The corridors of Calcutta High Court have many a tale to tell. A Telegraph picture

Any high court regular can easily spot middle-aged Maya Saha or 70-year-old Chhanda Rani Pal.

Victims of the judicial system, they have been visiting the hallowed portals of justice daily for the past several years. In return, they have earned the wrath of police and the disdainful looks of lawyers.

Maya, 45, believes her husband will return from the US some day and she will be able to renew her social standing with help from the court.

?She has been visiting Calcutta High Court regularly for the past 12 years or more. Carrying a large handbag stacked with old court documents, she moves from one lawyer to another, seeking help to get back her NRI husband,? says Joytosh Dey, a lawyer.

The lawyers who represented Maya said that about 15 years ago, her husband had left the country, assuring her that he would send her a visa on reaching the US.

Since then, Maya has moved several petitions in the high court, seeking an order to her husband to return home. The court had passed quite a few orders asking the man to attend the proceedings, but he chose to ignore them.

Maya is now suffering from intense depression.

A decade ago, Chhanda Rani was ousted from her house, allegedly by her sons. They even forced her to hand over all her property to them.

The court, in the mid-80s, had passed an order asking police to take action against the sons. Police, however, are yet to carry out any orders.

?She still believes that the police will ultimately enforce the court order. She is in complete distress and does not have any money. Nor does she possess any document that could substantiate her allegations against police. No lawyer can help her out now,? said Subroto Mookherjee, who had appeared for Chhanda Rani in 1986.

Apart from the two hapless women, there are some other permanent faces on the court premises.

A worn-out diary in hand, Subrata Das (not real name) steps into a courtroom at 10.30 am sharp and notes down the proceedings like a trainee advocate. Sujit Basu, a lawyer, says Das had lost a property dispute case because of his counsel?s incompetence.

?He partially lost his sanity after losing a partition suit against his cousins. He believes he will be able to defeat his cousins after learning the legal intricacies from court proceedings,? Basu adds.

Another lawyer says: ?Das is an introvert. Neither does he speak to anyone nor does he allow a look at his notes.?

On a bench on the first-floor corridor of the court sits a middle-aged woman, wearing a black gown and holding some old briefs in her hands. She wears a tired look.

?Nobody has seen her move a case in any court, but she still hopes to get a chance to prove her skills,? said Kallol Guha Thakurta, one of her batchmates.