The Case of the "Invisible Man" – Calcutta, 1950s

One of the most intriguing and almost bizarre criminal cases from Kolkata during the 1950s involved a mysterious crime that was dubbed in the media as the "Invisible Man" case. This case revolved around an alleged robbery and murderthat took place in the heart of the city, but the twist was that there were no witnesses, and the accused claimed to be invisible at the time of the crime.

The Incident:

A prominent businessman, Mr. Raghunath Ghosh, was found murdered in his home one evening, with his safe ransacked and valuable jewels missing. His wife and household staff were questioned, but no one had seen anything unusual. The police were stumped, and the investigation went nowhere, as there was no sign of forced entry and no reliable eyewitness testimony. The only clue was a strange statement made by the accused, a man named Bishwajit Banerjee, who was arrested for the crime.

Banerjee, a small-time thief, was known to the police but had never been involved in a murder before. In his confession, he claimed that he had entered the house using a secret back entrance and had committed the robbery, but here was the kicker—he insisted that he was invisible at the time of the crime. According to him, he had used some "dark magic" to become invisible and sneak past everyone without being seen. Needless to say, this bizarre claim left both the police and the public in disbelief.

The Defense:

What made this case even more interesting was the defense strategy. The defense attorney, a sharp and witty advocate, used the “invisibility” argument to his advantage. Rather than dismissing his client’s outlandish claims outright, he questioned the very idea of visibility in the modern world. The advocate cleverly argued that since no one had seen Banerjee at the crime scene, it was impossible to prove that he was visible. He used technical jargon and scientific theories about light refraction, shadow, and perception, turning the courtroom into a theater of philosophical debate on the nature of human senses.

The defense attorney's strategy worked wonders, creating enough reasonable doubt that the jury began to question whether the prosecution could truly prove that Banerjee was physically present at the scene of the crime. The argument was so outlandish that it actually cast suspicion on the credibility of the police investigation and made the entire case appear more complicated than it originally seemed.

The Verdict:

In the end, the judge, while acknowledging the absurdity of the "invisible man" defense, found Banerjee guilty of robbery and murder. However, the court commended the defense for its creative approach, and the case became famous as much for its theatrical defense tactics as for the crime itself. It was a remarkable instance where an advocate’s wit and creativity in a criminal defense turned what was expected to be a straightforward case into a media sensation.

Legacy:

The "Invisible Man" case became a part of legal lore in Kolkata, often referenced in law schools as an example of how a clever lawyer can use the most absurd arguments to shake the foundations of a case. Despite the bizarre nature of the defense, the case reinforced the importance of reasonable doubt in criminal law, leaving behind a legacy of legal creativity and courtroom drama.