The Namesake: Shanti Bhushan meets Shanti Bhushan

When advocate Shanti Bhushan came to the Supreme Court a few weeks back, little did he know that he would be meeting Senior Advocate Shanti Bhushan. Confused?

Advocate Shanti Bhushan, a lawyer practicing in Bengaluru, was born in the year 1977. It was during the time of Emergency that the legendary Senior Advocate he was named after fought and won the case against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on behalf of Raj Narain and became a big name in the legal and political circles.

Bhushan made an impression in the South as well, and for one family in particular. The advocate from Bengaluru narrates the story.

“I was born on March 16, 1977. By then, Senior Advocate Shanti Bhushan was a very big name in India because he had appeared for Raj Narain against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and won the case.

So my uncle KN Puttegowda, who was an advocate and later served as President of the Bangalore Advocates Association, suggested that I should be named after the legendary lawyer. My father agreed and I became Shanti Bhushan.”

Eventually, he followed in the footsteps of Senior Advocate Shanti Bhushan and became an advocate. He practices at the Karnataka High Court and Supreme Court.

And a few weeks ago, their paths crossed when he came to Delhi for a matter.

He was appearing along with advocate Balaji Srinivasan in a case. After the matter was over, he was sitting in the canteen with Srinivasan and discussing the story of how he was named.

As luck would have it, Senior Advocate Jayant Bhushan, son of the former Union Law Minister, was seated in the canteen. Srinivasan noticed it and introduced his co-counsel to Jayant Bhushan.

“Meet my friend Shanti Bhushan”, Balaji Srinivasan told Jayant Bhushan.

Jayant Bhushan was pleasantly surprised to meet the Bhushan from Bengaluru, who took the opportunity to explain to him the story behind his name.

He had not met his namesake until then. Sensing an opportunity to change that, he asked Jayant Bhushan to set up a meet with the legendary Senior Advocate.

Jayant Bhushan agreed and immediately fixed an appointment. Before long, Shanti Bhushan found himself in the company of Shanti Bhushan at Noida. Speaking about his experience, the Bengaluru-based advocate said,

“It was a dream come true. I had not met him until now. I consider it my good luck to be named after such a big man. Many people ask me about this name because it is an unusual name in the South. So I narrate the story. It was a great experience meeting him. He is a great a person.”

HT to Advocate Balaji Srinivasan and Advocate Garima Jain for this story.