A Judge’s Unique Verdict

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Surendra Varma

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Jul 27, 2025, 11:03:56 PM7/27/25

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Note: I read this story several times before and tried to find its original source but could not find any. Yet, I am posting the story here because it sounds real and is so touching.

A Judge’s Unique Verdict

In the U.S., a 15-year-old boy was caught stealing from a store. While trying to escape from the security guard, he accidentally broke a store shelf as well.

The judge heard the charges and asked the boy,
Judge: “Did you really steal a packet of bread and cheese?”
The boy, with his head lowered, replied, “Yes, sir.”

Judge: “Why?”
Boy: “I needed it.”

Judge: “Why didn’t you buy it?”
Boy: “I had no money.”

Judge: “Couldn’t you ask your family?”
Boy: “I live only with my mother. She is sick and unemployed. I stole the bread and cheese for her.”

Judge: “Don’t you work?”
Boy: “I used to work at a car wash. I took a day off to care for my mother, so they fired me.”

Judge: “Did you ask anyone for help?”
Boy: “I left home in the morning and asked around fifty people for help. In the end, I had no choice but to steal.”

The questioning ended. The judge began to announce the verdict:
“Stealing, especially stealing bread, is a shameful crime. And we are all responsible for this crime.”

“Everyone present in this courtroom, including myself, is guilty. Therefore, I hereby fine every person present ten dollars. No one is allowed to leave this courtroom without paying.”

Saying this, the judge pulled ten dollars from his own pocket and placed it on the table.
Then he picked up his pen and continued:
“Moreover, I hereby fine the store $1000 for failing to show compassion to a hungry child and instead handing him over to the police. If this amount is not paid within 24 hours, the court will order the store to be sealed.”

“The total fine collected will be given to this boy. And this court apologizes to him.”

Tears rolled down the faces of everyone in the courtroom. The boy was sobbing too, looking again and again at the judge — who quietly walked out, hiding his own tears.

Now the question is:
Is India the only country notoriously famous for hunger, poverty and malnutrition?

Probably not.

Because...

As Chanakya once said:
“If a hungry person is caught stealing bread, it is the society that should feel ashamed.”