'He entered hallowed halls of legal world': CJI Kant lauds solicitor general for his new books

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday lauded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for authoring two books and said he has entered the hallowed halls of the legal world armed with nothing but sharp quips and a keen eye.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday lauded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for authoring two books and said he has entered the hallowed halls of the legal world armed with nothing but ''sharp quips and a keen eye''. Speaking at the launch of Mehta's two books– 'The Bench, the Bar, and the Bizarre', and 'The Lawful and the Awful' here -- CJI Kant in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah said when Mehta invited him for the event, he was wondering as to what would happen if the world of law takes a vacation to a comedy club. The CJI said as he flipped through the pages, he found himself struck by a question over and over again as to how did Mehta find the time to pen these charming tomes in the first place? ''As the solicitor general of India, I see him spending his mornings in Court Number 1, his afternoons are probably divided in other courtrooms and government work, and his evenings, I hope, he spends reading thousands of pages of briefs. And yet, we're all here to launch not one, but two books! ''So I tried to solve this mystery! I have two running theories. Either Tushar Bhai has successfully petitioned the Almighty for a 25th hour in the day and kept that order strictly for himself, or he has discovered that the best time for comedic writing is while Court No. 1 is taking too long to read a file during a hearing. My money's on the latter!'' the CJI said to the hall full of an audience comprising family of Shah, judges of top court and high court, and senior lawyers and other members of the legal fraternity. ''Far from being just witty stories, these are revelations about how the humanity of the legal process occasionally peeks through its marble facade. Tushar Bhai is not content with simply tossing jokes at us, he masterfully serves every anecdote as both amusement and illumination,'' he said. CJI Kant said that Mehta ''reminds us gently that the law, for all its seriousness, is still a profoundly human enterprise''. At the end of the day, behind every statute and every ruling are just people- with their own quirks, their own flaws but also occasional bursts of comic brilliance, he said. The CJI said who could have guessed that dusty case files, legal jargon, and solemn judicial proceedings could turn into fodder for hilarity and yet here ''we are, grinning from ear to ear, as if we have just stumbled across a Supreme Court ruling written by Mark Twain''. ''Solicitor general has done what so few dare to attempt: he has entered the hallowed halls of the legal world armed with nothing but sharp quips and a keen eye. And he has emerged victorious, carrying a treasure trove of anecdotes that will make even the most stoic jurist crack a big smile. ''Through hilarious tales, piercing observations, and a comic lens that never misses its mark, these books invite readers to explore legal dilemmas with chuckles instead of headaches,'' he said. Recalling several anecdotes from high courts, the CJI said that there are several such stories from courtrooms across the country and unlike these two books, which have collections of stories from other jurisdictions, Mehta should plan a third one. ''For his third Book, I think Tushar Bhai should turn his gaze towards our own judicial system, which I'm sure is feeling left out of the limelight & believe me, there is no dearth of comical tales from our own region. In fact, I'm certain we have enough material in Delhi itself to fill a library! Of course I would be more than happy to contribute to it. Naturally, I would be less tight-lipped post-retirement!'' he said. To the amusement of the gathering, the CJI said, ''I think omitting the Indian Bench from his razor-sharp volumes wasn't just editorial discretion, but actually his heightened survival instinct. You see, Tushar Bhai knows that if he wrote about our quirks, his next 'Mentioning' would have been outrightly rejected in Court No. 1 without the scope of a Review Petition.'' Speaking about the books, he said what elevates this current collection beyond a mere string of comical incidents, is the artistry with which they are woven into an engaging narrative. ''Consider the vast scale of what Tushar has captured in writing: everything from dress code disasters to AI hallucinations in judgments and pleadings. He has even covered drunk and disorderly conduct, which in all fairness, is usually just called Saturday Night for the Bar here,'' he said, adding that these books are a celebration of statutes twirling with satire, and of precedents dancing right into punchlines. He added that the beauty of these books lies not only in their comic timing but also in the sheer depth of research that went behind all their jest. ''Tushar Mehta has raided law libraries, sifted through old case files and dug out obscure trial records that read more like sitcom scripts than sombre documents. He presents baffled witnesses, judges with a flair for the dramatic, and lawyers caught in the crossfire of their own hysterical missteps,'' he said. The CJI said the courtroom is where theatre meets law and everyone has a starring role, the solicitor general paints a picture where there are hardly any innocent extras and he joshes the Bench and the Bar, both of whom are ''stuck in a delightful dance of mutual absurdity''. Judges, with their stern faces and occasional impatience, and lawyers, with their flourishes and periodic theatrics - all contribute to the grand spectacle of justice, he said. Attorney General R Venkataramani also spoke on the occasion and congratulated Mehta for his books.