Thread by @lawbarandbench

Attorney General for India R Venkataramani to shortly speak on his journey in the legal profession at an event organised by Human Rights Defense International.

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#AG #law #humanrights

AG Venkataramani arrives at the dais. The AG is the president of the Human Rights Defense International organisation.

#humanrights

AoR Sadhna Ramachandran: Venkataramani is the first lawyer to be selected as AG without holding any other office. Is an activist, Sr Adv, poet, author, mentor, scholar.

#AG

AG begins his address

AG: First i politely declined the invitation to speak, but I cannot refuse to meet my colleagues. It will not be right to speak about myself, I do not believe in personal advertisement for I would like to remain what I was. But Mr Goenka said...

#AG

AG: i may have juicy stories to share which the Bar would enjoy. My dilemma was do I have such stories. The answer is no. Those who have sacrificed their lives to the welfare of a community are a class apart. Those who have lived with difficulties are yet another class.

AG: Those who have battled the odds are yet another class. I belong to neither of those. And Why do I share?

AG: But if you want to hear from me what my passions are and my life journeys. Then I may have something to share. Whether it has value or not if for you all to decide.

AG speaks of where he was born, says even Sri Aurobindo was born there.

AG: I studied physics.

AG: I became part of the Madras City College Tamil Union. That got me to circles and I made some select friends who are close to me even today.

AG speaks of MGR and how in films he would always appear at the right time.

AG: My friend told me do not try to become like an MGR, but become someone who everyone listens to. The memory was etched in my mind.

(This was in context of seeing an instance of police brutality)

AG speaks of how he got to meet C Rajagopalachari after being part of a Tamil literary circle.

AG: Prof Menon's friendship came to me after i did not get admission i Madras. We would go to parks in Chennai for distributing meeting pamphlets. We did this to find out if youth...

AG: wanted to join our little nascent organisation. It helped me become a reasonably good public speaker. During emergency I wrote a critical piece on Indira Gandhi's socialism, 15 days after which a policeman came to the law college to interrogate me. Prof asked what...

AG: i had done, he told me to be careful and said i could disappear any time. But the professor told the policeman that I was one of the brightest students.
But the policeman after talkng to me probably thought I was not too radical and left, but the article caught the...

AG: attention of many left leaning liberals. I got calls from, not on mobile like today but physical ones.

AG: Doorway to deepest values of our own country is to be open to viewing things differently.

AG speaks of what a great teacher Professor NR Madhava Menon was.

AG: My connection with some of those ideologies continued after my practice at the Supreme Court. Even those of ML ideology, not because I believed in it but because they deserved justice.

#SupremeCourt #AG

AG: Headed a legal aid clinic in Delhi after being approached by a Christian father and travelled across the country. In the course of one of those journeys, it occurred to me that our criminal justice system needs fundamental changes ...

AG: specially in terms of comfort to the most underprivileged. Courts should be a place of comfort for such sections. This aspect still troubles me sometimes.

#humanrights #law #AG

AG narrates two cases about where prosecution was ordered against errant policeman.

AG: Must have the intuition, will and ability to work for human rights. I am sure we can all do it. If all of us can do so in small measure it will make a big change.

AG: I keep telling law students that it is important to be a good human being. I do not mean to speak ill of anybody. This national deserves assistance from and by all of us to continue being what it can be. The legal profession has an immense responsibility...

AG: and each can help out in small measure. In terms of my journey all I can say is there is some teaching.

AG speaks of when he assumed office

AG: I looked at the photos of illustrious AGs of the past and asked myself why am I here. I think every office is a calling and is created with a certain amount of responsibilities. As I sat back in my chair i thought yes i must fulfill...

AG: my responsibilities.

#SupremeCourt

AG: The designation (of senior) came as a surprise to me. I was used to arguing cases myself, and soon after for almost a year i was not appearing in the Supreme Court. I had started working on an NTPC case (involving land acquisition and funding from World Bank).

AG: After nearly a year we were able to settle the rehabilitation issue to a great extent after I sometimes stayed with the villagers to understand their pain. Then the 2013 Act started being drafted.

AG: These engagements outside routine law helped me. Worked very closely with the great Justice VR Krishna Iyer also, we went to a village once where we stopped outside a house. After coming back to Delhi he wrote a story about it in which he mentioned me as a friend.

AG: 90% of the draft law became part of the Act. Never thought I would be law commission chairman. Nothing that i said is very grand or unique but all the connections that happened...
We as human beings have ability to understand others pain and anguish and where possible...

AG: go to their rescue.

#AG

AG: I call my wife my editor in chief, all that I write even my Written submissions goes through her. A life partner who can fix my errors.

[Event ends]