LAW-fully yours

At first it seems a little strange to hear that a businessman dealing with plastics has come out with a magazine aimed at demystifying la...

At first it seems a little strange to hear that a businessman dealing with plastics has come out with a magazine aimed at demystifying law. A little probing however reveals that Jitendra Maheshwari is certainly no stranger to the complex world of legal language and procedures, having been a teacher of the subject for five years, before he decided to switch careers.

“My father was a leading lawyer and the editor of Indian Law report. I too studied, practiced and taught law for a number of years till almost accidentally I stumbled onto this trade that my brother was in and became a businessman, ”explains Maheshwari.

However he continued to keep in touch with the field and over the years the realisation dawned that if there is anything that intimidates the common man about law it is the complicated terminology, seemingly intricate procedures and often inexplicable jargon. “While the fact remained that with a little bit of knowledge everyone could actually interpret most of the laws for themselves. It was for this purpose that I decided to launch this magazine aimed at reaching out to the common man and helping him to understand law as it should be by every citizen of the country,” adds Maheshwari. Called The Language of Law’ the first issue of this quarterly hit the market in April 99, and according to Maheshwari it has met with an overwhelming response. His readers apparently range from legal experts to the common man. “I have even put it on the Internet and there have been inquiries from abroad too,” says the 51 year old lawyer turned businessman turned publisher. Penned in both Hindi and English, the magazinethough published from Jodhpur is circulated in all the major cities of the country including Pune. “I plan to take up some of the most crucial issues in this journal,” reveals Maheshwari. He has already touched upon topics like unnecessary adjournments, reasons for dissolution of the Lok Sabha, time limit for cases and laws that were instituted years ago and have thus lost their validity in present times in the first two issues. He also provoked a debate on appointment of judges to the High Court and Supreme Court, a topic under discussion for sometime now. What is creditable is that other than carrying a discussion on the pertinent issues, Maheshwari has also come forward with various suggestions and solutions to the problems.

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“The aim basically is to remove the fear from the minds of the citizens regarding the legal procedures and help them to fight their own battle as far as possible, so that they are not short changed by the professionals ,” he concludes.

With the venture resting on sound principles here’s hoping there is justice done to his efforts.