sharathpai

[sharathpai]

LET’S ARREST THE SHIP

Incident No.9- 

State Bank of India – one of the country’s leading banks had filed a Recovery Case before the Recovery Officer of the DRT.

The borrower, a local shipping magnate of sorts had mortgaged a vessel and the vessel had to be arrested at any cost as the borrower’s account had become NPA and it had been learnt by the bank officials from reliable sources that the borrower was going about his business merrily. An application came to be filed before the Learned Recovery Officer praying that the ship docked in Vishakapatnam harbour be arrested. The Mumbai Branch of the bank had directed their local branch officers to keep a close tab on the exact date the vessel was to arrive and dock at the Vishakhapatnam harbour for fuel only to set sail the very next day to Paradip.

The Recovery Officer despite being a legal manager of another leading public sector bank [on deputation] did not understand what ‘arresting’ a ship legally meant and the ramifications that would ensue.

Not wanting to let his lack of knowledge get in the way, the Learned Recovery Officer summoned his stenographer and necessary orders were passed.

An Advocate Court Commissioner was appointed with directions to have the order complied with forthwith with the assistance of the local police. A letter was addressed to the local police station at Vishakhapatnam to ensure that the local police would extend the fullest of co-operation to the Advocate Court Commissioner who would be travelling all the way from Mumbai.

State Bank of India was directed to book flight tickets for this Learned Advocate Court Commissioner and a particular day was fixed where the local SBI team comprising of bank officers of the local bank’s recovery branch together with constables of the local police and the branch’s local officers who had disseminated information on the vessel’s arrive at the port, would accompany the Learned Court Commissioner for purposes of completion of the given task of arrest of the ship/vessel.

As the letterhead of the Learned Recovery Officer had the Ashok Chakra embossed and as the Learned Authority was acting under the aegis of the Central Government, the Vishakhapatnam police dispatched a team of a dozen constables with a Senior Inspector to ensure that all compliances were met with.

Permission of the port authorities was sought and everything was set.

The given day arrived and in line with the information that had been obtained, the ship promptly arrived at the Vishakhapatnam harbour. The entire team that had waited patiently made a run for the docks. The constabulary surrounded the ship. The local fishermen and crews of various ships present at the docks were stunned as none of them had witnessed such an event in their lives.

Finally the orders were served upon the Captain of the ship and the senior police inspector handcuffed the Captain forthwith. The order was read out and the order read as follows –

“Bank has filed application for arrest of ship. Application allowed. Captain of ship is directed to be arrested forthwith and brought to Mumbai and show cause as why he should not be directed to pay the Applicant Bank’s dues forthwith”

[sharathpai]

SUPREME COURT DIRECTIONS – ADJOURNED FOR CLARIFICATIONS

Incident No.8 -

The Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal [DRAT] in Mumbai was formed for the purposes hearing of all appeals passed challenging orders passed by the DRT.

Most of the appointees were retired judges of various High Courts across India and the person heading the DRAT referred to as the Chairperson of the DRAT.

Below is an instance which I happened to witness first hand.

The Chairperson – a retired judge of the Honourable Allahabad High Court was to demit his office in a month’s time. The work load being heavy, the Learned Chairperson had mentally demitted his office and was just marking his presence in order to ensure that retirement benefits would not stop for any reason whatsoever and under any circumstances.

The Court Master a diligent dutiful chap brought to the kind attention of his Lordship that there were nine different matters which had been expedited for hearing by the Honourable Supreme Court of India, where the Honourable Supreme Court had directed as follows – “The Learned Chairperson, DRAT to hear the said matters on a priority basis and pass orders within a particular time frame”.

Needless to say, these orders had been passed by different benches of the Honourable Apex Court on different dates where the parties were also different. All in all there was nothing common to link any of the appeal matters save and except the fact that all the matters had a common direction passed on different dates directing the Learned Chairperson of the Honourable Mumbai Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal to give a priority hearing and decide the issues of law involved in an expeditious manner.

Time being short and with the aggrieved parties mentioning the matter almost on a daily basis, the Learned Chairperson came up with an ‘out of the box’ idea. This was literally a brainwave.

The Learned Chairperson directed the Court Master to list all the nine matters on one day and inform all the parties concerned to remain present on that particular day. The day that was chosen for listing these matters was a day prior to the Learned Chairperson demitting office.

As directed, all the nine Supreme Court expedited matters were listed HIGH ON BOARD under the caption – ‘CLARIFICATION’.

On the given day, the Learned Chairperson in a packed court room full of the who’s of who of the legal fraternity passed the following common order in all the nine Supreme Court expedited matters –

“The DRAT has been directed to expedite hearing in all nine matters the case numbers of which matters are as follows – Case No.xxx, uuu, yyy etc...

However the Honourable Supreme Court has not directed me as to which of the nine matters have to be heard first sequentially.

The concerned parties are therefore directed to obtain clarification from the Honourable Supreme Court as to which of the nine matters have to be heard first by the Honourable DRAT on a priority basis and the sequence of priority as to which matters have to be listed first, second, third, so and on so forth.

Adjourned for clarification”

After the above order was passed, the Learned Chairperson demitted office the next day and requested the DRT Bar Association to inform of the exact date of the farewell party which would be held in his Lordship’s honour, as his Lordship was genuinely concerned that the date of the proposed farewell party ought not to clash with his actual departure from Bombay to his hometown in Allahabad.

The farewell party organized was a grand event where all legal stalwarts attended in huge numbers, more so in sheer appreciation of the hard work put in by his Lordship over the years and the excellent presence of mind that his Lordship had demonstrated in ensuring that his Lordship’s successor would have his legal plate full, with the best of matters involving delicate and intricate points of law.

[sharathpai]

‘MANTRALAYA IS OURS’

Incident No.7-

INTRODUCTION:

There was a time [not very long ago] when obtaining a loan from a bank for any purpose was considered shameful. Those were the times when only the rich could afford automobiles.

The loan culture soon penetrated the Indian psyche and these days loans are doled out like confetti and too without even asking. Home improvement loan, education loan, loan for professionals, foreign trip loans, car loans... You name the type of loan you want and if your CIBIL score matches the bank’s criteria, then banks que up to give you loans.

Obtaining loans under the guise of business expansion became the norm as businessmen were cajoled into taking loans at low interest rates.

The Indian legal system being what it is, defaults were plenty. Cases started piling up before civil courts, high courts and the Government finally decided that enough was enough.

The rigors of leading evidence, examination in chief, cross examination before civil courts took it’s toll and cases filed in the year 1980 were still awaiting trial before the civil courts.

It was decided by the Government to constitute a special Tribunal – ‘The Debts Recovery Tribunal’ under the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act of 1993, which as per the Government’s thought process would fast track the process of recovery for banks and financial institutions [which had till the formation of the Tribunal] found it next to impossible to recover the loans from relict rant borrowers.

The rigors of the Indian Evidence Act was done away with. No cross examination of bank officers, no examination in chief. The judgments to be delivered by the DRTs were to be based on ‘Affidavits of Claims’ filed by bank officers. Appealing against any judgment of the DRT would attract a pre-condition deposit up to seventy five percent of the claim amount. The DRT was constituted by the banks, for the banks and of the banks and the DRT reached it’s zenith in the year 2001.

The borrowers though on paper had a say, reality was exactly the opposite. The message that was proposed to be sent out by the Government was – “If you have taken loan, you have no repay. No questions asked”.

In hindsight, whether the purpose of the formation of the DRTs met their objective is anyone’s guess. Considering the disposal that the DRTs doled out in comparison to the civil courts, in a way the answer is - yes. Many borrowers were forced to settle with the banks or surrender the mortgaged assets.

After practicing for twenty one years before various DRTs in India, there are various incidents that have taken place in my twenty one years of practice before the DRTs. These episodes tickle the funny bone to date. Here are a few of them.

The Sugar Co-operatives situated at Dhule [allegedly acting under the aegis of a famous ex-chief Minister of Maharashtra who is to date giving his younger political counterparts a run for their monies] had obtained loans from various banks including a Rs.50.69 crore loan from IFCI - Infrastructure Finance Corporation of India, a financial institution headquartered in New-Delhi.

The State Government had stood as a guarantor to these loans obtained by the sugar co-operatives.

Naturally, there was no intention by the sugar lobby to repay the loans. The loans were termed as ‘Agricultural Loans’ as production of sugar was treated as an agricultural activity.

The modus operandi was simple. The sugar co-operatives would naturally default on crores of monies obtained as loans and once the banks demanded repayment, there would be a gargantuan protest at the Mantralaya by the respected political class on the ground that farmers were being harassed and tortured by banks resulting in an uptick in suicide rates of poor farmers in interior parts of Maharashtra.

The State government would then move a motion for complete waiver of the loans and the state government would direct the banks to completely write off/waive off the loans given to the farmers, which the banks would obediently do to appease their political masters.

As sugar cultivation purportedly a farming activity, all such loans obtained by sugar co-operatives [poor political farmers] were also to be waived off.

One such financial institution – IFCI decided to do a complete ‘volte face’ and filed a case before the DRT against one of the mighty and power sugar co-operatives - Sindhkheda Sugar co-operative situated in Dhule district, Maharashtra.  This kind of litigation against a powerful sugar lobby was unprecedented and unheard of in those days – circa year 2003.

A dashing Recovery Officer – Mr.RD Gupta, despite receiving more than a dozen phone calls from various quarters of the politico, decided that enough was enough.

 A Recovery Inspector was summoned in chambers together with a painter. The painter was directed to paint the following on a big board in bold letters –

“The offices of the secretaries for co-operatives and textiles in Mantralaya stands attached under the orders passed by the Learned Recovery – Mr.RD Gupta, in Recovery Case no.xxxx of xxxx acting under the powers so vested in him by the Central Government.

The State Government of Maharashtra is directed to explain as to why, if the state government fails to clear the loan of IFCI, in the next 15 days, the State Government’s treasury and its bank account with the RBI should not be attached”’

Two police constables were summoned and the Recovery Inspector was directed to attach offices of the secretaries for co-operatives and textiles in the Mantralaya building and affix the freshly painted board with the aforesaid noting at a conspicuous part outside the Mantralaya building.

Being dutiful and loyal, the Recovery Inspector who was equivalently dashing, dashed all the way with two police constables in tow and entered the Mantralaya, where he was promptly stopped by security.

The security was warned by the Recovery Inspector that the building was being attached under the orders of the Recovery Officer authorized by the Central Government and any obstructions would be met with severe consequences which could lead to suspensions and even dismissals of the security staff including senior police officials. Upon hearing this, the two constables who had accompanied the Recovery Inspector vanished from plain sight. Reinforcements were called in, but they never arrived.

The press which are always omnipresent at the Mantralya got a whiff of the entire episode. TV interviews followed which resulted in a huge embarrassment for the political class.

The Ministers at the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Finance under whose aegis the DRT functions did not have an inkling of what was happening.

No one in the Ministry of Finance, Delhi even knew who Mr.R.D.Gupta was that point in time. Obviously as it was a judicial order for recovery of debts of a leading financial institution based in Delhi, none of the political class in the Central Government had the gall to address any immediate cease and desist order in writing for nipping this unfortunate episode in the bud.

The damage had already been done. The press had a field day in reporting the exploits of this dashing Recovery Officer who had held the law of the land in high regard without caring two hoots for the consequences that such an embarrassment to the political class, would eventually entail.

The Recovery Officer – Mr.R.D.Gupta, became a hero overnight as recovery of debts of banks and financial institutions meant recovery of public monies.

The State Government realized that if this matter was not closed out soon, the Recovery Officer would even attach the treasury and the State Government’s bank account with the RBI, which incident if it ever took place would snowball into another embarrassing episode.

The entire monies that were at stake, borrowed by other sugar co-operatives from other local banks and financial institutions [obviously not Delhi based] were a measly sum of Rs.750 crores and the State could not afford to have the other sugar co-operatives suffering a dominos effect where other banks and financial institutions would stand que up for recovery of their dues.

The matter was promplty settled within a week’s time with IFCI and this was the very first time then then Chief Minister had to tender his resignation.

It is an unwritten rule followed to date by all sugar co-operatives that loans should only be obtained from local banks and financial institutions based in Maharashtra and not from any bank or financial institution especially head quartered in New Delhi.

This episode heralded a banking revolution in the state of Maharashtra and local banks were preferred as banking partners for promotion of the green revolution in the state, where to date loans are being obtained and written off under the guise of poor farmers who commit suicide blissfully unaware of their martyrdom for keeping the green revolution alive.

This is truly an unbelievable episode which if I narrate to anyone, is met with complete disbelief and I am blamed for exaggerating.

I do not blame my listeners as no civil court or High Court in India has ever managed to catch the political class by the collar.

My answer is simple – Please Google – ‘DRT attaches Mantralaya’. DRT can do anything. Don’t underestimate us, ever.

[sharathpai]

FULL OF GAS

Incident No.6  -

Circa 1999

Sundernagar in New Delhi is a quiet suburb. It is in close proximity to the Honourable Supreme court of India and is home to many Senior Advocates. Even famous law firms in New Delhi have their offices in Sundernagar. It is also considered a posh area in New Delhi akin to something like Altamount Road in Mumbai where the rich of the rich reside.

A property related matter had come up before the Honorable Delhi High Court and my Delhi firm had already sent case related papers to a designated Senior Advocate residing at Sundernagar. I was to liaise with this Senior Advocate and ensure that he receives all case related support he requires.

The residence/huge bungalow of the Senior Advocate operated as an office on the ground floor and a residence on the first floor. The third floor of this majestic bungalow was a library of all kinds of law books and could give the library of any High Court in India, a run for it’s money.

The Senior Advocate had a penchant for collecting old automobiles and used to spend hours maintaining them. As the bungalow was huge, it had place for a huge garage which had a collection of nine to ten rare cars. Mercedes Benz of the 60s, Buick Skylock Tempest of the 70s, Chevrolet, Masserati.

The Senior Advocate’s knowledge of cars, I was told was better than his knowledge of law. The knowledge of the respective car’s chassis, the suspension, the wheel base, the ground clearance, of each and every car manufactured right from the year 1940s was by heart. His love for automobiles was such that if any car needed any part to be outsourced from any part of the world and any of his clients helped him source it, the Senior Advocate would ensure that he would NOT charge a single rupee as fees to this client but he would even ensure that the client was well remunerated for his efforts. All the Senior Advocate’s clients knew this weakness and exploited it to the hilt.

I entered the residence to find a huge table where twenty to thirty people were seated and having food. It was an unwritten rule that any person who visited the residence of this Senior Advocate ought to first sit at this huge table and eat. Whether it be breakfast or brunch or lunch or dinner. Eating was compulsory. The description of the table was similar to the table portrayed in the Last Supper. It was simply gargantuan.

Four cooks had been employed by the Senior Advocate in two shifts round the clock [24/7] who could cook up all kinds of vegetarian dishes. The Senior Advocate was pure vegetarian and no non-vegetarian food was permitted. 

The day’s menu would be displayed on the front door with photocopies of the menu scattered all across the table and any guest or visitor [client/clerk/courier delivery boy/postman] could select anything he/she wanted trom the day’s menu at any point in time and the cook would have to serve it ASAP. So much so that I was informed that there were actually people who used to specially visit the residence to eat food citing flimsy excuses. All were welcomed with open arms.

This particular rule was a rule I was not aware of and prior to my visit I had the misfortune of having a heavy breakfast at my hotel.

Nevertheless in those days age was on my side and hence digestion was not a problem. I ordered from the day’s menu and ate a light snack, prior to entering the Senior Advocate’s library.

In hindsight, of all the Seniors I have encountered, he was by far the sweetest Advocate in so far as juniors were concerned.

The first question was - What did you eat? Upon receipt of a reply, the second question was - ‘Why did you eat so less?’ Did you not like what was prepared? The entire conference hovered around discussions regarding food and cars.

The Senior Advocate was a foodie [lightly put] so much so that loud farts emanated from his chamber all the time. The farts so were full of gas and toxic that for a new comer one had the responsibility of [1] Pretending that they never heard the loud farting sounds [as under no circumstances was the Senior Counsel to be displeased] and [2] One had to control one’s laughter, which for any newcomer on the scene was extremely difficult to do. But I somehow managed to hold fort.

During dictation to the Stenographer, at the time of answering phone calls, the Senior Advocate had no qualms about farting away at leisure. The farts were loud. So much so, that all present in chamber and in the hall where food was being served 24/7 were so used to the sound of farting that none batted an eyelid. As a matter of fact the atmosphere was so relaxed that a few others present also did not mind farting away. There was no shame in doing so.

It’s like when you see a person yawn away, the atmosphere becomes infectious and your mind unknowingly directs you to starting yawning. So you start yawning as well. The situation was albeit similar.

The Senior Advocate was prompt in his court appearance before the Delhi High Court and floored the court with his arguments on a particular ticklish point that caught the other side by surprise. The Court after dismissing the other side’s petition congratulated the Senior Advocate for having brought to the Court’s notice such an important point which had been missed by all. Gracefully accepting the Court’s view, I walked out of the Court Room with Senior Advocate in tow who farted away to glory.

I found it strange that other Advocates who met us in the hallway, other than bowing their heads with respect to the Senior Advocate’s sharp and witty oratory and argumentative skills, none present seemed to mind the loud farts.

The Senior Advocate called for his car and directed me to come back to his residence for a heavy lunch, [which despite me politely refusing],  was taken as an insult. I finally obliged and ended up having a super heavy Punjabi lunch with tons and tons of ghee and departed thanking the Senior Advocate for his hospitality and the way he treated me.

The heavy lunch was indeed the heaviest I ever had in my entire life and simply for reasons beyond my control out came a loud fart ‘FULL OF GAS’ which embarrassed me to a great extent. The best part was none present seemed to mind. I was now indeed a part and parcel of the Senior Advocate’s chamber.

To date, it is an unwritten rule that any one who visits the residence of this Senior Advocate in Sundernagar does not get to leave on an empty stomach. The remaining left over food is promptly packed and handed over to the local Gurudwara for distribution amongst the poorest or poor. The cooks informed me that on any given day food for over two hundred people is prepared. The Menu is painstakingly set by the Senior Advocate himself and the cooks are paid handsomely so much so that no cook wants to leave even for a small vacation for the fear of losing his/her job.

Sometimes in life you meet people who seem obnoxious in their overall demenor and you form a prima facie opinion that they are FULL OF GAS. However in reality God gives you the opportunity to meet the kind hearted people you will ever come across.

i will never forget this Senior for his warmth and heart warming hospitality and the way I was treated. There is an old adage which states - “Food is the gateway to a man’s heart”. I agree. It indeed was.

[sharathpai]

Incident No.5 -

Fair & Lovely

Circa 1999 -

I was directed by THE FIRM to brief a Senior Counsel in Madras (Now rechristened by our political class as Chennai).

The Senior Counsel was a favourite of a particular bench of the Honourable Supreme Court of India and used to fly to New Delhi often. He was well respected amongst his peers both at the Apex court and before the Madras High court as he was known for his crisp to the point arguments which found favor with an overburdened judiciary comprising of judges who were mentally exhausted hearing counsels after counsels argue extremely well articulated irrelevance supported by baseless and pointless arguments, and that too for days at end.

The Counsel's home base being Madras, a conference was fixed at the Counsel's law chambers inside the Madras High Court premises.

I was to attend the conference at 10 a.m. sharp after which I was specifically informed that the Counsel would be preoccupied attending high stake matters before the Honorable Court and in so far as I was concerned missing this important conference time deadline would mean a late evening conference (of'course subject to the gentleman's availability) and an entire day in the city of Madras wasted, doing practically nothing.

In comparison to Bombay, Madras is a dull city which runs at an extraordinary slow pace. The people are genuinely good hearted and usually shy and prefer to keep to themselves. The people in Madras have managed to excel in the art of SLOW PACE and expeditiousness is frowned upon. The overall attitude is in complete contrast to the boisterous crowd one encounters in Bombay. This is one of the many reasons I love Bombay. Can never get used to a SLOW PACED life.

I decided to take the early morning flight out to ensure i was not late under any circumstances. Reached Madras airport and cabbed it all the way directly to the High Court building.

I had attended many court hearings before various levels of judiciary such as district courts, high courts, commissions, tribunals in different parts of the country. But nothing could prepare me for what I was about to encounter.

Outside the entrance of any and every court throughout the length and breadth of the country, a common feature is a stationery shop meant for the convenience of lawyers These shops sell everything from ball pens to loose sheets of paper to lawyer's coats and even gowns. This is commonplace.

The stationary shops outside the Madras High court were a bit different and in hindsight an experience by itself, which i will never forget.

Here there were four stationery shops bang outside the Court premises selling the very famous 'Fair & Lovely' cream (now renamed as 'Glow & Lovely'). Stationery items were not even being given a second look by anyone.

Fair & Lovely is not a cream but an extremely potent drug which has managed to exert an ironclad grip over most of the Southern parts of India.

The purportedly fairness cream is more lethal mentally than physically as most people in South India are literally addicted to this cream including highly educated lawyers. This cream in particular has an extremely toxic effect on one's overall mindset as it shamelessly promotes the concept that having fair skin is the epitome of beauty and sporting a dark epidermis is akin to being inferior in more ways than one.

For those who are not familiar with 'Fair & Lovely ' fairness cream, the cream is purportedly a fairness cream marketed by a leading listed International Fortune 500 Company and the cream's application promises a sea change from a person's naturally dark complexion to a glowing fair complexion. All these magical changes to the epidermis and that too within a period of fourteen days of usage. A person's genetic make up or the actual complexion the person concerned inherited at the time of his or her birth from his or her biological parents, be DAMNED.

Lawyers - juniors and seniors alike stood patiently in a que to get their hands on a small tube of cream retailing at Rs.5/-, before entering the court premises.

The stationery shop had more stock of F&L cream than actual stationery items. (The name of the shop could have been rechristened from Murugan Stationery Shop to Fair and Lovely stationery shop. Not a soul would have even noticed the change).

Every lawyer would buy the Rs.5/- mini tube of F&L cream and religiously squeeze the tube to the maximum extent possible and apply the cream on their face before entering the court premises. They would not rub the cream on their face but merely apply it. People entering the court premises looked like Zombies (Living dead).

When I dared to enquire about this peculiar custom I was met with stares as if i had stepped on a topic which was completely TABOO. The situation was similar to those sex education classes they had when we kids studying in school, when we were too embarassed to ask anything, due to the sense of SHAME we were brought up with

One junior advocate finally garnered up the courage and explained to me as follows - 'Saar, you are phair. You don't require. We are dark. This cream makes us glow'.

I queried further - "Sir, why do you merely apply the cream on your face. Why not rub it all over your face?"

A prompt reply came to me as follows -

'Saar, the sun rays penetrate the cream deep in our skin and makes us glow. Why waste the cream by applying it Saar? You should have faith in father nature'.

I immediately thought of correcting the gentleman saying it was Mother nature and not Father nature. I thankfully decided against it as maybe in South India it is Father nature. Nature has to have a father, right?

The clock was about to strike 10. I entered the Counsel's chambers on dot and managed to get a good 45 minutes patient hearing with the Learned Counsel.

Just then a budding junior lawyer entered chambers and informed all present that the Senior's matter would be called out soon.

The Senior Counsel put on his band, gown and clutched in his hand the case papers and told his junior - 'We have to leave immediately DAA'.

The junior nodded and said - 'Saar you have phorgotten'

The Senior Counsel said - I have my specs DAA. I haven't forgotten anything DAA

The junior then handed over a Rs 10/- tube of Fair & Lovely brightness glow cream (mega size with 50% extra cream for the sum of Rs.5/- paid extra) to the Senior Counsel who then retorted - 'I don't know what I would have done without you DAA. Nandri Vanakkam'.

I cabbed it back to the airport after a successful meeting and realised that in Madras, beauty was definitely NOT skin deep.

[sharathpai]

COUNSEL –SWEET TOOTH

Incident No.4 -

Circa – 1998-1999 –

THE FIRM had realized that it had too many matters before the Honourable Delhi High Court and the Honourable Supreme Court of India. Being a proprietary firm, my Senior had no trust in any other living being let alone the thought of converting the proprietorship into a partnership and inducting a partner to run things of THE FIRM in New Delhi, from New Delhi.

It was decided that I would have to shift base to New Delhi and from Mondays to Fridays I was to stay in New Delhi and take the night flight on a Friday and report the weekly turn of events/developments to THE FIRM on a Saturday. Sunday was my only day off. There was no extra remuneration. But as I was being given a golden opportunity to work with the purportedly finest legal brains in the country, I reluctantly agreed.

There was this firm in New Delhi [the firm is still running strong as on date] which had bought over an entire building at Bengali Market, New Delhi. The last floor of the building consisted of small rooms [Japanese style] where all juniors working in the firm were to retire after calling it a day, at the firm.

Long and short being it was nothing but a sophisticated jail where you just could not leave the building. The firm’s offices were on the first, second and third floor. The fourth floor was a library with all legal books and the fifth floor were residences for all juniors working in the firm and also had a pantry with a 24/7 cook from Uttar Pradesh who could really cook up a storm.

The proprietor of this firm was an erudite Gujarati lawyer who had shifted base from Bombay to New Delhi in search of greener pastures and comprised one of one of the rarest of rare people who shared an excellent rapport with my Senior. It was all decided. I was to occupy a room on the fifth floor and all THE FIRM’s litigation would be handled by this Delhi based firm. I was to liaise with counsels, advocates and do all the work THE FIRM entrusted me to do. Basically I was to be THE FIRM’s face in New Delhi.

A leading politician these days who broke away from the HAND as recent as June, 2022 filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha independently backed by another political party was the GO TO counsel those days for any government related matter before the Honourable Supreme Court of India.

The hearing was set at 10.45 a.m. before Court Room No.4 of the Honourable Supreme Court of India. Case papers were sent by the Delhi firm to this Counsel – let’s call him Counsel Sweet Tooth a day in advance and I was to reach this counsel’s chambers/offices by 9 a.m. which I promptly did.

The Counsel’s office was full of politicians from all walks of life who had qued up for seeking legal advice on how to legally control the 'foot in the mouth disease', most of whom present had knowingly or unknowingly contracted. It felt more of a political party’s office than a law office. I introduced myself and the Counsel was more than ready and willing to accommodate me as THE FIRM had already handed over to me the Counsel’s fat cheque [which was thrice the fee the Counsel usually charged for taking up matters last minute] which cheque i was to physically hand over to the Counsel. Those were the good old days of cheques and demand drafts and easier modes of monetary remittances such as IMPS, RTGS and NEFT had not even been conceived.

The Counsel chatted with me despite over a dozen people waiting in line and enquired with me where I was put up. I explained my history and how I came to reside on the 5th floor of a building owned by a prominent law firm at Bengali Market. Finally he got up and said let’s go to Bengali Market. I genuinely assumed he must be wanting extra papers or wanting to have a word with my immediate senior – Proprietor of the Delhi law firm.

The car was called for and we landed up a NATHUS SWEETS at Bengali Market, New Delhi. This eatery was bang opposite the building where I used to reside on the 5th floor. NATHUS is very famous in Delhi for their sweetmeats. Rasgullas, Gulab Jamuns were called for and the breakfast basically consisted of all types of sweetmeats NATHUS SWEETS had on offer.

I was promptly informed by Counsel Sweet Tooth – “Don’t worry. My junior will keep back the matter. Eat freely without any tension and don’t gulp. Learn to enjoy your food”. Falling prey to temptation, I decided to dig in as well. Chole Bhature, Rasgullas. The breakfast was extraordinary and extremely heavy.

We finally reached the Supreme Court at 12.30 p.m. where the causelist had been called out and the court had risen for the day. Despite the matter having been kept back twice, the Judges decided that enough was enough and had posted the matter under the caption ‘DISMISSAL’ after hearing the name of Counsel Sweet Tooth who had been briefed to appear in the matter. Had it been anyone else, the matter would have been promptly DISMISSED for want of prosecution [non appearance].

Enraged at the manner in which the judges had behaved, Counsel Sweet Tooth informed the Court Master in turn to inform the Judges who had retired in chambers that ‘HE WAS HERE’.

The pressure of the HAND those days was so immense that the Judges decided to take to the dias within five minutes of being literally summoned by Counsel Sweeth Tooth. The other side’s counsels having a cup of tea at the Supreme Court canteen were also summoned by Counsel Sweet Tooth’s junior and they literally descended from the various corridors of the Supreme Court cursing themselves as to why they had not left the premises for the day and pondering over as to why they had fallen to the lure of a cup of Masala tea at the Honourable Court’s canteen. The other side was also represented by Senior Counsel who appeared without murmur. The hearing went on for forty five minutes and after hearing Counsel Sweet Tooth with  a great deal of patience, the Learned Judges ruled in our favour and admitted the petition on the grounds that an important point of law was indeed involved.

Before rising the second time for the day, one of the Learned Judges a lady who had risen from the Calcutta Bar expressed her displeasure to Counsel Sweet Tooth

“Mr.Counsel Sweeth Tooth, the least you can do is come on time. Are we expected to wait for you?”

To which Counsel Sweeth Tooth promptly replied – ‘Your ladyship is absolutely right. I should have come on time. However please do appreciate that last minute research does take it’s time. The time I spent by not appearing before this Court was wisely spent by me and my junior colleague at the bar in valuable research on how to convince the Court to admit the present petition. Last minute hard work has borne fruit. Hence the delay on my part may kindly be excused”.

Counsel Sweet Tooth directed me to go back to Bengali Market and pack two boxes of freshly made Rasgullas and have it sent to his offices, with specific instructions to place an order only after 5.00 p.m. as Counsel Sweet Tooth was well aware of the fact that the second fresh batch of Rasgullas would be churned out by NATHUS at that particular point of time. I was told by Counsel Sweeth Tooth – “It’s all about timing”. I happily agreed to comply with these directions and THE FIRM promptly footed the bill.

The clients and legal counsels who had flown in from Antwerp, Belgium to witness Counsel Sweet Tooth argue their petition for admission and who were visibly upset at the inordinate delay caused by Counsel Sweet Tooth in appearing before the Court and who were anticipating the DISMISSAL of the Petition for non-appearance, were all praises for the last minute research done by Counsel Sweet Tooth and myself. Little did they know that our research material comprised of various savouries at NATHUS SWEETS.

All’s well that end’s well. Last minute research does work wonders at times.

[sharathpai]

Washing Dirty Linen in Public

Incident No.3 - Circa 1998-99 A leading German Motor Company manufacturing Automotive Components and Valves had approached 'THE FIRM' to represent them before the Honourable Supreme Court of India. The monetary stakes involved were gargantuan and 'THE FIRM' was specifically instructed by the German Company's Legal Counsel - 'WIR KONNEN ES UNS EINFACH NICH LEISTEN ZU VERLIEN" which translated in simple English would mean "We simply cannot afford to lose". Those were the good old days when the the lotus had not reached full bloom and all foreign companies wishing to invest in India were shown the hand.

THE FIRM had been specifically instructed to engage a leading Counsel from Bombay who was considered an expert in the nuances of automotive law and taxation. The Counsel's various exploits were considered exemplary in the constricted legal world. Word had reached reached German shores that this particular Cambridge educated Counsel was nothing but the re-incarnation of the famous magician Harry Houdini as this Counsel had in him the God gifted ability to convince any court in the country to tilt the scales squarely in favor of whichever client he represented and THE FIRM had been directed to engage this counsel's services at any cost.

No expenses or efforts were to be spared and a Fat Fee advance was remitted into the FIRM'S Bank account from the German firm's headquarters in Munich way in advance. German Companies are usually not great paymasters in comparison to American Companies and Germans are known for haggling for fee discounts prior to actually effecting fee payments to lawyers representing them. My senior used all his contacts at the bar and called this Cambridge educated counsel literally begging him to appear for THE FIRM.  The Counsel at the outset REFUSED and said NO. His explanation was - “My diary is full and I will not be able to make it on that particular day”.

Finally my senior’s efforts paid off and bore fruit. A quadruple fee was agreed upon [1.A fee for not attending fixed matters before the Honourable Bombay High Court, 2.A fee for reading the papers, 3.A fee for actual appearance before the Honourable Supreme Court of India and 3.A fee for traveling a day prior]. I was instructed to visit the Counsel's chambers [offices] with the case papers. For me this was a dream come true.

In law college, we had heard about the exploits of this Counsel and here I was, two months into my internship with THE FIRM, and I was actually getting an opportunity to meet this maverick counsel in person. It was like a football enthusiast getting an opportunity to meet Cristiano Ronaldo. My senior had specifically forewarned me that the Counsel was whimsical with a personality somewhat akin to Dr Jekyll and Mr.Hyde and that I ought to tolerate the "Hyde" side of this gentleman with much patience and dignified grace. This was to be one in a long list of litmus tests that I was supposed to pass in order for me to consolidate my position in THE FIRM if I ever wanted to be an Associate and be made a permanent fixture in THE FIRM. In life there are people you meet and get along with them in an instant. Then there are others no manner how many times you meet, you just cannot stand them. Strangely enough this maverick counsel and me got along like a house on fire. The actual reason of me getting along with this counsel was the fact that I did not object to any of his eccentricities or idiosyncrasies. All geniuses are crazy in their own way and if you pamper the genius, whom the world criticizes, then you somehow find a permanent place in the heart of the genius and I definitely did as Mr.Maverick in the future specifically insisted to my Senior that I accompany him for all hearings where THE FIRM would brief him whether it be before the Honourable Bombay High Court or the Honourable Supreme Court of India. This made my position in the firm a bit akward as I became an easy target of envy amongst my brother and sister colleagues at THE FIRM. I was relegated to the role of a travel agent. Ticket bookings, hotel bookings, everything had to be perfect. The Counsel had a distaste for early morning flights and as instructed I booked us on the 2 p.m. Jet Airways flight to Delhi [business class], which flight would reach Delhi by 4 p.m. We were flying out a day in advance prior to the hearing which was scheduled the next day. Usually counsels take the early morning flight out on the very same day the hearing is scheduled. But here was a counsel who had already taken triple fee and did not want to fly out with groggy eyes early in the morning on the date of hearing. Good for me as it was extremely comfortable for me as a junior. I hated early morning flights as well. The tension of reaching the Court on time is not worth it as flight delays may disrupt schedules and make the entire trip pointless as Courts do not care if your flight was delayed or not, if you fail to reach on time.

A suite had been booked at the Hotel Taj Mansingh - a leading five star hotel. A chauffer driven BMW had been booked to pick us up from the Delhi airport.

I was to meet the Maverick Counsel at Gate No.2 [Departures] sharp at 1 p.m. at the Bombay Airport. I reached before time. The Counsel reached sharp at 1 p.m. and appeared from nowhere with three heavy suitcases, which were loaded on to the trolley by his personal chauffeur driving a Black Mercedes. Those were the type of suitcases you take on an International Flight to the US when you are to return to India after a couple of months. The trolley was heavy and I carried the same along to the check-in counter. In those good old days when the Internet was considered a luxury and portals such as manupatra or scc online [websites where prior judgments of courts from all over India can be accessed at the click of a mouse] had not even been conceived, photocopies of judgments culled out from torn AIR books available in the Bombay High Court library were considered the only legitimate source of legal precedents sought to be relied upon. So I genuinely assumed that this Maverick Counsel must have carried reams and reams of papers to be produced before the Supreme Court Bench as precedents. We finally landed in New Delhi and the Counsel was shown his suite and I was put up in a decent room, which for me was nothing but extra ordinary. For a junior just two months into an internship being put up at the Taj Mansingh was an achievement. It was another dream come true for me. i had been warned by my senior not to even open the room refrigerator as the savories were frightfully expensive. Of’course they were, as the Taj is very expensive. At around 7 p.m. I was called to the Counsel's suite where I was instructed by Mr.Maverick to assist him in the unpacking of three huge suitcases that had traveled with us all the way from Bombay. I was told to call Housekeeping as I could do with an extra pair of hands. I did what I was told without murmur. Housekeeping arrived and Mr.Maverick requested for another housekeeping staff to remain present. The bags were unpacked and I was directed to count each and everything before handing over the same to housekeeping, which till now I assumed were case papers waiting to be photocopied. I hid my surprise and controlled my laughter when I began the count after unzipping the three huge bags. The count began as follows - Six drapes, sixteen shirts, eight trousers, five western gowns, six bras, seven pairs of men's underwear, seven lace panties made by M&S, UK, two camisoles, six woolen sweaters, two rugs and six sets of pyjamas were handed over to housekeeping with instructions to be laundered overnight. EXPRESS LAUNDRY SERVICE I was told was the best at Taj Mansingh. And needless to say Mr.Maverick was right. The Taj did not let us down. The service was exemplary. The matter scheduled for hearing before the Honourable Supreme Court bench the very next day got adjourned on some flimsy ground as the Judge heading the bench decided to casually go on leave.

I enjoyed the world renowned famed Taj Hospitality till very late in the evening when we checked out with three full suitcases of impeccably laundered and neatly ironed clothes. The bags were a bit light though and the laundry bill was more expensive than both the room rents combined, which the client promptly settled without batting an eyelid. While checking out, I raided Mr.Maverick’s suite’s refrigerator and the bag of chips i carried along to the airport were the best I have ever tasted to date. They don’t taste like that when you buy them from outside in local grocery shops. I had followed my Senior’s instructions to the tee. I had not touched the refrigerator in my room. Valuable legal lesson learnt by me - “Find a way and there is always a way”. I made seven more trips like this with Mr.Maverick and in the end our German clients were washed away with the final outcome, which tilted completely in their favor. I had learnt the lost art of how not wash dirty linen in public. A valuable lesson indeed.

[sharathpai]

The Tale of the Duck and the Mouse

Incident No.2 -

Circa 1998 -

A client of THE FIRM had flown in from New York, USA to meet with my Senior. The Complaint was that India had no regard for IPR protection [Intellectual Property Rights] and that something must be done to safeguard this famous Company’s legal interests in India.

From Crawford Market in Mumbai to Khan Market in Delhi, toys, duffel bags, backpacks were being sold by the dozens with the Company’s two famous cartoon characters. One being a famous mouse and the other being a famous duck.

These were the days of low internet penetration and comic books still ruled the roost in so far as children were concerned. Everything was offline. No instagram, no facebook, no Whats App. Nothing....

My senior entrusted me the job of paying a visit to the local police station with specific instructions to file a Complaint on behalf of the US Fortune 500 Company requesting physical police intervention to conduct raids on a very big factory on the outskirts of Mumbai churning out replicas and duplicates of the US Company’s famous two cartoon characters embossed and artistically printed on toys, bags, key chains and bed sheets.

Six continuous visits by me to the police station yielded no results as it was difficult to convince the police to devote valuable time and lend assistance in the raid of factories manufacturing duplicates, by postponing investigations of murders, rapes, robberies etc.. 

Finally the client decided that enough was enough. A call was made by the client to his bosses sitting in New York who in turn called up the US Consulate in New-Delhi which Consulate officials in turn called up the offices of the Indo- US Chamber of Commerce. Americans viewed a breach of copyright and trademarks as an extremely serious issue. A call was made to the Commissioner of Police and the ball was literally set rolling.

My seventh visit to the police station saw a sea change in the manner in which the police perceived my visit with the foreign client. We were offered tea with savories, given seven star treatment and the Senior Police Inspector immediately deputed two constables, one junior inspector and a van to accompany me wherever it is that I desired to go to conduct the raid.

Only one request was made by the Senior Inspector. :”Tell your clients that the retail prices of their products sold are extremely high and a simple Indian middle class family simply cannot afford it. Even I buy my stuff from Crawford market at a fraction of the cost. So please go easy on the raids”. It was more of a humanitarian appeal by the Senior Inspector and we felt as if were doing something morally wrong.

With an investigation report in my hand giving pin point accurate details of the factory where the counterfeit products were being manufactured, the client [foreigner], two constables and one junior inspector and myself decided to raid a factory in Bhiwandi.

The raid was a complete success. Counterfeit toys, bags, bed sheets, drapes, backpacks, duffel bags were seized and the factory was SEALED. The owner of the factory, the manager were arrested.

The foreigner being pleased with the outstanding progress that we had made with the very first raid flew back (First Class) to New York, USA to report to his bosses about the success of the raid [which was reported in the Times of India] second page. A sample of each of the counterfeit product was taken back home to the US by the client’s representative.

THE FIRM got a hefty fee in US Dollars for the prompt legal assistance so provided. It does not end there.

The story now begins. A couple of months had passed when the same US client landed on THE FIRM’S doorstep. A meeting was fixed by the FIRM at “The Chambers” Venue - the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Two senior US officials and the Company’s legal counsel had flown in from New York. This time the request was completely different.

THE FIRM was to engage the best criminal lawyers available in India and ensure that all criminal charges against the owner and the manager of the factory that we had raided were QUASHED.  The offenses were to be compounded if possible and if a charge sheet had been filed by the local police, THE FIRM was to make sure that a complete quashing of all charges would happen, even if it meant a trip to the Supreme Court in New Delhi. No expense was to be spared for ensuring that all criminal charges so framed against the factory owner were dropped. THE FIRM was directed that the US Company wanted a pre-raid position and THE FIRM was to ensure as if the raid never took place and any proof of the raid was to be erased from all mediums and formats, as far as practically possible.

THE FIRM being an extremely professional firm, never asked any questions like WHY, WHAT HAPPENED, HOW CAN THIS BE DONE NOW? Provided the fee was highly remunerative, the FIRM did what was asked of them. THE FIRM’S simple policy was - “Collect the fee first and never ever ask any questions later”

I was once again entrusted the job of accompanying a senior criminal lawyer to the local court [and though the manager and the owner had managed to secure bail in the interim], we promptly appeared on the next date - to the utter surprise and shock of both the manager and the owner of the factory we had earlier raided. We filed an application for compounding the offence stating that our clients  - the famous US Company were no longer interested in pursuing the charges of IPR Violation. The Magistrate was more than happy to oblige as IPR protection to this date in India, is never considered an offence, let alone being a severe one. India happily violates all IPR laws and gets away with it to this day.

A meeting was finally fixed between the client, and the factory owner where the factory owner was offered a hefty remuneration to become the sole selling agent, manufacturer and distributor of the Fortune 500 Company.

When I asked the foreign client as to why this was being done, he replied that after he had returned to New York and shown his bosses the seized samples, his bosses were of the opinion that the counterfeited products were of far more superior quality than the originals that were being manufactured by the US Company in their factory at Shenzhen in China and to be brutally honest they were in complete awe of the Indian Manufacturer who had managed to produce such superior quality goods with the Company's mouse and duck logos at such a low selling price. THE MAKE IN INDIA movement had already started and i had proudly played a part in it, albeit a tiny one at that.

To this date, the factory owner thanks me for organizing the raid. He has six factories now and is the sole selling agent, manufacturer, distributor and now an EXPORTER of the Fortune 500 Company’s duck and mouse products in India, Europe and Asia. The Senior Inspector who authorized the raid had stocked up the seized alleged counterfeit samples for an entire lifetime and I am told that the counterfeited products are distributed by him as gifts during festive occasions to close friends and family. I managed to cull out two double bed sheets with my favorite duck and mouse characters as my reward, which I fondly use to this day and remember THE RAID with fond memories.

THE FIRM was entrusted the job of drafting agreements between the US client and the factory owner and THE FIRM continues to do so to date [as per information from reliable sources]. All’s well that ends well.

The latest news now is that the factory owner has started counterfeiting products of other companies featuring insects and mammals such as spiders and bats and is praying that a raid is organized soon. “Greed will kill us all”

[sharathpai]

Incident No. 1 - 'THE CURIOUS CASE OF LIFE SIZE PHOTOS OF ADVOCATES AT THE MRTP COMMISSION, NEW DELHI'

In my junior days (circa 1998), I was entrusted the task of assisting a designated Senior Counsel (having a rip roaring Supreme court practice in those days) before the MRTP Commission in a high stakes matter. The Senior Counsel had on account of my Bombay senior's repeated requests agreed to appear before a lower court albeit for a triple fee.

A local Delhi based company claiming to be India's leading manufacturer of heart pacemakers having an office at Paharganj with no factory, had addressed a handwritten postcard to the MRTP Commission allegating that a world leading Fortune 500 US Company manufacturing heart pacemakers and mitral valves was preventing any other competitor from selling heart pacemakers to leading hospitals in India and the alleged act on the part of the Fortune 500 US Company was nothing but a monopolistic trade practice which practice ought to be deprecated and put an end to immediately failing which Indian Companies based in Paharganj, New Delhi would suffer at the hands of foreign infiltrators.

The contents of the postcard had been converted 'SUO MOTO' by the Commission into an official Complaint and a copy of the Complaint had been dispatched in a pale brown envelope with government of India postage stamps to the Fortune 500 Company's headquarters in the US. The envelope also contained a show cause notice directing the US Company as to show cause as to why their operations ought not to be banned in India. The notice dispatched by the Commission had sent shivers down American spines.

How the envelope and its contents promptly reached US shores still remains a mystery to date. Those were the days when having an internet connection was a matter of great prestige and every reputed law firm had a fax machine.

For all legal mavericks practicing today, MRTP Commission was formed by the Government for the purpose of restricting monopolistic trade practices in India and the MRTP Commission has now been replaced by CCI also known as the Competition Commission off India.

Coming back to the incident at hand, I was to meet the Senior Counsel in the Bar room meant for Advocate members of the local bar - (Advocates regularly practicing before the MRTP Commission)

I entered the bar room and promptly sat myself on a chair, as the Senior Counsel had informed me that he was stuck up in heavy traffic. The act on my part to directly make myself at home and sit on a Learned member's chair was not taken too kindly by other members.

When you are a junior there are times you can get away with anything by feigning ignorance. No one said anything although I received dirty disapproving stares from everywhere.

The bar room was simple room with a noisy air cooler inside. Nothing fancy. The room was adorned with life size photos of Advocates and these photos accompanied the photos of Gandhiji, Dr Ambedkar, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Pandit Nehru. There was even a framed photograph of our ex-President Giani Zail Singh, for reasons best known to the bar. I was informed later on that Sardar Advocates at the bar also wished to be represented by someone important from their community. One more photograph on the wall would not make a difference i guess.

Just at that moment, an Advocate with salt and pepper hair walked in and screamed at his junior - 'Papers lao bhai. Nashta nahin kiya kya?' The junior traced out the papers from countless papers and briefs dumped on the table and managed to somehow save his job.

To my utter shock and surprise, one of the life size portraits on the wall of the bar room was that of the same Advocate with the salt and pepper hair. I started sweating profusely and Mr .Tulsi Ramsey came to mind. (For readers who do not know who Tulsi Ramsey is - please Google it).

As Advocates started walking in, i compared their faces to the life size portraits on the wall. Most of the faces matched.

In my mind, if a person's LIFE SIZE photo is right up on the wall then I would presume the person to be dead.

Garnering up the courage I asked an Advocate - 'Sir, what do these life size portraits adorning the wall mean?'

The Learned Advocate replied - 'Bhai, ye sab MRTP commission ke bar members hain. Jitne bar election hua utne photo lag gaye' deewar pe.

Not able to contain my curiosity further, I spoke my mind . I told him - Sir in Bombay if my photo is on a wall it means i am dead'.

His reverberating reply to me which I remember to this day was - "Bhai tum Bombay Wale bewakoof ho. Advocate marne ke baad photo lene aur lagane ka kya fayda. Sab Advocates ka photo court ke deewar pe lagao. Agar woh Advocate mar var gaya toh uske photo PE phool ka haar chadao. Simple'.

Upon hearing him, my mind which had automatically presumed it had seen ghosts of Advocates walking by in the bar room calmed down. I finally started counting the photos with garlands and they were merely a dime a dozen.

The matter was called out and the Senior Counsel never made it. He still remains forever stuck in traffic to this day and is a SUPER SENIOR these days.

I decided that the best way forward would be to donate my life size photo with a garland to the MRTP Commission bar association as i was confident the client would kill me if no future date was given by the Honourable Commission on account of the Senior Counsel's non availability on that fateful day.

Luckily for me wise counsel prevailed and by God's grace i managed to convince the respected MRTP commission members to grant me a date obviously at the client's costs 😜.

[sharathpai]

Introduction

In my 24+ years of legal practice there have been many incidents in court rooms where I have personally appeared, which incidents tickle the funny bone to this day and are simply unforgettable. Some are incidents in matters where I have appeared. Other incidents happened right in my presence. There have been repeated requests from various quarters that I ought to pen a book narrating these various incidents which I have shared with various seniors and juniors alike. So here goes .... I do look forward to your support and blessings. Please do follow my blog. Regards, Sharath Pai