March 17, 2017

S-105 What a young lawyer should do if he or she wants to shift to practice in Supreme Court?

This is what I myself did.

In 1990, I was practising as Advocate in Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad.

I was married and I had one year old son. Someone mentioned to me that if I wish to shift to Supreme Court, I should do it now when son is young. After children start going to school, it is difficult to migrate.

My wife, one year old son and I, came to Delhi and we visited Supreme Court. Here no one knew us. We just wandered in lobby of Supreme Court. We stood near a pillor for about half an hour. At that time, no entry pass needed to enter in Supreme Court.

And then we asked our hearts, should we shift here? Will we survive here? Our hearts said yes.

By evening train, we returned from Delhi to Ahmedabad. In train, we considered about practical aspects our desire to shift to Supreme Court.

There was no one in Ahmedabad to sponsor us. We knew no one in Delhi. We had no relatives or support in Delhi.

We examined our financial savings.

We had savings enough to maintain ourselves for six months in Delhi. So, for six months, even if no lawyer in High Court referred us cases for Supreme Court, we could still live on our own savings for six months.

Thereafter, we would be at mercy of God.

We pondered over this.

Next month, we shifted to Delhi to practise in Supreme Court.

Fortunately, we survived. We survived because God helped us.

Some friendly junior Lawyers in Ahmedabad, referred some cases now and then. This helped us to survive in costly city of Delhi.

There was not much logic in our decision. The risks and survival trauma we suffered are unspeakable.

I do not advice others to follow in my steps. We lived here, with one small child,  on week to week and month to month survival budgets.

We lived by faith in God.

Haresh Raichura 17/3/2017