Shunning ethical dilemmas and maintaining balance: Senior Advocates Rebecca John, Sonia Mathur share their experiences

"I rarely get confronted with ethical dilemmas", said Senior Advocate Rebecca John on Friday, describing herself as a criminal lawyer who served the Constitution of India. ."I'm a criminal lawyer. It's not my place to impose my moral values on anyone else. I've no business judging them...Criminal law has given me an understanding of human behaviour", John said in response to a question on the "ethical dilemma" that she faced when she appeared for one of the accused in the Nirbhaya case. .John was speaking at an interactive session held by the Delhi High Court Women's Lawyers Forum on the theme Women Lawyers at Forefront: Defence and Prosecution. .Watch the video:.While John spoke from the perspective of a defence lawyer, Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur shared her experience as a prosecutor. .Mathur was and continues to be a Special Public Prosecutor in the 2G spectrum case, while John represented Sanjay Chandra in the 2G trial, which according to her, is the most challenging case that she's handled till date. .Both speakers agreed that the job of a prosecutor was not an easy one, and that they often lacked the support and resources that the defence has.."The onus of being fair is immense on a prosecutor...while it is adversarial, we don't have to be at each other's throats. I look forward to a quieter and saner space", John stated. .Agreeing with John, Mathur said that a prosecutor ought to work independent of the investigating agency and should be able to assess the situation on her own. ."A court relies on the prosecutor... Ultimately, the prosecutor is the master of the ceremony...", Mathur said. She added that as a prosecutor, one could not take pride in winning cases. "Although it is normal to feel happy, it is expected that you don't feed your ego..." .Mathur also advised female prosecutors to maintain a balance between their head and their hearts. John suggested that young defence lawyers "maintain a distance" with clients and not get swayed by the case..During her address, Mathur acknowledged that she never faced any gender bias as a female prosecutor. She nonetheless added that female prosecutors were susceptible to a certain "perception", and find it hard to get due recognition. .While commenting on whether things had changed from when she started off as a criminal lawyer, John said that she was glad that women were now venturing into areas they earlier didn't."Rest is pretty much the same. Men are as loud as they were before. They still brag about as they used to. The acceptance of women in courts has increased.".On being asked about the stringent bail conditions under various laws, John replied that she was concerned that grant of bail under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was virtually impossible. ."What was an exception has become a rule. It's something that courts will have to look at...the overuse of these laws. We've moved far beyond that stage...we've imprisoned people for their thoughts."Senior Advocate Rebecca John.She opined that there was a need to test these laws at the threshold of their constitutionality. "It cannot be routinised (as it has been). You cannot throw dissenters in jail because of these laws", she added. .Both John and Mathur also conceded to the existence of "political trials", though not statutorily recognised. While John emphasised on the prosecution and the defence being aware of a trial being a "political trial", Mathur remarked that media "added to political trials". .During the course of the session, John also called for more people from other vulnerable communities to join the legal profession. "Dalits should join the profession. We are still a privileged space. I would like to see a space for everyone (including) transgenders", she said. .John also said that she rooted for the younger Bar and that representing Priya Ramani in the defamation case by MJ Akbar was an opportunity to do a case "she really wanted to". .Read the entire account of the sessions here: