When he took charge of the highly-sensitive trial in 1996, the simple and carefree life of the unassuming former Thane resident, became the first casualty.
Once when a client forgot to pay his fees, Pramod Dattaram Kode, then a young lawyer, walked two kilometres to get to a railway station as he only had Rs4 in his pocket.
Today, presiding over the Tada court and Asia’s longest-running trial, the 1993 serial blasts case, Judge Kode moves around in a bullet-proof Ambassador, shrouded in Z-plus security.
When he took charge of the highly-sensitive trial in 1996, the simple and carefree life of the unassuming former Thane resident, became the first casualty. Under 24-hour surveillance by gun-toting policemen, the 54-year-old judge doesn’t move out of his New Marine Lines home except to go to court and his annual Shirdi pilgrimage.
A film-buff, who was once caught in a police lathicharge while buying tickets for a Rajendra Kumar film, he hasn’t stepped into a theatre or restaurant for years. His wife and two daughters, one of whom recently cleared her final-year law exam, too adhere to thesecurity scanner.
Wrapping up the mammoth trial, Judge Kode has convicted 100 accused for the blasts, which killed 257 people 14 years ago. So far, seven convicts have been sentenced to death and 16 to life imprisonment.
However, amidst the morbidity of fixing guilt, Judge Kode’s sense of humour provides welcome relief in court. The appearance of a mischievous smile below his salt-n-pepper moustache is a dead give-away of his intention to catch the lawyers on the wrong foot.
The lawyers too are accustomed to his quirks. His fetish for numerology — he refuses to pass orders on certain dates — his penchant for the several rings that adorn his fingers and his addiction to betel nut are now part of the court-lore.
Before he fractured his right shoulder after a fall on June 24 and stayed away from court for 15 days, Judge Kode had never taken a single day off from work, not even to mourn the death of his father, a former custom official.
A graduate from the Government Law College at Churchgate, Kode started his practice as a junior to lawyer RD Ovalekar, who defended former Maharashtra chief minister AR Antulay in the cement scam of the early 1980s.
“I remember him as a hard-working, sincere lawyer, who showed great potential,” says senior criminal lawyer Baba Chitnis, who has known Kode since childhood.
Known to be compassionate, Judge Kode has shared the joys and sorrows of the 123 accused, whose fate he has decided. He has allowed the accused to travel for work and those in custody to visit their home for funerals.
In response, none of the accused has misused his kindness. A large hand-made Diwali card given to him by the accused adorns the court’s notice-board. Some of those, who signed the card, are now on death row.
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