A tribute to Justice AB Saharya, an old school gentleman and judge
We mourn the demise of Justice AB Saharya, former Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court and a former judge of the Delhi High Court, an old school judge who valued propriety and traditions of the Bar over everything else.
Justice Saharya was the epitome of propriety and uprightness in all walks of life. His conduct, both in his public life and also privately, was a lesson in grace and etiquette. He would stand up to receive whoever entered his chambers to meet him, irrespective of the stature, social standing or age of the visitor. He was an outstanding Senior Advocate who made a great name for himself at the Bar and stood out as a perfectionist. He carried this trait to the Bench as well, where he continued to be driven by the minutiae. This quality sometimes unfairly led to him being labelled as a judge who was not in a rush to reach a conclusion and was slow.
Justice Saharya was my first senior in the profession and I addressed him as ‘Bhai Saheb’ rather than the formal ‘Sir’ or “Mr. Saharya’. I distinctly remember the day when I walked into the Supreme Court Chambers’ Block upon being referred by another lawyer for a position in his chambers. I was disillusioned by this point as I was unable to find a chamber that would welcome me. Instead of interviewing me on the law, he had an informal interaction with me and within five minutes, I found myself a part of his chamber.
He summoned his trusted old clerk, Munshi Ji, and asked him to hand over the documents relating to a new writ petition which was to be drawn up and filed in the Delhi High Court. This petition was on behalf of an officer of the Delhi Transport Corporation who had been dismissed after a departmental enquiry which appeared to have been designed to punish him for siding with the government of the day during the imposition of the Emergency (these were the times of the Morarji Desai government). I was straight away instructed to draft a writ petition. I didn't know what had hit me as I had very little idea about how to draft a writ petition. I could barely summon enough courage to tell him that. Rather than losing his patience at me, he asked Munshi ji to give me a file of a previously filed writ petition to help me understand what a writ petition looks like and how to draft one.
He sat me down and first asked me to arrange the documents date-wise and to remove any duplicates. He then asked me to read all those documents and to come back to him once I was done. The following day, he called me into his chambers and asked me to recite the facts in the manner one would recite a story. He then handed me five sheets of paper and gave me five legal propositions – one for each sheet. He suggested that I collate the documents relevant for each of the five propositions and segregate them. He then asked me to start drafting the writ petition right away, which I did with great hesitation and nervousness.
I spent all day and all night working on the draft. Even though the draft was ready and I had done my best, I was reluctant to go to him with the petition. I pretended that I would need another day even though I had done all that I could so that I could pore over the draft a few more times. When I finally handed over the draft to him apprehensively, he spent barely 10 minutes reviewing it. He made a couple of small changes to the petition and asked me to file it. His approval of the draft gave a great boost to my self-confidence. It remains one of the fondest memories of my career even after more than 40 years. I soon learnt that even though he enjoyed the time that he spent in training his juniors, he would never resort to spoon-feeding and would encourage them to think systematically and logically when approaching a case.
Another memorable incident which remains etched in my mind is when he decided to take his juniors out for lunch to Pandara Road after winning an important case. The client was invited too. After we had enjoyed a sumptuous meal, the client, who was a man of great means insisted on settling the bill. Bhai Saheb, being the stickler for propriety that he was, settled the bill after thanking the client but also reminding him that the client was his guest and not the other way round. This is just one of many stories that I recall about his sense of propriety and self-respect.
Upon Bhai Saheb’s elevation, as per tradition, I did not appear in his court. On one occasion, upon realising that an old case which was listed before him contained a vakalatnama signed only by me as a part of Bhasin & Co, I ventured into his court only to point this out and to seek an adjournment so that someone else could appear in the matter in my place. However, I was greeted with a rebuke as to how I could even step into his court.
Even when he was the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, my visits to his chamber were to be in civvies and never in robes. Some people called him a maverick, but he didn’t care because he was clear in his mind that his values mattered to him above all else.
After his retirement, our regular lunches at the Gymkhana Club were a treat in every sense of the word. He exhibited a child-like excitement at every step that I took in my professional life and took great joy in my success, be it opening a new office of the firm or any other positive development. He had a great sense of humour which was subtle and understated, much like his personality. His long telephone conversations with me were sprinkled with bouts of laughter and my family could make out when I was talking to him, seeing me laugh hysterically. Just a few weeks ago, he attended our firm’s online event with a great deal of enthusiasm.
In the passing of Justice Saharya, I have lost a mentor and guide who took exceptional interest in my growth as a lawyer and as a human being. The void that he leaves in my life is incapable of being filled. My condolences to his brother Vishnu and his family. I have a special affection for his nephews Vivek and Viresh, who were like his sons. They will all miss him and so will I.
Author is Managing Partner, Link Legal India Law Services