The Law Darshan Part IV: Nainital and Dehradun

There is something about life in the hills that takes you back to a time when things were simpler. Away from the big city hustle, surrounded by scenic vistas, your general outlook on life tends to be a little more relaxed. A combination of this fact and the sparse population means there is not much litigation, and consequently, law practice in these parts can hardly be described as intense.

And so it is in the state of Uttarakhand, the land of the Gods and the relatively freer lawyers.

It is a shame that photography is prohibited on the campus of the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital. An utter shame. For it is by far one of the most beautiful high court campuses in the country. Sure, the natural surroundings give it an almost unfair advantage, but the architecture in itself is a sight to behold. I am prompted to do inadvisable things to capture this beauty, including standing in the middle of the road adjacent to the campus and coming within a hair of getting run over by a car.

Risking life and limb for you, the reader (yet another reason why you should subscribe), yours truly managed to successfully get a glimpse of this castle from some fairytale, sticking out from amongst a clump of pine trees.

I have made a mistake by entering the High Court campus through the main gate. The path leading to the court rooms is a most arduous one, and by the time I trudge up the steep incline and reach the building housing the chambers of various advocates, I am struggling for breath. The guard at the top steals a grin as I ask him to show me the way to the Chief Justice’s court between bouts of profuse panting. The lawyers may not be the busiest in the country, but they certainly earn their bread by doing all this climbing.

Despite all the references to the chilled out atmosphere, the High Court of Uttarakhand recently was the centre stage of anything but that. In the President’s rule case last year, the High Court truly proved itself to be the protector of the Constitution and democratic principles enshrined therein.

And one person to thank for that in particular was Chief Justice KM Joseph, though it seems that he has paid for it, with the Centre blocking his transfer to the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad. That, it seems, has not prevented Justice Joseph from conducting his court in a most genial manner. He seems to know the name of every single advocate appearing before him, a testament both to his attitude and the almost familial relationship between the Bench and the Bar.

The more I sit in his massive courtroom, the more I am inclined to agree with Justice Chelameswar as regards his elevation to the Supreme Court. And the members of the Bar are wholeheartedly on the same page.

While in Nainital, I interviewed Senior Advocate and former Additional Advocate General Avtar Singh Rawat, also incidentally one of the lawyers who appeared for the Speaker in the President’s Rule case. He shares details of his fairly illustrious career, which started in Delhi.

I also met Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta, an advocate who recently published his book titled Sustainable Development Law: The Law for the Future. In our interview, he spoke about the environmental issues in the state and the lacunae in law and policy on the issue.

From Nainital, I was off to its much less attractive cousin, Dehradun, the capital of the state.

There, I visited the headquarters of Rural Litigation and Empowerment Kendra (RLEK), one of the most prolific NGOs in the state, or for that matter, the country. Started by Padmashri Prof. Avdhash Kaushal, RLEK has been at the forefront of environmental litigation in the Supreme Court of India over the years. After a chat with Prof Kaushal, he introduces me to the other causes championed by RLEK – those including empowerment of women, protection of tribal rights and more.

Next on the list was a visit to the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies’ law college. Situated literally in the middle of a forest, UPES’ Law College has grown to be one of the more established law schools in the area. A chat with Director Dr. Tabrez Ahmad reveals the unique trajectory the Law College is headed towards. However, it doesn’t seem that the students are very happy with the current state of affairs here.

Watch this space for full interviews with the aforementioned, as well as a Law School Darshan and an Indian Canteen Review.

For now, I am off further up north to the state of Himachal Pradesh.