There are over 47,000 pending cases in Supreme Court, over 3.7 million in High Court and around 26.3 million in subordinate judiciary. Amidst all this insurmountable volume of work, black dress, uniform, countless PILs (Public Interest Litigation) being filed every day, and cases for bringing lawyers' assets to book under Right To Information Act, one wonders whether a lawyer's life is all about serious stuff! Not so, according to the book - Tales from the Bench and the Bar by Vicaji J Taraporevala. Its a delightful insider's account of life on the Bench and the Bar giving some refreshingly light moments that liven up the often stern and forbidding proceedings in our courts. The author himself is a senior advocate in the Bombay High Court and has been practising for sixty two years. He gives some glimpses of sharp wit and humor, of legendary lawyers like Nani Palkhivala, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, M R Jayakar. The book is a good read and I have been distributing to a few lawyer friends and wannabe lawyers since.
Here's a sample: "A member of the Bar carrying a number of law books was greeted in court by his client with the words. "I thought you lawyers knew all the law." "Yes, we do", said the lawyer. After a pause, he continued: "Oh, these books - they are for the judges."
