My lord, I bring this debate in your court for two reasons. First, which other judge in this country judges as a force of habit? Your honour, our judge emeritus, does. Second, you were the first to jump to former Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s support after that jinxed weekend when the viewers missed watching The Dirty Picture, the screening of which was stalled even after 59-odd cuts. Thankfully, the blockbuster CD allegedly featuring Singhvi was uploaded online and nobody really missed The Dirty Picture. Your support for Singhvi was not very surprising. A chivalrous you had also supported Sunny Leone. And what a clairvoyant you were in doing that! Your Amrapali, Mary Magdalene is quite sizzling in Jism 2 promos. Coming back to the matter at hand, my lord, I support  Singhvi too.

To support my argument, sir, I want to bring to the court’s notice the example of Surya Sir in The Dirty Picture. For those who missed the film, Surya Sir is a character based on the life of a lead actor in the Tamilian film industry played by actor Naseeruddin Shah.  He accepts aspiring actress Silk’s quid pro quo ‘offer’ and helps shape her career. While all whistle-inviting dialogues have been given to Silk in the movie, Surya Sir just has his furtive, agreeing smile. But the Indian psyche is heavily biased against the likes of Surya Sirs. Despite giving out his best, Shah got nothing while all awards and accolades went to Vidya Balan.

Your honour, I cite Surya Sir’s example not because there are any similarities between the two, but because I believe Singhvi has been made a victim of the bias the Indian psyche displays against the ilk. First, as Singhvi has argued, the CD is doctored. It is not him, even his driver said that in court. If he was given another chance, his gardener, cook, laundry wallah, and a host of other such would have said exactly that in the court or at the Congress party office. And if the lakhs of netizens who watched the video maintain it is him only, nobody else; your honour, you can’t just rely on the testimony of sleaze-watchers.

Secondly, the law is by his side. Our constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. Yes, my lord, I invoke this fundamental right to his defence because I have watched the video (please use your gavel to drown and dispel ahems in the court). There is nothing but some speech and odd-looking expressions (and seemingly body movements also) by the Singhvi-lookalike in the video. Nothing else is visible there, your honour. 

Singhvi’s contention that it is his private affair and he owns an explanation only to his family was not bought even by his own party. This is where the bias is more visible than ever. Our political history is replete with several such examples. Samajwadi Party’s former general secretary Amar Singh, the man who brought the culture of CDs into Indian politics, is now sidelined and sulking. That he also brought Jaya Prada (of course, a host of other Bollywod actors also) into politics is almost forgotten now.

The most glaring example of this bias is undoing of the veteran politician, Narayan Dutt Tiwari. The 87-year-old leader, three times chief minister of UP, one time of Uttarakhand and later governor of Andhra Pradesh, had his Waterloo in just one sleazy tape featuring him along with three women in Raj Bhavan. While Tiwari contended later that he was being framed, nobody bought his argument. And while nobody expressed awe at the threesome by an 82-year-old (in August 2007 when the tape appeared), shock was there in every eye. But the heartbreak came later in the form of Tiwari’s resignation from the governorship citing “health grounds”! Such is the travesty, the hypocrisy of the Indian psyche. Anyway, the undaunted veteran politician is not cowed down yet and is fiercely fighting paternity suits against him.

To conclude, your honour, I support Singhvi in his contention that it is his private affair. Public people do have their private lives outside their homes also…in Raj Bhavan or lawyer’s chamber. But that should not have anything to do with their political careers. Our politics should be more accommodating in this age of sex, lies and videotapes. That’s all, my lord.