Seeking personal appearance in court to having lunch together: A judge's 'fan moment' for writer

Thane: Prominent Marathi writer and retired IAS officer Vishwas Patil has shared an old anecdote about a judge, who issued repeated directions to him for personal appearance before the court in connection with a case.

And when Patil, who then served as an official in Thane district, finally remained present in the courtroom, the judge could not hide his love for the former's literary works, as he asked him which novel he planned to write the next. Their meeting also culminated in having lunch together as the judge had brought home-cooked food for him.

Patil, known for several acclaimed historical and other novels, including "Panipat", "Zadazadati", "Mahanayak", "Sambhaji", has been elected as the President of the 99th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, which will take place in Satara in January 2026. He also served the government in various roles as an IAS officer.

During his felicitation ceremony held recently at Dombivli in Thane district, he shared the anecdote about the judge. He was reminiscing about his tenure as the Sub Divisional Officer at Thane some years ago.

"That time, I had suspended a talathi (local revenue officer) for his dereliction of duty. After I was transferred to Raigad as CEO, the suspended talathi filed a case against me in the Kalyan court. The situation escalated when the judge repeatedly issued summons to me for my personal appearance," Patil recalled.

Patil said he sent his counsel for the first two hearings, but the court insisted on his personal appearance.

"Again for the third time I was summoned by the court which warned that if I fail to attend, a warrant would be issued against me," he said.

Patil finally appeared before the judge, ready to face the legal proceedings. He answered standard questions in the witness box regarding his name, service, and whether he had signed the suspension order.

But after that, the judge said that he had seen Patil's signature but wanted to confirm it.

And the judge finally asked Patil, "What is your next novel about?" "I then realised that this was the reason why the judge wanted me to appear before him," Patil quipped.

But the story didn't end there. As Patil was preparing to leave the courtroom, the court peon stopped and told him that he cannot leave yet as he had brought two lunch boxes from the house of the judge - one for the judge and another for Patil.

"Then both of us had lunch together in the chamber of the judge," Patil said.