Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year— In Conversation with Mr Vivek Narayan Sharma, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India | BW Legal World Global Legal Summit and Legal Leaders Awards 2020

Many Congratulations on winning the BW Legal World Global Legal Leaders Award for the year 2020. How was your experience interacting with the Jury and of the event? 

VNS: Thanks for appreciating and recognising my work. It provides grit and substance to my endeavours to be recognised and awarded the BW Legal World Global Leader’s Award - 2020.   

The Jury was powerful - best of jurists, academicians and lawyers and so was its prowess to question and penetrate in order to find the truth of claims for the award. The Jury not only examined but repeatedly cross-examined me to know my truth of the matter, and that really brings highest amount of faith and respect not only for the Jury but also for the organisers, who proved themselves to be honest and serious in giving the awards to the right persons. 

Recognition is only a medium to provide a highlight to the work already done, however, highlighting a good work benefits not only the doer of the work but creates a stream of thought & action for the benefit of society. It pleases the mental faculties when people do good work and it pleases the Gods when due appreciation is provided for doing good work.   

Rewinding time: please allow us a peek into your illustrious journey in law. Where did this journey begin, who were your mentors, and are there any goals that remain to be achieved?  

Goals are always recurring, they never stop, every morning there is more to achieve, along with that one has to maintain equilibrium, work-life balance, inner peace and fighting instincts. Staying on the trajectory of growth maintaining balance of calm and energy is my idea of existence.  

My journey for law began with my rejection in the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) conducted by the Indian Air Force. It was my dream to serve the nation as a fighter pilot but having the door closed, I turned towards the career of Law. I joined Law education. For earning part time money, I pursued my hobby of being a ‘Fashion Model’ in the world of glamour.  

As a law student, I discovered that the legal field not only provided me the needed cerebral stimulation but also reverberates with my passion to contribute to the welfare of the country.  

In the beginning, I interned with a Tax Advocate but gradually discovered the vastness of the field and came to Delhi to gain experience and interned in few relevant offices of the time. I had NO prior contacts in the legal field but I just believed in myself and focused on my struggle to make my mark as an advocate.  

As I had no referrals, I used to sit in courts during hearings to observe the arguing counsels and contemplate who could be my best mentor or senior. I shortlisted a few names and approached them and developed connection bonds with some of them. To my good fortune, I received my initial guidance and mentorship from the likes of late Mr. Arun Jaitley and Mr Gopal Subramanium, who guided my path in those formative years, as and when I needed. I was fortunate to work with Late Mr Dipankar P. Gupta, formerly Solicitor General of India. He had a humble and yet strong demeanour and was an ardent follower of Swami Vivekanand, as I am. So, the connection was easy, highly productive and I am what I am today owing to those formative days and my continued endeavour to keep doing my best.  

My grasp and exposure allowed me to explore deeply vast variety of laws such as constitutional, criminal, civil and personal laws and special laws like economic offences, electricity, consumer, competition, environment etc. Arbitration and Mediation attracted me a lot then and now as I found potential in these to mitigate the hardships of clients. I am a certified Mediator too.  

What would you say has helped you emerge as a leader in your industry and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction?   

VNS: I always believe in nurturing and keeping good habits. Good Habits that become part of character always pay well in the long run.  

In old times, the kings would send their wards to gurukul to train them in a variety of skills along with discipline, the benefit of such training was that the disciples inculcated the imparted education and culture in their character. Since we do not have gurukul now, it is important that apart from academics, we most focus on building an overall robust character inculcating discipline and positive values as habits. As the progression of life happens such strong existence is bound to gain mutual care, genuine respect and recognition in the social fabric and emerge as a leader. 

How has the legal services industry transformed in the past year? What have been your key learnings from the year past and what are your predictions for the future?  

VNS: Necessity is the mother of Invention’ has manifested well during the pandemic year for the entire Legal System. Although the legal industry has moved from bookish research to digital legal research during the past decades, the new quick technological transition for advocates, litigants and judges, due to the lockdowns of the pandemic are the Virtual Meetings & Conferences, Virtual Courts & Arbitrations & Virtual Filings.  

Though it appears to be temporary, to my mind it may provide immense opportunity to work on the backlog of cases. I am not in the favour of transitioning totally to Virtual Courts but I feel Hybrid Courts must stay for good. The Hybrid Courts may allow miscellaneous appearances to be held virtually with exceptions and substantial hearings can happen in physical presence. It is very logical to continue using the technological infrastructure wherever it can benefit since all the courts have already invested a significant amount to develop the virtual legal system. Tomorrow, when the covid situation comes to an end, all this investment shouldn’t be wasted but to be utilised at the best of its advantage.  

Further, in the Indian legal system, the system of serving Notices and Summons to other party is not flawless and there is a lot of delay or missed deliveries. Last year Supreme court allowed summons to be served through WHATSAPP & OTHER VIRTUAL MEDIUMS, practices like this would pave way for reducing the time lag of kick-starting a trial.  

If the right policies for virtual platform adoptions are made and implemented then India can be litigation heaven in future.  

What role can an individual play in making workplaces truly diverse and inclusive?   

VNS: To make the system truly diverse and inclusive is a long fight. Unless we have a culture to promote this positivism, the policies wont truly work. I, as an individual advocate, would keep myself conscious of promoting equality in terms of work distribution, opportunities and money.  

While the above would be fully based on individual capability and acumen, simultaneously, I would promote independence and entrepreneurship in the less capable through my mantra, ‘Learn, while you Earn’. This formula is for such associates who have difficulties in delivering what is desired from them due to lack of proper legal education, legal acumen or training or work experiences etc. It keeps them afloat and develop confidence for sustenance in the field of law. So, I try to be fair, even with the weaker mental acumens. Gender, cast, religion is already not in play with me. 

 An experience, case or person that left a lasting impression on you.  

VNS: For me, the genesis of intention to win has substantial weightage. An advocate may win by hook and crook for wealthy clients adding to the litter in the bin of social filth, but for me, winning in the right perspective is fulfilling and adds to the contentment of my persona. Each case taken up by me is important to me. I reckon the pains and investment a client takes to reach till High Court or Supreme Court, hence, winning and keep winning every day on principles is the character of my lawyering.  

Let me still try to pick some of the extraordinary and unique wins awarding me satisfaction, which are peacefully settled in the corners of my mind:  

 Love Jihad case for RSS (2003-04) 

This was one of my first pro-bono that I fought in my early career days. A 10th fail 45-year-old man, who was already having 2 wives and working in the Waqf Board, alleged that he was legally married to a highly educated professional Hindu Women of 28 years from Ambala from a family of intellectual and well-settled parents. The issue was boiling in the region for around 6 months and consequently several cross cases reached at the door of the Supreme Court, including the cases filed by the parents of the girl, for whom I was arguing.   

The parents were in greatest distress about the welfare of their daughter, who was earlier married to a Hindu boy in Delhi and was removed from his company, while the couple was going to Vaishno Devi, by the Muslim Man. For seeking her release from the abduction, parents had filed a Habeas Corpus petition before the Chandigarh High Court. The Muslim man and the Hindu girl had jointly filed Writ Petition for seeking protection and separate petition for seeking quashing of FIR against Muslim man. Couple of other petitions from Muslim Priest (Maulvi) and Hindu Support groups were also filed. Both Central & State governments belonged to different parties, so the battle was really heated up on this count too. 

The High Court granted protection to Muslim boy and Hindu girl and dismissed parents’ petition, but declined to quash the FIR against Muslim man and directed him to appear before the concerned Magistrate’s court for obtaining bail.  

Before Supreme Court, there was a lot of drama and the entire courtroom was filled with people on either side and hundreds of spectators had come to watch this case. The Jethmalani clan with a battery of support lawyers were representing Muslim man and a Hindu girl.  Heated arguments took place for long. At the conclusion of a long hearing, the SC bench called the Hindu girl for seeking her statement in open court. The girl gave a statement in favour of a Muslim man. But I was vigilant like an eagle and watched her body language and words’ delivery very closely. I somehow sensed the tension in her body and observed a minute detail. While she spoke her name, she was confident and looked into the eyes of Judge. But when she said that she wanted to live with Muslim man, she became a different person. She sounded low and spoke face down without eye contact. The bench was quick enough to retort, “It is totally clear that she wants to live with….!.”, and I snapped just in that moment and very softly spoke, “Mylords may I request to take her statement inside Mylords’ chamber privately!” I repeated, Mylords heard it clearly now, they paused and within few moments directed that they would take her statement in Chamber during lunchtime.   

This changed the outcome of this case later. When the truth was revealed to the Court privately by the Hindu girl, the Court denied relief to the Muslim man, who in fact ran away from the court premises during the hearing itself, apprehending his arrest. The Hindu girl joined back the company of her parents. I still remember the girl’s overwhelmed parents lay down on their stomach (Dandwat) and touched my feet outside the Court, bringing tears to even my eyes.  

 Ganga Action Plan case (2003) 

The Supreme Court Bench seemed prejudiced towards the seniority and paid heed to the arguments of the Solicitor General of India Mr Harish Salve, irrespective of mention of incorrect relevant facts, in the face of record. With 4 years of experience at the bar, I was extremely prepared with all facts on fingertips, case laws cited, legal position drawn.   

But no matter what I said, Judges’ eyes and minds stayed fixed on the senior gown. The Court showed no interest to my best documents in the paper-books, which would have proven the SG wrong and I eventually ended up shutting my files and telling the Court, “What is the point in arguing before your Lordships, if your Lordships can’t appreciate what I am arguing?”. I was loud, clear, harsh and my voice enveloped the Court in silence. Though I had raised a valid point, but I was arrogant. The Bench irked, “What did you say?”, and I repeated with same penchant. Mr. Gopal Subramanium, the Senior Advocate, who was sitting beside me to represent another party in the same case, pulled my gown and told me something which I don’t remember, but consequently, I repeated my words with care, caution and respect and pleaded to the Court that I was trying my best to assist and sought proper attention of the Court to the relevant facts of the case. The bench pretended to hear me after my objection but nothing fruitful came out during that session of Court. However, later I could drive the outcome in a favourable position for my clients, who were fighting for cleaning of Ganges and to stop misutilisation of hundreds of crores of tax-payers money. 

Interestingly, I had written a letter for the presiding Judge of the Bench on the very same night at around 2am and posted the very next day and conveyed that I was wrong in my arrogance before the court but defended my court argument. The impact of that letter was seen 4 months’ after that, when the case again came for hearing and the Presiding Judge remembered what I had argued on that day and provided relief in our favour.   

Saraswati Kunj Society Case (2007) 

My client was an elderly widow, supporting herself by teaching even after she had retired. Like all real estate matters, my client had deposited the money with the Saraswati Kunj Society, Gurgaon for allotment of plot. She was brought to me by another senior citizen client, who selflessly helped her. The three of us would leave at 4am and drive to the Chandigarh High Court for months for the hearing. 

I was worried about the cost effect on my client due to recurring hearings without any result.  

On the preceding night of the case listing, I could not sleep and just kept on pondering over the case. During the hearing the next day, I used the arguments contemplated at night and forced myself strategically over the division bench of Chandigarh High Court. As is the saying, “God favours the Brave!”, I returned with an unprecedented verdict in my favour. Why I say, “unprecedented”, because prior to and after that verdict, no one could ever obtain that verdict in the case of Saraswati Kunj society. Even years after that order, I was contacted by hundreds of people, including judges, bureaucrats etc. to take their cases and repeat my kind of success.  

 PIL in Nirbhaya’s Case (2013) 

This was another hard and unfair situation of early 2013 when the entire country was perturbed with the cruelty of the Delhi Gang Rape. Chief Justice Altamas Kabir’s wife worked for the welfare of Juveniles and kept themselves at the side of the culprit Juvenile in Nirbhaya’s case irrespective of his gruesome animalism with Nirbhaya and accused the media as unbiased towards the juvenile victim. I had filed the PIL for the Juvenile to be tried as ‘Major’ in the Delhi Gang Rape and for seeking his clinical examination as to whether he was a Psychopath and a danger to society if freed! Several other PILs were clubbed together for hearing.  

The cases were being dealt by the bench of Justice S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra, as they were then. But surprisingly, after several hearing, the cases were moved to Chief Justice Altamas’s bench, by way of an administrative order passed by Chief Justice. I knew he had a conflict of interest as he had already given a public statement to favour the culprit- Juvenile. My PIL was clubbed with other PILs filed, feeling responsible for my fellow advocates, I stayed quiet and didn’t raise an objection. We argued the matter for days, and later all the cases were dismissed.  

I had to pick the alternative route of drafting my proposal for amending Section 16 of the Juvenile Justice Act, thereby bringing the juveniles to ordinary criminal trials in serious crimes. I used to advise certain Union Ministers, I pushed my proposal through one of them.  Consequently, Central Govt. brought an amendment in Section 16 of the JJ Act. Things went well and ultimately the law was changed. But that psychopath juvenile was released from the child home after he completed his detention of 3 years and that appeared the biggest injustice to the daughter of our country, Nirbhaya. 

The case against Delhi Golf Course (2019) 

I was issued contempt notice in this matter by the then Chief Justice of Delhi High Court! The issue again was a conflict of interest, I knew that the Chief Judge is an honorary member of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), yet he didn’t refuse to hear the petition. But I didn’t possess the document to prove the same. The injustice began to unfold, he asked me to withdraw my petition or dilute my prayers to notional pleadings. Somehow, I felt, the matter that had all the law, facts and moral appeal for the underprivileged sportspersons, who bring laurels to the Nation, going down the drain for the wealthy and powerful. I felt the gush of my conscience, this was a pro-bono case and the financial situation of the sportspersons flashed in front of my eyes. I wanted to bring the opportunity of unhindered entry, the right to play on public land (Golf Course) and respect for these sport-persons at DGC. 

With all due respect, I pleaded before the court to grant me a hearing before making up their mind on anything. The Bench asserted that they would allow me to argue if I would remove certain prayers. I respectfully told the Bench, “These are material prayers in the case based on cogent and well-founded grounds. With due respects, I would not withdraw them, but this Hon’ble Court may always dismiss them after hearing my arguments on the same.” The Bench told me that it would not hear arguments on those prayers but dismiss the petition. Under a spot I responded to the Bench, “The Courts can’t pre-empt the arguments of a counsel. Because if the counsels won’t argue then what would they do. I think in such a situation, we should just put down our gowns and stop practising.” I further added, “You are sitting here to hear us and so you must!” Then the bench gave me hearing for some time, but this again was not an effective hearing and chose to dismiss the petition. So, in the end, I stated, “I knew this outcome!”, on which, I was issued contempt notice.  

The same evening, the contempt notice was served at my residence at 10.30 in the night. Notice named 3 of my juniors as well along with all the petitioners. However, on the day of hearing of contempt, at around 10.20am, the Chief Justice called me inside his chamber and expressed sorry for having issued the contempt notice and withdrew the same and restored the petition too, on the ground of conflict of interest and that he wasn’t aware of such conflict of interest. I was relieved and felt greatly happy in the gesture of the Chief, who also gave me a warm hug and consoled me beyond my imagination. I would always treasure those moments in my memories.  

There are several other cases too like the Grant of Permanent Commission to Women Officers in Armed Forces (2020), CAPF’ NFFU case (2019), Nikah-Halala Case (2018), Demonetisation Case (20216) etc. which have left a lasting effect on my mind. In the year 2017, we started to provide free legal services under the banner of Ladli Foundation and helped mitigate the hardship of women from marginalized society. The experience there had been eye-opening and provides in my mind that we need to create a much better and effective legal support infrastructure to support the marginalised society than it is today.   

One way of doing this is to make it mandatory for every law graduate to devote one year in legal clinics before enrolling them on the rolls of Bar Councils and provide a suitable and graded stipend to them. This way we can inculcate sensitivity & calibre in the nascent legal brains, which in turn would provide effective improvements to the current legal system. Also, retired judges should also be put to such tasks for at least 2 years immediately after their retirements. The potential of improvement in the legal system then would be beyond any imagination. Also this would make a retiring judge more idealistic than they are today, as they would not have any position for at least 2 years after retirement and so they would not be a tool in the hands of the government of the day. 

LegalTech tools that are transforming the traditional methods of legal practice in India. (Please list AI-tools you are using or being used at the firm for legal research, case management, contract lifecycle management, contract review, document reviews etc)  

VNS: Legal practice is always based on precedent and research. To uncover the precedents, one has to do the research. When I started my journey, the conventional way of research was to look into the books, digest and find, what are the precedents concerning the subject matter. This task was always time-consuming and sometimes one needed days to find a judgement in the books but during the early twenty-first century, legal search engines were introduced which substantially reduced the time taken for research. As a result, there is more time available for lawyers at hand and this is that phenomenal change that I experienced during my early days of a law career and I could eventually utilise the available time at hand on my fitness, family commitments, social connectivity and upgradation.  

I feel the future would belong to Artificial Intelligence and this technological edge would not only aid in drawing first drafts of contracts and pleadings but also help judiciary to auto write judgments, which can be then vetted by the judges. AI may empower Judges right from the trial court. There is a lot of load on the judiciary and judges need a lot of subject matter expertise for their disposal for a quicker response on the matters presented in their courts. Imagine a judge applying their mind with the same expertise on financial, economic or cybercrimes, it is reasonably impossible. They need assistance which they do not have access to and AI can bring great aid to them. 

AI could also be very effectively utilised in the cumbersome process of case management in courts. Using AI would also open a window of auditing and scrutiny to all case management digital trails.  

AI can be used to remove the backlog of cases. Canada has already tested feeding parties’ pleadings into AI and verified drafts of the judgements received by AI. Same way, tests can also be carried in India.   

What keeps you busy when you’re not working? Any favourite book or movie/series that you'd like to recommend to our readers.  

VNS: As I recall my pre-covid phase, without keeping fixation on clock, as and when I could, I did spend my time at the gym or at various sports activities. I loved reading my kind of books and I regularly write for online platforms. I also wrote a Book ‘Electionomics’ published in 2019 by Thomson Reuters. Ever since the pandemic as started, I am not really intending to write so I don’t but other activities are continued as and when allowed by the pandemic, outdoors or during lockdowns at home.    

Working out with family at home is a new opportunity, I now train my both kids and wife. We all do yoga stretches, conditioning and martial-art at home. Now my hobbies are reading books to both my kids and having discussions thereon. Meditation, Ohm-recitation and concentration with my kids are regular, as they used to be during my college days. We are burning calories of body and brain to renew ourselves. 

 The books that impacted my life are many and yet few names are Srimad Bhagwat Gita, Yoga Vashistha, Puranas, Works of Swami Vivekanand, Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Godfather by Mario Puzo, Alchemist etc. There have been other mediums too which played important parts in giving friction to my mind and I always count what I gained in the non-tangible world. I have also enjoyed watching the web series Suits and Billions.  

VNS: Any other thoughts, message to our readers. What other than hard work is a mantra to success?  

There is no exception to hard work.  However, discipline, vision and planning are also integral to one’s long-term success.   

 And to live a truly blissful successful life, the balance of giving and take is extremely important.  

Being humans, we are blessed with the capability to think and use limbs in the best possible manner unlike most living bodies on earth. What differentiates humans from animals is the consciousness ‘to help’. Humans are best built to help, with their minds, limbs and ability to articulate. So, I believe, whatever we do, there should always be an element of pro-bono. I bear it as a recurring habit. Society is best served, when more and more able minds provide pro-bono services in different fields, be it law, medical, education etc. The culture is fast developing in India, but a lot is required to be done yet and that’s what my message is to the youth - mere self-consumption is animalistic, one must justify being human!   

Please tell our readers about the covid experience faced by you and your family during the 2nd covid wave?  

VNS: We got covid positive during the 2nd week of April. Looking at the condition of my wife and elder son, I could tell that Covid is not an easy disease to handle, especially the strain that we caught during this pandemic.  Just to get ourselves tested took two days of waiting for sample collection followed by three days of waiting for a Report. First of all, the pressure that comes with the disease is a lot, like getting the building converted into red zone etc, and secondly, most people we spoke to were also suffering from Covid and hence there was a lot of panic which immediately followed by lockdown in Delhi.  I would thank our stars and healthy lifestyle, that a doctor prescribed us the Covid protocol medicines very much in time and we all responded to the medicines very well and felt better right from the first dose. Even when I was Covid Positive, I meditated and continued with my regular OHM-Chanting and Meditation every morning, and my mild symptoms didn’t progress and I recovered without much ado about it.   

While we were recovering, 2nd wave termed to have started and the country was dealing with lakhs of covid positive cases each day, which has now reached almost 4 lakh cases per day in India. The lack of hospital beds and oxygen at hospitals were not just news but happened to a lot of our friends and acquaintances while we also battled with COVID at home. May God bless humanity and our civilization to come out of this pandemic. Few suggestions, if I may, gathering from our experiences are: 

1. Don’t take the symptoms lightly and immediately go for testing and consultation with a doctor.  

2. While the test results are awaited, contact doctor/s and start covid protocol medication with due prescription from the doctor, as the test results are taking a long time to come. The protocol medication impacts positively and immediately.   

3. Hydrate yourself well with different drinks (warm or hot) like coconut water, electoral, lemon water etc. at least 8-10 litres when you have a fever and eat light, proper and every 2 hours. 

4. Take steam 3-4 times a day for 6-8 minutes each time and gargle at least twice daily with salt and turmeric mixed in water.    

5. Walk for 20-30 minutes daily, maybe inside the house only, and do breathing exercises 3-4 times daily to strengthen the lungs. 

6. Stay positive, happy and smile; though difficult in adversity but then if you are a warrior, you can for sure.