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The atmosphere in the Ernakulam district court complex was thick with anticipation on the morning of Monday, December 8. Police flanked the entrance, taking a quiet note of every person walking by. Only lawyers and court staff were allowed to enter the new six-storey building, where Judge Honey Varghese would pronounce the verdict in the 2017 actor assault case in another hour and a half.

I was able to walk past the security, along with my colleagues, courtesy of my lawyer's gown, which I had stopped wearing almost half a decade ago when I switched to journalism. Judge Honey’s court on the third floor – Court of the Additional Special Sessions Judge – was empty.

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