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in the advancement of India’s corporate Himalayas; he is and has been one of the
law practice on par with international most revered (Supreme Court) lawyers in
standards. the country. A man who largely lives by his
truths, stepping away from the Congress
36 Harish Salve, 68, Senior Advocate, after a lifetime of working with the party
Supreme Court of India through historical milestones, didn’t scale
India’s most high-profile the shock quotient index.
lawyer is a tag that Harish Known for his forthright manner in
Salve is used to. Salve articulating his vision, he pretty much
has earned his mettle nails his point down with élan. “India
with cases fought in the has changed. It is no longer the inclusive
Supreme and High Courts. country we were born in. The (fundamental
He has represented high-profile clients like issues), dialogues of today are worrisome.
Mukesh Ambani, Mulayam Singh Yadav, If we do not stand up to this, our tomorrow
Prakash Singh Badal and Lalit Modi. will be in danger” he says. Hmmm.
“From Nani Palkhivala, I learnt that
genius is a lot of hard work. It entails 38 Abhishek Manu Singhvi, 64, Lawyer
having the capacity to do what people Abhishek Singhvi is an
find boring; that is where you hone your eminent jurist, writer and
attention to detail. Palkhivala taught me to parliamentarian, known
make excellence an end unto itself. He used for his plain-speaking
to say that the measure of how well you’ve facts.
argued in court comes not from the decision The youngest designated
of the court, but from how you personally Senior Advocate – at the age of 34, the
feel you’ve performed. He opened up a youngest Additional Solicitor General
whole new dimension of the world before of India at 37; and, the youngest elected
me,” he says. vice president of the Supreme Court Bar
Association – at 39 are meritorious of this
37 Kapil Sibal, 77, Lawyer, Politician self-made man.
“After 30 years, it was A November 2024 article sums up the
time to quit and work objectivity and cerebral balance of the
as an Independent esteemed lawyer: “How do you judge a
candidate. I would not Chief Justice of India or, for that matter,
speak against Congress any person in high office? The tests must
at any point,” said Kapil be contextual to the job but, above all, if
Sibal in 2022 when re-joining the Rajya the overwhelming predominance of any
Sabha in an independent capacity. – person’s work is good, praiseworthy and
Quintessential Sibal! positive, the fact that he has, fractionally,
Sibal was elected again as President of the committed errors, does not deserve a harsh
Bar Association in the Supreme Court for verdict. It only shows that he, like us all,
the year 2024–25. has no claim to divinity or infallibility.
Sibal needs no introduction unless When eminent persons, within and
you’ve been meditating for 40 years in the without the Bar, use the 10 per cent test to
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #67 | JANUARY 2025 21
