Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, himself a most respected senior member of the Supreme Court Bar, writes about 14 of his heroes who practised before the Supreme Court. Making it clear at the outset that this is not a hagiography, he has given us a delightful read with the reader impatient to find out about the next lawyer as soon as the previous chapter is over.
His choice of “heroes” brings to us a variegated collection of personalities, some soft-spoken, some anything but, yet all of them making enormous contributions to the law and through it to the lives of us all. From V.M. Tarkunde, the “people’s lawyer” who founded the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to his colleague R.K. Garg who though sharing similar beliefs in the need to have a voice for the marginalised was different enough in style to eventually found the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), we see the co-existence of clashing personalities in a forum where there was space for everyone.
Cases are discussed and explained for the reading comfort of anyone, regardless of whether they have a degree in law. As we go through the book, a historical background of the development of law, from the early days of the Supreme Court, forms organically. This is important, as the reader may recognise how much impact these developments have had on our polity and society.
While the book does not discuss the new CBSE language curriculum, it recounts Frank Anthony’s contributions in the Constituent Assembly discussions on a language for communication. These regain topicality for a person following this news. The discussions on the “Basic Structure” principle propounded in Kesavananda Bharati hark back to more innocent times, full of fervour for finding the best possible ways to build a truly democratic, plural, nation.
In an age when female lawyers were a rarity, and therefore, at times, not assigned work, Shyamala Pappu had to kickstart her career by quickly arguing a case when her senior was busy in another courtroom. Horrified by accounts of undertrials left languishing in jail for years on end, the lawyer couple, the Hingoranis, began public interest litigation. They had to get over the registry’s objection to there being no client to sign a vakalat!
Interactions between the Bar and the Bench can be quirky and personal at times. A lawyer standing up to a rude judge, personal idiosyncrasies, all of this add colour to daily proceedings. The book leaves a sense of nostalgia about a smaller Supreme Court where it was easier to be fraternal through a multitude of differences, without fracturing discipline, and soft-spoken lawyers who argued well would be heard as easily as their louder brethren.
14 Lawyers: Portraits from the Bar
Raju Ramachandran
Juggernaut Books
pp. 225; Rs 799
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