Madras High Court Judge Justice GR Swaminathan recently shared a deeply personal story that transformed his view on the spiritual power of the Vedas.

Speaking at a national Vedic talent meet hosted by a local trust, the judge recalled how a case involving a Vedic scholar and close friend led him to believe in the protective force of the scriptures.

The scholar, a Shastri well-versed in the Vedas and Shastras, was wrongly convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison in a motor vehicle accident case. Justice Swaminathan, who was then a practising lawyer, said he was stunned when his friend approached him with news of the conviction.

The accident occurred while the Shastri's sister, visiting from the US, was driving a car that fatally hit a man near a tea stall. With her return flight imminent, the scholar took the blame and surrendered to police. Strangely, none of the eight witnesses in the trial had identified him as the driver, nor could they recognise him in court. Yet, the court convicted him.

The Shastri believed his traditional attire, including a dhoti and sacred tuft, influenced the harsh sentence. While six months is the typical punishment in such cases, he received a sentence thrice as long.

Justice Swaminathan took up the appeal, raising the glaring lack of evidence. Coincidentally, the appeal judge was his classmate, and the Shastri was acquitted.

“That day, I realised—when we protect the Vedas, the Vedas will protect us,” the judge said. “Not even one witness said he drove the car. All of them just said the car ran amok.”

He concluded that the experience not only changed the fate of his friend but ignited his own respect for the spiritual and cultural power of Vedic tradition.