Abhinav

Part 46 - Appeal (9)

'Mr. Srivastav, do you have any questions?'.
'No, Your Honour. I would like to present my closing statements, with your permission'.
'Granted'.

'Your Honour, the appeal put forth by Mrs. Akshara Sharma on behalf of Mr. Abhinav Sharma should, with all due respect, be rejected by the Honourable Court. My client, Dr. Birla, being Master Abhir's biological father, has only his best interest at heart. Yes, he has made some mistakes in the journey but as a new parent who doesn't? He has learnt from every mistake and that has made him a better father.

The kidnapping was very unfortunate and it hurt my client as much as it hurt Master Abhir. To call it an act of negligence is cruel. Dr. Birla's efficient skills as a doctor saved Master Abhir's life that day but my client doesn't believe in blowing one's own trumpet. My client believes that he has done no favour by saving Master Abhir's life many times as a Doctor, it was only his duty. Master Abhir rushing to Mr. Sharma first holds no material significance as kids do favour familiarity in such times and my client has never denied Mrs. and Mr. Sharma's 6 years work of raising Master Abhir.

Master Abhir will not only have resources to attain success and happiness but a large family filled with people who love and cherish him. Mr. Parth Birla is innocent until proven guilty, Your Honour, and the judgement on his case is not out yet. It would be wrong to assume anything bad about Anand, Mahima and Parth Birla unless that case gets completed. As regards Shivansh, living in hostels brings out an aggressive side in some children, unfortunately, and Shivansh also had to deal with the problems between his parents.
Ruhi, who was brought by Dr. Birla as a father figure, is very caring and overall a good child. This shows the love my client has for children and speaks volumes about his parenting skills.
Master Abhir, on the other hand, was.. how do I say it.. bratty.. rude.. disrespectful towards Dr. Birla in their first meet itself. The reason for that seemed to be the fights between Mrs. and Mr. Sharma caused by financial stress.

I would like to highlight once again that Master Abhir has always confided in Dr. Birla even when he didn't to his parents - his health issues or the fact that Mr. Sharma wasn't his biological father. Master Abhir has been comfortable and happy in Dr. Birla's presence and the journey from DocMan to Dad-da was a very short one. This, while piercing through Master Abhir's 6 years of conditioning that Mr. Sharma is his 'Papa' is no small achievement. Just as Master Abhir has to adjust to Birla Mansion and his true family, Dr. Birla too had to adjust with his son's preconceived notions and prejudices. Dr. Birla has made marvellous progress in achieving a selfless, Abhir-first father-son relationship and with time, this relation will only grow stronger and stronger.

There can be no greater proof of my client's love for Master Abhir than the fact that he was willing to reconcile with Abhir's mother - Mrs. Akshara Sharma. After years of disagreements, lies and deceptions from Mrs. Sharma's side, my client was not only willing to forgive Mrs. Sharma but also release her from her obligated co parent relationship with Mr. Sharma and make her his wife with complete respect.

Mrs. Manjari is a rock solid support to Dr. Birla. As a world renowned heart surgeon, if Dr. Birla has to infrequently give priority to his work, Mrs. Manjari, as an involved grandparent, will capably take care of Master Abhir. Yes, there was some extra strictness from her side in the past few weeks, which Mrs. Manjari is regretful about. Her fears, which are validated by this appeal, took over her good sense sometimes and she apologises for the same.

Mrs. Sharma as Master Abhir's biological mother lost any right over her son in a historic win for my client. Even now, she doesn't ask for her only son's custody for herself but for a random stranger she met on a bus. That says everything one needs to know about Mrs. Sharma, Abhir's mother.

As for Mr. Sharma, no matter how.. decent he may be, his affections for Master Abhir were never truly unconditional or altruistic. He has been known for hurting Abhir physically and emotionally many times because of the enormous magnitude of his insecurities. The health issue of his hallucinations cannot be overlooked when it comes to handing over a 6 year old completely in his care.

There is a reason why no non biological parent has ever won sole custody. Infact, I am sure none of them have even filed for one. Not once in the long history of the legal judiciary of our Country! There must be some great, compelling reasons for that.

What if Mr. Sharma starts finding Abhir a burden again? What happens when Abhinav's temporary 'love' for Abhir runs it's course? What if he blackmails Abhimanyu or Akshara holding this custody as a weapon over them? What if he harms Abhir over some argument, grudge or revenge?

The fact remains, Your Honour, that Mr. Abhinav Sharma has no real connection with Master Abhir. When Abhinav will have his own biological children, this 'cosmic connection' and 'purest love' will vanish with Mr. Sharma being a custodian to Abhir and Papa to his own real kid. Mrs. Sharma will keep defending all wrongs of Mr. Sharma, forever grateful to Mr. Sharma for being a kind stranger.

The real damage will be borne by Master Abhir and it is only for his sake that I request the Honourable Court to reject this appeal and save the little boy from further grave injustice. He deserves to stay with his true family and grow into a responsible, loving and lovable adult. That's all, Your Honour'.

He deserves to stay with his true family and grow into a responsible, loving adult.
Well, atleast some truth has been spoken from that side, thought Akshara.
The final step.
Kanha ji, please. You have brought us so far, please take us to our Abhir.

'Next hearing will be my personal examination of Mr. Abhinav Sharma and then the judgement. The conclusion of the appeal is near and I warn all parties against any kind of foul play towards Master Abhir'.

All parties stood respectfully as the Judge left.