land on which it happened also belongs to the accused. Is the victim there?" Why did you go?
Justice Kharak Singh asked the police officer who is this person in black coat?
'Sir, this is the lawyer of these four,' replied the policeman.
So they did not have a servant who is speaking on their behalf, then Kharak Singh asked the lawyer Safai to stand with the four of them and then wrote a one-line decision and signed it.
It was written in the verdict (these four murderers and their lawyer should be hanged tomorrow morning).
There was a commotion in Patiala, people everywhere started trembling in the name of Kharak Singh that Kharak Singh hangs criminals along with their lawyers, suddenly the crime rate became zero, no lawyer would take the case of a criminal, unless If Kharak Singh Patiala was the judge, there was peace in the state. People from neighboring states would bring their cases to Kharak Singh's court and get immediate justice.
