AS a fresh entrant to the Bar, I had joined a group of ‘board-watching juniors’ attached to busy seniors running from court to court attending to their matters on the daily cause lists of the Bombay High Court.
From board-watching you could graduate to appearing in court after you gained confidence in yourself and your senior gained confidence in you.
Thereafter, you could either aim to start taking whatever briefs came your way independently or be happy as a salaried date-taking junior for the rest of your life at law.
It was during this transitional period of ‘holding fort’ for the senior before a variety of milords not knowing whether a matter would be kept back or passed over to await the senior or whether you would have to start arguing yourself, that most of the real training of juniors aspiring to be litigators took place.
I have many fond memories of such training but today I shall narrate just one involving one of the star judges of the Bombay High Court of those days who, unfortunately, is now remembered more as a ‘fallen star’.
I am referring to the late Justice S.K. Desai. In 1985, he was senior enough to always be heading division Benches and my senior had many cases before the Benches presided over by Justice Desai.
Most juniors were scared of him because he came across as a judge with a short fuse. He could give anyone a tongue-lashing at any time. He was extremely quick on the uptake and got to the heart of any matter pretty quickly. Disposals came thick and fast, Orders were dictated there and then. No adjournment was granted unless it was unavoidable.
Speaking for myself, I liked to appear before him because ‘face law’ did not work in his court. The matter mattered, not who was engaged to argue it.
Once, my senior was engaged by a lawyer from Pune (then Poona) to argue a matter. That lawyer had also accompanied the client to the Bombay High Court to ‘watch the arguments’.
For some reason I could not fathom he was wearing blue trousers, light yellow shirt and a grey necktie. Mercifully he had donned a lawyer’s black jacket. However, it looked old, frayed and faded.
They had a detailed conference with my senior in which this Pune lawyer tried to show off his knowledge of the facts of the case and the law applicable repeatedly.
My senior asked me to wait with that lawyer and the client in Justice Desai’s court, awaiting our turn in the cause list while he attended to his cases in other courts.
Our office peon was tasked with the job of calling my senior in good time in case this case was likely to be called out. We were patiently standing inside the courtroom.
Soon, a chair in the second row was vacated by a lawyer and I went and sat on it. The Pune lawyer probably felt insulted. He walked up and whispered in my ear: “Get up and let me sit. I am much senior to you.”
I got up and gave him my seat but I saw that Justice Desai was observing this from the dais. He told his associate loudly: “Tell that gentleman that the seat is meant only for counsel.”
The Pune lawyer got up and arrogantly announced: “Your honour, I am a senior lawyer from Poona.”
That set Justice Desai off!
“Is this the way lawyers dress in Poona? You are not attired in a permitted costume. What is your name?”
To the associate: “Yes, take down his details. We will make an example of him by reporting him to the Bar Council.”
To the Pune lawyer: “Why have you come here?”
Pune lawyer: “Sir, to watch the arguments in one case.”
Justice Desai: “Is this some picnic that you have come dressed like this?”
By now, the Pune lawyer was sweating profusely. “Sir, let me explain,” he mumbled.
Justice Desai: “Go and sit in the last row and do not utter a word.”
The lawyer was left with no choice but to obey that command. I quickly retrieved my seat and sat re-reading the brief.
We were now just two matters away.
The peon went off to summon my senior who happened to be on the same floor just three courtrooms away.
It so happened that the senior counsel who was appearing in the next two cases had apparently mentioned to the court as soon as they had assembled that he was in an overnight part-heard before the Chief’s Bench and that his two matters may kindly be kept back to the post-lunch session. As a result, our matter got called out immediately.
In those days, there were no electronic indicators and the peon, too, had already left. Therefore, I stood up, gave my appearance, and mentioned that I was led by my senior who was on his way.
Justice Desai: “Are you ready?”
I said: “Yes, I am but please allow my senior to take over once he arrives.” The Pune lawyer had by now left the last row and rushed forward to stand next to me.
He said: “We have not instructed him to argue this case.”
Justice Desai: “You want us to dismiss this case for default?”
Pune lawyer: “No, sir, I am here! I can argue it!”
Justice Desai: “We had warned you. Now, we shall report you to the Bar Council if you attempt to address the court in that attire. You cannot even sit next to counsel in this ludicrous dress.”
Then turning to me: “Go on.”
The Pune lawyer retreated to the last row for a minute and then quietly slunk away outside the courtroom to find my senior. His client too ran after him.
I narrated the facts and the main grounds to the Bench. Nothing more was required.
Justice Desai signalled me to sit down and called upon the contesting respondent’s counsel to reply.
Just then my senior literally ran into the courtroom with the other two in tow.
Still out of breath, he somehow managed: “I am sorry milord.”
Justice Desai: “You may take your seat. Your junior has already told us what was necessary.”
After hearing the respondent’s counsel for some time and peppering him with questions, Justice Desai needed a small clarification from our side. As my senior got up, Justice Desai said, “Let your junior tell us. You may guide him.”
My senior did that. Everything proceeded smoothly. The Order was dictated immediately in our favour.
As we all bowed, the Pune lawyer came forward and apologised to Justice Desai.
My senior requested the court to forgive him as he was unaware of the protocol and decorum of our high court, especially on the original side.
Justice Desai: “Is this dress permitted in Poona courts?”
My senior: “Your lordship should visit the Bar room of the subordinate courts in mofussil areas incognito someday.”
Justice Desai: “Really?”
My senior then light-heartedly said: “They are not as colourful as the race course crowd, but certainly not what my lord would expect of members of the Bar.”
Justice Desai, an avid horse-racing enthusiast, smiled.
He took no action against the Pune lawyer as he had threatened.
But he did say: “I am making it very clear that the dress code prescribed by the rules must be followed by every lawyer entering my court and no one except lawyers in proper dress should occupy seats meant for lawyers.”
My senior went off to attend another case. I accompanied the Pune lawyer out of the court precincts and headed for our chamber.
The Pune lawyer said: “We will now have lunch and then leave for Poona. Would you like to join us for lunch? Where can we get good mutton biryani?”
“Aren’t you a pure vegetarian?” I asked.
“Only when I am at home,” he replied with a wink.
