Super Lawyer

Tag: The Power of Ballot

  • Mr Vipul Maheshwari, a prominent and established Advocate and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his love for Law.

    Mr Vipul Maheshwari, a prominent and established Advocate and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his love for Law.

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay and the SuperLawyer Team

    Having both a stellar legal career and being a celebrated author, how would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

    I am a practising Supreme Court Advocate and have a keen interest in our polity. As an advocate and responsible citizen of society, I always feel that I have a duty towards the society to elaborate the comprehensive survey of our Indian democracy and rule of law. 

    What was your Law School journey like? Was Law School where you first tried a hand at writing?

    I had a wonderful journey in my college as a political science student and thereafter as a student leader in Law College. I had lots of opportunities to raise my voice on different platforms but not as a writer.

    Tell us about the book “Ramayana Revisited – An Epic through a legal prism”. What was the idea behind choosing this subject? 

    The Idea has come up with my uncle who is a co-author of the book. We discussed a unique idea which had never been thought about in the legal world. After discussion with him, I was excited and immediately started preparing the defence and prosecution of the characters of Ramayana and we decided to leave it to the readers to decide the culpability. Supreme Court and High Courts Judges, Parliamentarians, Mythologists, Journalists and Vice-Chancellors have appreciated the book.

    You have also written about elections in India in the book titled, “The Power of Ballot”. Was this idea always in your mind or was it something you and your co-author Anil Maheshwari together came up with?

    I have seen personally the election process very closely and hence was always keen to write about the theoretical law and practical reality. I have read and keenly monitored lots of elections and their processes in the country. The writing of the book was there in my mind for almost a decade. In fact, I had petitioned before the Supreme Court for admissibility of the Internet voting on mobiles but those were the days when the Court did not deem it fit to admit the writ petition. Another writ petition on similar lines has been admitted and is under process in the apex court. We have given details of the admitted case in the book.  

    You seem to be deeply interested in History amongst other disciplines. How do you believe writing on this subject is essential in today’s time and age?

    The idea to write on a subject which is very close to every citizen of India as I have always seen that Indians love elections which have become a sort of national festival across the castes, communities and regions in the country. Secondly, I have seen that elections in India in always been dominated by patronage, money, fake news and prediction which made me think to write about the book. Despite all these weaknesses, elections in India are the symbol of a thriving democracy even after seven decades since its introduction way back in 1952 after we attained independence. Let us discuss its shortcomings and make efforts to remove them. 

    You have been a member of the National Executive Committee of FICCI and PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India and have received many accolades from different sections of the society for your literary achievements side, we would like to know what got you interested in Commercial Laws as practice area?

    This is not a variation as I have done the constitutional, civil and criminal litigation for almost three decades; lately, I started enjoying the commercial litigation of corporates. As a student of political science and law, this has always been my first choice and as an active lawyer and political analyst I always think that it would be good to pen my thoughts on law, the festival of democracy, duties, the exercise of the ballot by more than 910 million electors, management of the largest electoral process by the ECI and lastly the lifeline of democracy will be a good idea to share with the readers in the form of a book.

    You have served as the former Additional Advocate General of Haryana and Senior Central Government Standing Counsel of various state governments in the Supreme Court of India. If you had to choose between litigation and writing, what would you choose and why?

    As a lawyer, my first love is my profession and fortunately, it involves a thought process in drafting, therefore both litigation & writing go hand in hand and I would like to continue my passion for writing. 

    You are a founder of the law firm Maheshwari & Co., Advocates and Legal Consultants, a full-service law firm known in India and internationally dealing with corporate, commercial, transactional, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. Please share about the challenges of your role and the advice you have for the next generation.

    As a founder of a Law firm is a big responsibility on one’s shoulder which involves hard work, integrity, dedication, transparency & accountability and lastly the tender job of nurturing young lawyers and help explore their talents. I feel in any sphere of life one should always aspire and try to do a larger good for society.

    Know more about Vipul Maheshwari –

  • Mr Anil Maheshwari, a celebrated Journalist and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his advice for young aspirants.

    Mr Anil Maheshwari, a celebrated Journalist and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his advice for young aspirants.

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay and the SuperLawyer Team

    With a remarkable career in Journalism, and also having authored quite a few books, how would you describe your professional journey to our readers?

    My professional journey or say the foray into the realm of journalism had been a rewarding experience as I was transferred nine times, though most of my colleagues and friends in journalism spent their entire life at one station. Therefore, I was enabled to see and understand the major parts of the country at a grassroots level.

    Tell us about the inception and idea behind the book- “Ramayana Revisited- An epic through a legal prism”.

    I am happy that the book Ramayana Revisited: An epic through a Legal prism was so well-received in the market. This idea germinated in my mind in 1998 when I was enjoying the company of a lawyer serving the West Bengal High Court. He was talking in defence of Ravana. Two decades had passed, and eminent mythologist Bibek Debroy (The Economist) encouraged me to develop a book around this theme. I roped in my nephew, who has acquired a name in the legal parlance- Vipul Maheshwari, who helped me immensely with his legal inputs. That is why he is the co-author.

    How did the book- “ The Power of Ballot” actualized? What kind of research and fact-finding you have had to undergo towards the completion of this book?

    The newest book has been treated the same. Vipul Maheshwari has given his legal input on the subject, as holding fair and free elections is the base of a vibrant and thriving democracy. However, there are misconceptions about some innovations which have eliminated the most dangerous illness, which was rigging the elections. Hence, he is the co-author.

    You have been a journalist for over five decades and you retired from Hindustan Times as a Special Correspondent. We would love to know about this journey of yours.

    I’ve enjoyed every moment of my journalistic life. Newspapers were my classrooms, and the experience was my teacher. The mentors I met along the way were a few editors and an army of veteran reporters. They taught me about the classical roots of narrative non-fiction and offered great insights into the techniques of reporting. My belief is that intellectual curiosity and relentless work etc matter infinitely more than the natural ability in achieving excellence.

    What was more challenging for you, journalism or writing?

    Journalism and writing are subjects that overlap each other. However, there is a difference between journalistic writing and writing a book. Both remain challenging in their own ways. But I took the challenges in stride and that is why I enjoyed the unique joy both offered me. I have witnessed Vipul Maheshwari express a similar challenge with Law. 

     Here’s an incident he shared with me that I was tempted to include in The Power of the Ballot. Everyone is aware of the unseating of the PM Mrs Indira Gandhi, an incident that led to the imposition of an emergency in the country. The next time, when another election petition against her election for the Lok Sabha from Raibareli was filed before Allahabad High Court, it was summarily dismissed because the Raebareli district was under the jurisdiction of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. In the earlier instance, the judge overlooked such a gross mistake and the lawyer who appeared on behalf of Mrs Indira Gandhi. And the country had to pass through a cycle that could have been avoided.

    You have two short-term tenures as a fellow at the Aligarh Muslim University. Please share with us about this experience of yours.

    Aligarh Muslim University, a prime seat of learning and symbol of the Muslim way of life in India, has been kind enough to offer a short-term fellowship to me twice, to read and write any subject of my choice. For starters, I’ve worked on writing a book (co-authored by Dr Faizan Mustafa) about the Right to Information. Back then, the Right to Information was not in vogue in the country. 

    The second time, a few years ago, I worked on the subject of the History of Aligarh Muslim University, which will soon be released as a comprehensive book about the university in the coming November, with Bloomsbury publishing the title. Before I was absorbed as a full-time reporter by the Hindustan Times, I used to work for several magazines and newspapers as a freelancer. During that course, I also contributed to the prestigious weekly Economic and Political Weekly. I covered the Allahabad High Court, its Lucknow Bench, Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court, The Haryana and Punjab High Court, Jammu and Srinagar High Court besides the district courts at Meerut, Siliguri, and Bareilly. Covering courts has always been fascinating and fulfilling. 

    You have contributed to the Economic & Political Weekly, and The Frontier, and have also covered stories on various District Courts and High Courts in India. What do you think is the most important aspect for becoming a successful journalist? A word of advice for aspiring authors and journalists among our readers?

    There is a dearth of professional legal reporters in this country. For any budding journalists, my advice is

    1. Singleness of purpose; 2. A wide study of various subjects; and, 3. Deep penetration into the subjects.

    To cap them one should be willing to learn new things and respect points of view expressed by others.

    Know about Anil Maheshwari’s works –