At the Bar, there is no “I”; it is “We”, says DHCBA’s new Prez, Kirti Uppal

Senior Advocate Kirti Uppal recently defeated long-time President Rajiv Khosla to become the new President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association. Emerging victorious by over 300 votes, Uppal has come a long way from being a first-generation lawyer to a senior advocate and now the DHCBA President..He spoke to Bar & Bench about the politics in the bar, his plans as the new president and his past experiences after a long stint of being associated with the Delhi High Court..Nalini Sharma: Why did you decide to run for the President?.Kirti Uppal: I’ve been a part and parcel of the Bar Association for a long time and it has always been my endeavour to bring back the practicing lawyers into the mainstream. When we joined the profession, we saw that always a practicing lawyer used to lead the Bar. I thought it was important to bring that back..Nalini Sharma: During the campaigning period, how come you weren’t seen campaigning as much as the other candidates?.Kirti Uppal: (Laughs) I feel that if you are a practicing lawyer and people don’t know you, then there is something wrong. I think the people around me were very kind. A lot of people liked the fact that I refrained from campaigning personally. I think it was that liking that got converted to votes..Nalini Sharma: There have been allegations made by the ex-president about how the elections were rigged and how a large number of votes from the district court lawyers weren’t counted. Do these allegations have any merit?.Kirti Uppal: This is a very debatable issue. We need to go deep into who is responsible for the one-bar-one-vote principle. Also, in my personal view, during the one-bar-one-vote, there was never an argument made by the people who are now crying foul play. There are a lot of lawyers who have a lot of appearances in the Delhi High Court irrespective of where they practice. Nobody spoke for them..A lawyer who is not practicing and is here only for the purposes of vote banks, – this I am completely against. The reason being that someone who is practicing in the Delhi High Court everyday probably knows who is a more suitable person to be elected..Nalini Sharma: So is this just a bitter reaction to a loss?.Kirti Uppal: Well, I must tell you, he (Rajiv Khosla) has been like my elder brother. I had been his strong supporter for a long time. First time we lost to a gentleman who later got elevated, Justice Kailash Gambhir. We lost by three votes. We were all very emotional about Rajiv’s loss. I was the first one to congratulate Justice Gambhir because in my opinion, once a person has won, you should show some grace..I cried for Rajiv’s loss. We had been together for a long time. If I had been in his place today, I would have shown some grace. The entire elections were videographed. There was no scope of anything being rigged..Nalini Sharma: What changes do you plan to bring to the functioning of the Bar Association?.Kirti Uppal: The first and the foremost thing is that in the Bar, there is no “I”; it is “We”. This has always been my motto and so far we have been successful in maintaining this..We want to involve every practicing lawyer in the mainstream. For a long time they have been ignored and sidelined. Its time to bring them back..There are a lot of things in which we are planning to involve all the seniors, all the juniors, everybody. It’s not just the President’s or the Secretary’s Bar. It’s the Bar of all the people who are a part and parcel of the High Court. That’s what we will work towards..Nalini Sharma: What about the developments to the Delhi High Court?.Kirti Uppal: I’ve been out of touch with the Registry since I’m no more a filing counsel, but there are people who have made a lot of complaints regarding that. Our plan is to deliberate with all the judges and find a solution to such issues..We want to give the judges the utmost respect and we expect the same in return. I have been in the practice for almost 30 years and somewhere as a lawyer and a voter I have always felt that in the past 15-20 years, there has been a total downfall of a lawyer’s respect. I don’t want to go into who is responsible for this, but I would like to enhance the stature of a lawyer, which we seem to have lost. The glory needs to come back..Nalini Sharma: Lastly, do you think your involvement with the Bar Association and its politics over the years will help during your tenure?.Kirti Uppal: God has been very kind to me. When I was doing law, I came from a very good family – politically and financially. [But] all of a sudden we saw a time when we didn’t have meals to eat two times a day. When I joined the Bar, I used to travel by the DTC bus and I faced certain humiliation being a first generation lawyer with no money. I identify with these problems..I became a fan of Mr. Khosla because his slogans touched my heart when I was a have-not. But then I realized that for the past 30 years he’s been doing the same thing. Nothing has changed. Except for him becoming President after President, there has been no other change. That’s what I seek to bring during my tenure and, god-willing, it will happen..(Views expressed in this interview are of Kirti Uppal, Senior Advocate and President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association. Bar & Bench neither endorses nor is responsible for the same)