Opinion The court eternal
On Wednesdays,the Delhi high court is different. Yesterday,even more so,as tragedy struck. But justice will go on.
The Delhi high court is a different court building. Unlike some other high courts in this country,it is not an ornate structure replete with reminders of the majestic structures that the British Raj bequeathed to us. It is a simple,functional building. A place where people with troubles come with their cases,where lawyers with varied levels of skill argue those cases,and where justices with years of learning behind them dispense with,and dispose of,those cases. Yesterday,this structure was dealt a blow.
Yesterday was a Wednesday. A day when some benches of this court hear cases of senior citizens. A day when court number one,the court of the honble chief justice,hears public interest litigants. It was,therefore,a day well chosen well chosen for diabolical action.
The location was even more sinister. The bomb went off near gate number five; that is the gate where every layman who wishes to enter the court has to present himself at a reception area,and where their entry passes are prepared.
And the court was picked well,too. The judges of the Delhi high court,under the leadership of Chief Justice Dipak Misra,have now recorded the highest number of case disposals. The number of pending cases are steadily decreasing and that means,as well,more hearings,which means more people and thus more possible casualties.
On a normal day,at around 10.30 am,it would be a very different picture at the high court. The court compound would resound with the horns of lawyers cars trying to park,their argumentative skills put to fine use even before they walk into a courtroom. It would be filled with clerks trying to move bags of briefs to the courts,making every effort to get there in time for the ensuing battle of words. There would be scores of litigants thronging the two elevators on the three floors. Some new,some seasoned but all of them hoping that they were inching towards a fair and favourable end to their legal woes.
On a normal day,the atmosphere would be charged with banter,argument,frayed tempers. The air would resound with invitations to cups of tea at the canteen,stories of cases won and lost.
But today was not a normal day. It was a Wednesday.
The bomb went off; some were killed; others were injured. The court was closed. Some of those who were in court when the explosion occurred said it felt like someone was moving the earth below them. Some heard it all the way to the parking lot in the Supreme Court.
What then followed,as it always does,is the wave of calls and text messages. Are you OK? Where are you? Are you in the high court? The relief in their voices was palpable just at the sound of me answering Hello to my ringing phone. I heard,today,from family,from friends,from clients,from people whom I thought were long gone and forgotten. Thank God it wasnt you,said one of them. Strangely,the bomb went off where my car is normally parked. But I am not in Delhi,and my car is in my driveway at home. Thank God indeed. But what of those who were not so lucky?
We have suffered a great human loss. People who came looking for justice were taken away by an act of injustice. Cowardly injustice. But,as with all things Indian,the human spirit will not flag.
Within hours of the blast,the high court resumed work. The post-lunch session went as planned; all courts were working.
And today,the court will open as ever. The cars will honk,the clerks will rush,the litigants will throng. The structure will function. The lady of justice will blaze ever more.
Even though yesterday a palace of justice was assaulted,ours is a country which guarantees a fair trial even for the perpetrators of such actions. In the words of a young girl who visited these precincts a few months ago,it is where we expect justice,deliverance,fairness and integrity. It is a place filled with complex chaos that is attempting to restore some order. That,I say,will never change.
The writer is a Supreme Court lawyer. He also appears at the Delhi high court
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