Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Latika Salgaonkar began on her career rather late in life. At 45, the lady completed her L.L.B and joined S.K. Jain, a leading criminal lawyer. Ask her which event in her career was her big break and she replies without hesitation, 8220;Oh, my decision to study law itself8221;.
The reason being the stumbling blocks she had to put up with when she was an activist at the Nari Samta Manch. 8220;There aren8217;t many lawyers who are willing to take up women8217;s cases and this was very frustrating. Besides, activists are not taken seriously at a police station, primarily because they do not know the law. But ever since I got the sanad the licence to practice law, the police know that they cannot fool me.8221; And the women have a lawyer who is more than willing to take up their cause.
8220;Every coin has two sides to it and one can8217;t say that women are right on every single occasion. The one thing I refuse to do is take up a man8217;s case in rape. That is something that goes against my grain8221;.
But the case she considers the most memorable in her career was the one fought in a family court. 8220;The husband had stated that the wife was schizophrenic and wanted to annul the marriage on those grounds. He refused to do so on mutual consent. But the reality was that she was simply unhappy in the marriage and therefore used to fight. It was only when I had a psychiatrist evaluate her and give her statement in court that the husband agreed to a divorce by mutual consent.8221; For Salgaonkar, law is not just a career, it is the tool she uses as a women8217;s activist.
