Advocate is “on Record”- Part II Ejaz Maqbool

Ejaz Maqbool is one of the oldest AoRs practicing in the Supreme Court, with over thirty years in the legal profession. Over the last three decades, Maqbool has seen the institution of the AoR grow and change with the times. In this interview with Bar & Bench, he talks about his struggles, triumphs, his love for travelling, and more..Law, student unionism and a cycle.Mabqool is frank in admitting that had he began his legal journey with his father’s support in his hometown in Bihar, things would have been easier for him. He joined the Bar in 1984, prior to which he was the Vice President of Aligarh Muslim University Students Union. It was an interesting experience..“I had a ‘larger than life’ impression about myself. We had about 14 staff members attached to the Union and the Union had a budget of 4 Lakh rupees. The salary of a chaprasi was 800 rupees. I sat on a dharna before the Vice Chancellor to get their salary increased from 800 to 1400.”.But when he moved to Delhi, he realized that the life of a student activist was different from that of a lawyer..“I tried to get into every office but failed. Then someone told me to join Mr. Tarkunde, as he was a very eminent jurist and civil rights activist.”.It isn’t the choice of senior as much as it is the manner in which he approached his first mentor, which makes for an interesting story..“Those days I had a cycle and one day I just barged into Mr. Tarkunde’s office and I told him that ‘Sir I am joining you’. He was very shocked. But then he told me that his daughter and son-in-law are AoRs and that I must meet them. That is how I met Mr. & Mrs. Karanjawala. They interviewed me for an hour, and later Mr. Karanjawala asked me to join. He told me that he was paying his junior 800 rupees. To think that I was not worth more than a chaprasi pinched me hard!”.“To think that I was not worth more than a chaprasi pinched me hard!”.Five years later, Ejaz Maqbool cleared the AoR examination and there has been no looking back ever since. Ejaz Maqbool has appeared in a number of of PILs’ and his name features in more than 190 reported Supreme Court judgments..Supreme Court (Original Side).I am curious about the original side work that his firm is known to work on, something few lawyers in the Supreme Court are involved with. He tells me on how the original side work in Supreme Court is slightly different from the other civil suits, though the procedure followed is the same..“Whenever a suit is filed under Article 131 of the Constitution, the pleadings are completed and parties are asked to file their evidence. Then cross-examination takes place before the Registrar and not before the judge as it usually happens in trial courts..”.A large number of suits in the Supreme Court are centered on water or boundary disputes. Ejaz Maqbool himself has been associated with the Haryana government for almost a decade. And he finds the work to be challenging as much as he terms it as an everyday learning process..The AoR and the Supreme Court .One apprehension that most lawyers seem to have, before appearing for the AoR examination is that being an Advocate on Record may restrict their practice to the Supreme Court. Is this true? And is the qualification more of a deterrent than a career boost?.“So far as my career is concerned, I have been in the Supreme Court since day one. I did not practice in any other court though I have travelled to other courts for matters. Usually it is said that one should gain experience in lower courts and then come to the Apex Court. But for me, since 1984 when I joined the Bar I have only been in the Supreme Court.”.He makes his affiliations very clear..“The Supreme Court has a sense of finality in it; According to me if you are an AOR, then you should only devote yourself to the Supreme Court.”.That being said, Ejaz Maqbool is not against taking work in other forums merely one is an AoR. According to him, delegation is the key..“I had to restrict taking High Court work at a later stage because practicing in both High Court as well as Supreme Court is not possible. Unless you have juniors/ colleagues to delegate work, it gets difficult to practice in various forums if you are already established in the Supreme Court.”.But more than juggling work pressure, he has a special reason for preferring the Supreme Court over other courts..“The advantage of being in the Supreme Court is that the number of holidays that you get! You can plan your vacations well in advance.” .For a man who is well travelled and counts his vacations dear to his heart, that sure serves as a major incentive..“The advantage of being in the Supreme Court is the number of holidays you get!”.Fatwas- To obey or not to obey .The Supreme Court recently ruled that fatwas do not have a legal sanction. Ejaz Maqbool was one of the lawyers in that matter..“See, that judgment has been very wrongly interpreted. We never said that the fatwas have a legal binding. Suppose you want to go to a mufti for an opinion interpreted through Islamic scriptures. A mufti is a person who is trained to give an opinion. He will give an opinion that is not enforceable. He may or may not be wrong. Therefore the Supreme Court was very cautious in that matter, when it said that the fatwas are not an enforceable right.”.Deviating from the legal parlance, I want to know whether he feels that Islam is prone to gross misinterpretation. He answers in the affirmative..“Yes and that is so for many reasons. It is a religion of peace. What these people do in the name of ISIS, Taliban and go about chopping heads of people is not what Islam stands for. Even the wars that happened during the time of Prophet, there was a specific diktat that cattle should not be harmed and women & old people will not be harmed. Islam has gone into wrong hands.”.The Bar and the Bench.Coming back to the Supreme Court, I ask him about the relationship between the Supreme Bar and Bench. He reminisces about the earlier days before answering,.“What we need is an increased effort among both sections to improve the system of justice dispensation. When Chief Justice Ahmadi was there, backlog of cases went down by a large margin. He took some very good steps such as prohibiting senior counsels from mentioning matters. You see, when a matter is mentioned, you will either get interim relief or it will get listed. Either way it will not get dismissed. This gave an opportunity to younger lawyers to appear before the Chief Justice.”.“In my opinion, the Supreme Court has witnessed a relationship of mutual respect. But the most appreciable feature of the relationship is that the Supreme Court has never got into strikes. Neither have the lawyers pushed for it and nor have the judges supported it. It is a very wrong practice, served no good and the ultimate sufferers are the litigants.”.“The Supreme Court has never got into strikes….Neither have the lawyers pushed for it and nor have the judges supported it. It is a very wrong practice, serves no good and the ultimate sufferers are the litigants.”.Seniors and juniors: Face value in the Apex Court.Ejaz Maqbool has a large number of young advocates working with him. He reposes faith in them for arguing his matters and entrusts them with important responsibilities. As a mentor, does he agree that the much talked about bias against juniors, exist? He smiles and says,.“That is a very loaded question! In my experience, I have seen that this varies from judge to judge. In my 30 years of practice, Justice Chinappa Reddy was a brilliant judge. To him, it did not matter whether Mr. Fali Nariman was appearing or Ejaz Maqbool.”.“Justice Chinappa Reddy was a brilliant judge. To him, it did not matter whether Mr. Fali Nariman was appearing or Ejaz Maqbool.”.But he agrees that the practice of according more importance to seniors is very much prevalent..“I would say that this is more of a problem of face value. For instance, a junior from my firm goes and appears. And he/she faces Salve or Nariman on the other side. One aspect is that the junior may not have that much of knowledge and grasp or propensity to push the case as much as the seniors. If a seasoned lawyer is appearing then the judges also tend to view the case more precisely and accord more attention to it.”.“The other problem with junior lawyers is that many times judges ask you a loaded query and the response may have legal ramifications. The junior is not able to express in the manner in which the judge expects it to be answered. That is where the senior’s role becomes even more important in the court.”.On a lighter vein he also adds, that this possibly also explains the sky rocketing fees charged by these seniors!.The changing face of the Court .For a person who has been practicing in the Supreme Court for three decades, I want to know Maqbool’s views on changes at the court. It is evidently a touchy topic, as he goes on to say the biggest infirmity plaguing the institution is that it has become an “SLP court”..“We do not give time to final hearing matters. This needs to stop. This is a court which is not supposed to hear only SLPs; it should lay down the law.”.Stressing on the importance of Supreme Court’s role as a constitutional court, he emphasizes that the purpose of Supreme Court should restricted to laying down the law of the land..“There should be a permanent five- judge Bench deciding constitutional issues. Earlier, whenever a matter related to constitutional law used to come, there was a Bench that was formed. This is happening less and less nowadays and this practice is towards the detriment of the nation. We must have a Court which should settle the law for posterity.”.However, he does not hesitate to shower praise where it is due..“One thing which needs to be applauded about the Supreme Court is the commendable registry. In last 30 years, I have never ever faced any problems in getting a single matter numbered. It is a corruption free registry. The Registry staff always tries to help you and constantly work at improving their standards despite working under immense pressure.”.Work-life Balance.With a schedule such as his, how does Ejaz Maqbool manage to unwind? In his usual witty style, he tells me, that at his age he should be taking his holidays more seriously than his work..“During the four big vacations that the Supreme Court has, I always try and leave the city. I have realized that when you are in your own city you will never be able to stop your work. It will only get deferred but never end.”.From living in a barsati to a bungalow in Noida, Ejaz Maqbool has indeed traversed a long journey. Surely it is an inspirational tale for any lawyer wishing to make it big in Delhi. What are his thoughts to these lawyers? He pauses for a bit before answering,.“What I have found is that for young lawyers that you have to start your own networking. People who are very well placed in the profession will tell you to not do networking but for first generation lawyers, it is not the best advice to follow. I feel that in the initial years nobody is going to give you a case unless they know you and your work. Ultimately you will survive and grow in the profession only if you’re hardworking and able to keep abreast with the developments happening everyday in the profession.”.When I ask him whether choosing a particular court helps in building up one’s career, he answers in the negative..“You see no court is good or bad for practice. According to me, the practice of devoting 2-3 years in the lower courts, then 2-3 years in the High Court and then moving to the Supreme Court is not the only way to cement your place in the profession. But I always advise young lawyers to choose a forum according to their likes and dislikes..“I would also say that the Supreme Court is a very good place for lady lawyers. Many able lady lawyers have made a place for themselves in the Supreme Court and a good practice place serving as an incentive for young girls to join the profession. So many of my female juniors who began their careers in my chamber, are doing very well for themselves.”.“I would also say that the Supreme Court is a very good place for lady lawyers. Many able lady lawyers have made a place for themselves in the Supreme Court.”.He stresses on the importance of hard work while commenting on how the right break is also important..“Many a times, good people do not get the desired break and because of that they do not flower into good lawyers. This also varies from person to person, the kind of background that you have and whether you are lucky enough to grab a cycle and barge into someone’s office!”