The auditorium at Bharat Mandapam was filled with dignitaries, lawyers, and judges on Sunday evening. But, the pressing matter of this gathering was for a rather happy occasion: the launch of two books, The Bench, the Bar, and the Bizarre and The Lawful and the Awful. Written by Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, these works of writing took centre stage as the evening filled with anecdotes, chatter, mutual admiration, and laughter — quite unusual for a setting of such stature. However, such is the nature of these books that the discussion around them brought out natural smiles as the admirable writing gave a humorous twist to the happenings in courtrooms.
“There is a particular peculiarity in being an advocate and publishing books on the lighter side of law. It feels rather like a surgeon writing humorously about his own operation theatre,” said Mehta, adding, “It is not a subject of just anecdotes or legal jokes or any other humour book. What these two books are, is a collection of true stories. Nothing is imaginary or fictional. I have just gathered some incidents which would be very interesting for all of us to learn from law — across various jurisdictions, subjects, proponents, and ways of dealing with those subjects.”
Sharing that he was already halfway and deeply indulged in reading both the books, Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant shared his review from the dais: “Reading these books back-to-back is like bingeing a courtroom drama that accidentally wandered into a stand-up special. These invite readers to explore legal dilemmas with chuckles instead of headaches. Reading about these comical episodes, I was reminded of a few priceless stories from our own neck of the woods. The beauty lies not only in their comic timing but also in the sheer depth of research that went into all their jest. He (Mehta) presents baffled witnesses, judges with a flair for the dramatic, and lawyers caught in the crossfire of their own hysterical missteps.”
As the evening drew to a close, a round of friendly banter ensued, beginning with Mehta remarking, “Since I am practising in India and intend to do so for quite a number of years hereafter, I have chosen not to include any instance of an Indian court, Indian judge, or Indian judgement.” This drew huge laughter from the crowd, and soon Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation took the stage saying,“I differ with him on one point. Tushar bhai ne kaha ki ‘Main court mein practise karta hoon aur yeh likh raha hoon’. Tushar bhai yeh saahas aapka aadha-adhura hai! This sentence would have been appropriate if you had commented on Indian courts, which you have avoided. Now, whether my comment is on the court or on Tushar Mehta, I leave that to you all.” The room thus broke into laughter.
{{/usCountry}}As the evening drew to a close, a round of friendly banter ensued, beginning with Mehta remarking, “Since I am practising in India and intend to do so for quite a number of years hereafter, I have chosen not to include any instance of an Indian court, Indian judge, or Indian judgement.” This drew huge laughter from the crowd, and soon Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation took the stage saying,“I differ with him on one point. Tushar bhai ne kaha ki ‘Main court mein practise karta hoon aur yeh likh raha hoon’. Tushar bhai yeh saahas aapka aadha-adhura hai! This sentence would have been appropriate if you had commented on Indian courts, which you have avoided. Now, whether my comment is on the court or on Tushar Mehta, I leave that to you all.” The room thus broke into laughter.
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