| Name | Legal Eagles |
| Author | Indu Bhan |
| Publisher | Random House Pages 230 |
| Price | Rs.399/- |
Legal Eagles by Indu Bhan ; published by Random House ; Pages 230 ; Price Rs 399/-
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A year ago we published the review of the book " Three Judges and Their Times " which highlighted the monumental contribution of Justices K.T.Telang, M.G.Ranade and N.G.Chandavarkar to ensure justice for the common man during the British Rule. During the first fifty years of Independent India we had a galaxy of legal luminaries—to name a few-- Nani Palkhivala, Kanga, M.C.Setalvad, P.N.Bhagwati, M.C.Chagla,V.R.Krishna Iyer—who contributed to the maintenance of a high level of legal probity and order.
During the last twenty five years we have the fortune to have distinguished lawyers. The author of the book under review has selected seven top Indian lawyers and dealt with their lives and times. They are Rohinton Nariman, Harish Salve,Mukul Rohtagi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Aryaman Sundaram, Aravind Datar and Prashant Bhushan.
The author Indu Bhan is a highly respected legal reporter and runs a weekly column " Verdict Corner", which covers the developments in the field of law. She is connected with Business Standard, PTI and Financial Express.
The distinguished former Chief Justice of India R.M.Lodha has written a learned " Foreword " He has raised a number of questions—"How did the seven lawyers distinguish themselves from the others in the legal profession?. What has gone into making them such successful lawyers ?.What has been their contribution to the development of law and constitutional principles?".Due to space constraints we deal with only five lawyers.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi is an eminent jurist, parliamentarian, media personality, columnist, author and commentator. He was the youngest Additional Solicitor General at the age of 37. He lays great emphasis on " Preparedness "—both " "Case Preparedness " and " Court Preparedness ". The important cases he dealt with are "NTC Bombay Mills ", "Mandal ". His fame rests on the case relating to the " national flag—Right to fly the Tricolour".
Harish Salve wears two hats. He is a barrister and joined "Gray's Inns" in London. This is in addition to being a leading lawyer in our Supreme court. He failed twice in the Chartered Accountancy Examinations. He assisted Palkhivala in the " Minerva Mills" case. Palkhivala advised him to join the chambers of Soli Sorabjee. Salve's most famous case is the " Bearer Bonds " case for which he won praise from several senior lawyers. He was designated " Senior Advocate" by the Delhi High Court. His important cases involved bigwigs like the Ambanis, Mahindras . He represented Ratan Tata in the right to privacy case.
The third legal luminary is Aryaman Sundaram who is the grandson of a legal giant of yesteryears—Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer. Sir C.P. wanted his grandson to become a lawyer. Sundaram began his legal career in the law firm of " King and Partridge". Later he started his own legal firm. At 38 he was the youngest advocate ever to be designated as "Senior Advocate " in the history of the Madras High Court. Sundaram represented the FICCI in in the 2G Spectrum Presidential reference. Currently, he is handling the infamous India Premier League ( IPL) spot-fixing and betting case being heard in the Supreme Court.
Prashant Bhushan, the fourth lawyer has a distinguished legal giant as his father—Shanti Bhushan. He it was who represented Raj Narain who unseated the formidable Smt.Indira Gandhi. Prashant got involved in several civil liberty issues. During the infamous emergency he joined the People's Union of Civil Liberties. All of us know his role in the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party. PILs became his forte. The 2G Spectrum scam, Coalgate, the fracas over the Radia tapes, Coal and Iron Ore mining scams—all these alerted the Government as it did the corporate world. Prashant played an important role in all these cases. It was due to his initiative that the Apex Court cancelled all 122 licences on 2ndFebruary 2012 and ordered a re-auction. Prashant has made an impact and what he speaks in Court is taken with a high level of seriousness.
One advocate who has been elevated to the B
ench
is Rohinton Nariman. His famous judgement which struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was the first-ever verdict on the right to freedom of speech on the Internet and was hailed by all jurists. Soli Sorabjee declared, " The judgement is well-researched, well reasoned and erudite in expression". As a lawyer Rohinton was an inspiration to the young aspirants because of his ethos, and the hard work, passion and commitment he put into every brief.
This is an admirable book that will inspire budding lawyers. It will teach them to acquire skill in argument, perception of legal principles, close train of logic, command over language and eloquence.
P.P.Ramachandran.
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