Advocates on 75 Years of the Supreme Court of India

Transcript:

“I miss the old school, I miss the old times.

But everything must change and so must this Court.

When we enter to the apex court of our country, it’s a different feeling.

This institution has been one which has been a place of great learning, a place for performance and a place where achievements and excellence has been attained.

Having an experience of one year and getting the opportunity to be able to practice before Supreme Court, it’s in itself is a very good exposure.

It’s too much, it’s too surreal to actually even explain to somebody what practice means to somebody who’s just come into the profession.

It’s beautiful.” 

Over the years, the Court has constantly changed. What are the particular changes that have stood out most starkly to you? How have those changes affected your experiences?

Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora: From the time that I came to this Court and which was January of 86, the hearings were more leisurely. 2024, we are buzzing. There are no longer detailed analysis on a judgement. Why we should overrule, why we should not overrule? We seem to be a Court in a little bit of a hurry now.

What are some changes that you would like to see in the Supreme Court?

Senior Advocate Ravi Prakash Mehrotra: We do feel that the courtrooms need to increase, some of the courtrooms, as you know well, are not having the size which they should have. So there is a lot of pressure and there is also scope for improvement in that regard.

Advocate Amit Sharma, Vice President, Supreme Court AOR Association: When you talk about any court, maybe High Court, maybe a Trial Court, lower court or a Supreme Court, where we are standing, you know, it has to be absolutely litigant friendly. So you need to have more number of spaces for the litigant to sit. You need to have more space for them to have, you know, read something or have consultations with their lawyers. So you need that infrastructural development. I mean that you should have a space inside the Supreme Court premise which will really make them feel very comfortable and you know, it will be, it will be towards the path of justice.

Mehrotra: The use of technology has been something which has stood out over a period of time. Particularly I suppose there’s a flip side to everything thanks to COVID that technology came with the VC (video conference) hearings and the manner in which cases were conducted.

Sharma: This digitisation has come as a boon in many ways. Like, you know, it is also environmental, you know, friendly. You don’t use much of paper, you can do online filing and of course you can appear in various courts from Supreme Court and from various places to Supreme Court. So it’s a big, big step that has been taken and it’s going to be having a far reaching effect, positive effect if I may say so.

Arora: From the time that I came here and to today, what I see, of course there are many more women on the bar. We have recently given them also their position as senior counsels. We have had more women senior counsels, of course, not proportionate, but definitely more. So it’s a good sign. It’s a beginning of things.

Advocate Deeksha Tyagi: So you talk about senior advocates, you talk about the newcomers, the freshers, there are so many women in this profession right now and they’re doing so well, you know, on day to day basis they are coming out, I mean they are arguing in the matters that are landmark judgements and reportable judgements.

Arora: But I want that reflection to happen on the bench because there are women there today and therefore it’s important that we start that to have that representation on the bench alike. Supreme Court has had very few women on the bench. I think that surely must change. We have very capable, very good women out there and who are happy to be on the bench.

What does the Supreme Court represent for you?

Advocate: I have been able to see eminent lawyers as well as judges in this Court deciding very crucial issues which have affected the all over the country.

Advocate: We are very honored to practice over here and we get opportunity to present cases over here in good cases which can be, which are some of the landmark judgements and which can be a landmark judgements to the country.

Rashi Agarwal, Legal Intern: This is my third day here and I still get the goosebumps every time I see any lawyer fighting a case. You know, I used to see all the judges through the online videos that are there on the YouTube but now that I see them in person, I see them asking questions, I get the goosebumps and it is, you know, just the never ending feeling of being, feeling excited.

Advocate: I am here for a year, I graduated fresh. I came here as a fresher. What I saw change, or maybe what I observed in this one year was that they are very, very, very welcoming towards juniors. They encourage juniors, they encourage young budding lawyers. They want them to do better in Court. I haven’t personally had any experience where I have been intimidated in a negative way, where I have had a setback. And the next day I didn’t want to come to Court. Not a single day that I didn’t feel like coming to Court.

Arora: I have always felt that this is one institution that has protected us as a democracy, as our rights. It’s an institution that’s given us the faith to believe that we will stay a democracy and we will have the rights which we have inherent in ourselves.