Book Excerpt: Pronounced Guilty by Monica Singh

An exclusive excerpt from Pronounced Guilty by Monica Singh (Readomania, 2024)

Chapter 7

Anusuya

(June 2021)

Anusuya clicked ‘send’ on the screen and leaned back in her chair. Online therapy sessions! Who could’ve ever envisaged such a thing? How long had she been holed up inside her house that this whole digitalisation of mental health had passed her by?

She had just sent in her acceptance of an offer to be a ‘virtual counsellor’ for troubled young adults admitted to the Psych Ward of the Happy Family Hospital. What had her life come to? In one year, she had lost nearly all of her contracts and double the number of her clients. And to think that she, one of the country’s renowned forensic and behavioural psychotherapists, had been on her way to attend an international conference of the greatest minds in psychology in March 2020!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! She sighed and flipped the lid of her laptop shut. If this went on, she would soon need a good therapist. If only one could hire oneself.

She stood and walked over to the small pantry on the second floor of the co-working space she still leased out as her private physical office. Why bother though? Online therapy was rendering a physical space useless; and it was only going to get worse, she was sure of it.

In the pantry, the hubbub of conversations ebbed and flowed. The small wall-mounted TV showed a news reporter screaming at the top of his lungs. She sighed again as she filled her cup at the coffee machine and chose an empty table close to the TV.

“Pankya! Volume zara badha toh!” A 30-something man seated at the next table waved at the boy behind the counter. The next instant, the newsreader’s voice was piercingly loud.

‘In a sensational new turn of events, Advocate Dushyant Dave along with his client Vijendar Singh, has lodged a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Mumbai High Court, casting serious allegations against the State Government’s policies regarding the rehabilitation and welfare schemes for prisoners serving time in Maharashtra jails.

‘The PIL is an extension of the defamation suit being filed against Bhatia Textiles for wrongfully portraying Singh as responsible for Kumud Bhatia’s kidnapping. Singh was Kumud’s bodyguard, and he was with her when she went missing.

‘However, Advocate Dave claims his arrest had more to do with the fact that Singh is an ex-convict than anything else. He claims Singh was a convenient scapegoat for the Pune Police who, he says, had bungled the investigation from the get go.

‘Vijendar Singh has served seven years in Yerwada Jail for committing financial fraud and was recently released as part of the Central government’s directive, passed March 23, 2020, to reduce overcrowding in Indian prisons in the light of the Corona pandemic.’

The screen flashed a brief footage of a 50-something man.

Why do I know that face? Anusuya tried to jog her memory even as she listened to the interview clip now playing on the TV.

‘“We cannot keep treating ex-prisoners as second-class citizens,” Dave was saying. “They have as much right to a second chance at life as any of us who never went inside. Yes, Vijendar committed a crime, but he paid for it. He was tried by the court of law, sentenced, and served his time. Even so, the police have been hounding my client ever since his release. The Bhatia kidnapping case was just one more in a series of unwarranted arrests. A testament to mindless police brutality.

‘“We, as a populace, need to decide how we’re going to bring about this change. Seeking better policies is just one part of it. There’s a lot that we seek to achieve with this PIL, and we hope that the State and Central governments will give us a fair chance to put forth our arguments.”’

Where have I seen him? She begged her mind to give her a clue, some idea, anything. The clip ended, and the journo switched over to the newsreader.

‘For those of you who are not aware, let us remind you, Dushyant Dave is a high-profile celebrity lawyer. But a few years ago, he was in hot water as his son was accused of sexual harassment and assault by Sanjana Mohapatra, an ex-socialite who migrated to Switzerland shortly after the verdict was pronounced.

‘In a trial that spanned several months, Dave’s 20-year-old son was found not-guilty, and all the charges were then dropped.

‘The question now arises: is this what motivated Advocate Dave to take up this crusade on behalf of Vijendar Singh, a known convict? How right or wrong is Advocate Dave’s claim of second chances for prisoners? Or ex-prisoners? Are we, as a community, even ready to face this question? Or is this going to turn out to be just another fool’s gambit? Only time will tell. Until then, keep watching.’

Spontaneous conversation erupted all around Anusuya the moment the channel went into a commercial break.

“I remember it now! I kept wondering where I’ve heard that name, Dushyant Dave. He’s that guy’s father!” the 30-something man said to one of his friends sitting at the same table.

“Oh yeah, Ankur Dave, oh man!” another said.

“What? What is it?” A lively-looking girl chimed in.

“Do you know what happened to him? Ankur?”

“No, what?”

“The guy committed suicide, yaar.”

“What! Why? Wasn’t he acquitted?”

“He was, but that kind of thing, it sticks. I mean, I don’t know if you remember it, but the media had crucified that guy even before the case went to trial. He was an unofficial rapist well before he went in, and he remained one even afterwards. His college threw him out, nobody would hire him. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done it, or that the court declared that he wasn’t guilty. For the public, he was. I mean, can you even imagine? He was just 20, had his whole life ahead of him. I remember my sister talking about it back then. She was in the same batch as Ankur. I think he even had an online journal or something, a blog or a series of videos… I don’t know. But man, no wonder the father is doing this, right?”

“Yeah, yeah… But this man, this Singh, he actually did commit the crime, right?”

“No, not the kidnapping. But before that, yeah, some scam or something, and he served it. I mean, is it so bad that he wants a second chance?”

“You’re just saying that because he was involved in a scam. What if he had killed somebody? Would you give him a second chance then? I highly doubt it. If someone deserves a second chance, it’s the victims, not the criminals!”

“This is such a grey area… Like I get your point, but I also kind of get their point.”

“I know! But, one thing is for sure, the aam janta will not be happy about this. I don’t know about you. Hell, even I don’t want to associate with those who have been inside! For whatever crime. I mean that guy, Dave’s son, he didn’t even do the crime and look what happened to him!”

“What are they really asking for, though?”

“Money? Isn’t that what defamation suits are all about?”

“Yeah, but there’s something more. I don’t think this guy is going to settle for money. Look at him…”

Anusuya looked back at the TV where the channel was running the same clip again with the frozen features of the senior Dave highlighted centre stage. He was a man on a mission; there was no doubt about it.

‘Seeking better policies is just one part of it,’ he had said. What was the other part?

Excerpted with permission from the author and the publisher of Pronounced Guilty by Monica Singh (Readomania, 2024).

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About the Book

Is redemption possible behind bars? Dushyant Dave, a disillusioned advocate, spearheads a radical mission: Bandi Mukti Morcha, India’s first open-prison dedicated to rehabilitating criminals serving life sentences. Joining him are Vijendar Singh, a reluctant ex-convict, and Dr Anusuya Savarkar, a seasoned psychologist, both harbouring their own demons. As inmate resistance and political agendas mount, secrets unravel and trusts shatter; the project teetering on collapse. Can this unlikely trio bridge their differences to make the program a success or will Bandi Mukti Morcha crumble under the weight of its own ambition? Will society ever embrace a second chance for those it has pronounced guilty? Pronounced Guilty is not just a novel—it’s a reflection of the world we live in. Step inside the courtroom of conscience and explore the price of justice, the weight of guilt, and the echoes of redemption.

About the Author

Monica Singh is an award-winning Indian author and a lifelong reader. Her debut novel, Pronounced Guilty (Readomania, 2024), examines the fault lines of India’s criminal justice system and the core themes of criminality and redemption.

The book has received wide critical recognition and multiple literary honours, including the Penmancy x Readomania Pitch Fest (2023), the Muse India Young Writer Award for Best Fiction (2024), the Authoropod Annual Award for Best Debut Fiction (2025), Best Writer Fiction – Female at the Yatha Katha International Literature & Film Festival (2025), and both the Kala Samman for Best Fiction (English) and Kala Ratna for Debut Author (English) at the Kala Literature Awards (2026).

Drawing from lived experience and a deep engagement with questions of mental health, silence, and survival, her writing examines the moral and psychological aspects that shape human behaviour. When she isn’t writing about the darker corners of the psyche, Monica is usually reading obsessively while raising a small human and an orange cat with her husband.