But there was also the problem of the Maoists. As Ghosh had predicted, this was a big point for the government, whose lawyers said the villagers had been arrested for contacting Maoists, and they were planning to fight the government with all kinds of weapons, and this was a serious thing.

The judges agreed that it was a serious matter. Maoist fighters in Chhattisgarh and other states had been fighting the government for years and years. Many people had been killed, and if the fighting spread to Balangir and other parts of Odisha, it was not good.

To this, Jadob’s lawyers said there was no proof that the villagers had been talking to Maoists, and that the topmost police officer in Balangir, a fellow named Patnaik, had arrested the Gonds and made a false case against them.

The judges looked at the documents about the arrest of the Gonds very carefully. They had all read the news reports when the arrests had been made, and had read the expert articles and watched the news, so they thought they knew a lot about it. But they looked at the documents the government showed them, and said, shaking their heads, that there didn’t seem to be much proof against the Gonds. Where, the judges asked the government lawyers, was the proof that the Gonds were planning to fight the government?

The government lawyers scratched their heads, and thought a lot about Sorkari Patnaik, and cursed him for making things so difficult for them. Then they told the Supreme Court judges that police was investigating the case and would find real evidence very soon.

The judges shook their heads again, and said, very well, but the court couldn’t wait for the police to find proof. Will we, they said sarcastically, sit around and nap while the police in Balangir try to find their evidence? The judges said they had to decide about the matter, and the sooner it was done, the better for everyone.

And so around and around they went, the lawyers from both sides and the judges, and Jadob watched like a hawk at every turn, listened to every argument and counter-argument. Could it be possible, he thought, that the court would say: fine, the Gonds have earned the right to choose. Jadob hoped they would, and at night, after each day of the hearing, at his room in a friend’s house, he thought of the villagers, and the hill, and hoped the court would decide in their favour.

In the end, the judges told the court, while thinking aloud, in the end, it was a very simple question. Was the mine more important than the goddess? That is, was the mine more important than what the hill meant for the Gonds?