Kolkata : He was a budding musician with his entire life ahead of him, but ended up spending 14 years of it in jail owing to an unfortunate turn of events. Nevertheless, Gobinda Mohan Ghosh knew better than to let the rude twist of fate define his life.

On April 25, 1983, Ghosh was charged with the murder of two CPM members at Chandannagar in Kolkatas neighbouring Hooghly district. Though Ghosh claims he is innocent, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the district session judge court, Hooghly, in June 1988 – the sentence upheld by the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court. Fast forward 25 years, and Ghosh is a practising lawyer at the Calcutta High Court who uses his craft to help the poor navigate the long and expensive corridors of judiciary.

“I always wanted to be a musician, a guitarist. I used to play at a famous Kolkata pub Blue Fox at that time. But after the incident I took admission in law just to defend myself. But I could not,” he said.

It was the helplessness he felt trying to defend himself before the judiciary, Ghosh explains, that inspired him to become a lawyer. In August 1983, Ghosh, then out on bail, took admission in Kolkatas Surendranath College (evening) to pursue law. When he graduated and gained his LLB degree, in 1986, Ghosh was keen to take up his own case in court, but refrained on the advice of senior lawyers.