Lawyers opposed to me practise in Peshawar, Karachi courts: Chauhan, who led Patiala court assault

Barring the fact that he is a practising lawyer who doesn’t have a chamber of his own, not much is known about Vikram Chauhan. Explaining the kind of cases he handles, the 38-year-old says he has fought in all the six lower courts of Delhi. “Wherever I get work, I go. Last one was a cheque bounce case. The amount was Rs 50,000. The previous one was a case of an accident victim. Currently, I am appearing on behalf of a doctor who is involved in a matrimonial dispute. His wife is demanding maintenance.”

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Chauhan accuses the media of “making him look like a goon” and making heroes out of “traitors of the country”. He refuses to divulge the address of the rented house he shares with his parents in Rohini, lest “media start to hound the family”.

At his hometown in Rewari, Haryana, where he was born, Chauhan says, the only posters that adorned the walls were of freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh, Maharana Pratap and Bal Gangadhar Tilak — his “idols” since then.

Growing up, he never heard of words such as Naxalites or, even, anti-nationals, Chauhan adds. “In Haryana, where a majority of the people opt for the Army, we didn’t hear of things such as Naxalism.”

He first tried to join the Navy, and went for selection in 1995, but was deemed medically unfit. So after schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, he moved to Rohtak to study law at Maharshi Dayanand University.

Chauhan claims to have a string of friends in the Army, naming one Kuldeep Rathi, “a martyr of the Kargil war”. “He was a friend from college and so are others.”

Married once, he is now divorced. His elder brother is a property dealer and runs some coaching classes in Manesar. But, according to Chauhan, he doesn’t lack in either friends or family. “The whole lawyers’ fraternity is my family.”

As for the lawyers who are against him, Chauhan says, “There are some who are opposing me. These lawyers practise in courts of Peshawar and Karachi.”

As for the charge of beating up reporters, he claims, “They were JNU students who beat up reporters.” Ask him about his photographs with BJP leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Kailash Vijayavarghiya and J P Nadda, he is quick to take out his phone and click a photo with the reporter. “Do you think we know each other? Does this photograph say that we are acquaintances? I have loads of selfies with Sheila Dikshit and photos with Sharad Yadav and with Atif Aslam as well. These are personalities and politicians of this country. We take time and we meet them,” says Chauhan.

However, he admits to campaigning for the ABVP candidate in the Delhi University Students’ Union elections, Anjali Rana, who went on to become secretary, DUSU. “She is the niece of one of my friends and I campaigned for her,” he says.

Finally, Chauhan claims he has a solution for JNU. “JNU mein 30 per cent Haryana wale bhej do, koi laal salaam nahin bolega. Har saal media mein aane ke liye desh virodhi naare lagate hain aur 40 saal tak ek hi university mein pade rehte hain (Send 30 per cent of Haryanvis to JNU and no one will utter lal salaam slogans again. Every year they shout anti-national slogans to feature in the media, and then stay put in the university for 40 years).”