17th May 2019 was the day when one name i.e. Mohit Mathur, got embossed in the history of Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) for an eternity. The day recorded one historic win when Mr. Mathur got elected as DHCBA president with an overwhelmingly huge margin that created a new history in itself. Today, i.e. on 17th May 2020, we had a brief conversation with him regarding the journey he has had till now, the gist of which is as follows:
Q. You graduated meritoriously in Maths (Hons.), a field only few can master, yet you decided to pursue your career in law, why? What prompted you to do same?
A. I had a deep proclivity for Mathematics and Economics. Also, though my father Mr. Dinesh Mathur was a leading criminal lawyer at that time, he never forced nor coaxed me into joining legal profession. So, after graduating in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, I was not sure of whether to pursue Law or some other course, but some of my close friends cleared that doubt and convinced me. Somehow, they were more confident than I was that I was cut out for the profession.
Q. You have been a meritorious student throughout. Do you feel academic success is important for being a good lawyer?
A. Academic success alone is not sufficient. Your mind has to be open, and you should be open to taking challenges. I think education never fails you. It always comes to your aid in your analysing a situation or an opportunity. Having changed streams very often, I was never scared of taking up a subject/ task/ or case.Although I am slightly technologically challenged especially with the speed at which it keeps changing, I was ready to learn and open to absorbing new ideas while I would be still battling with adopting the old one.
Q. You are a third generation lawyer and a position like that, comes with certain perks and expectations. What all came your way?
A. I know that it may sound very odd and unbelievable, but being a third generation in this field, besides coming with benefits, also brings with it tall challenges and expectations and unimaginable comparisons with your previous generations. Unfortunately, the people do not even give you time to settle down, and start gauging you with a different yardstick, rather than let you grow amongst your peer.
My father was conscious of all this and he advised that I start my practice, not from his chamber. I was initiated in this profession with the blessings of Late Shri G. Ramaswamy, the then Attorney General for India. He was a great teacher, supporting his juniors, pushing us to excel and encouraging us to not get flustered by any “lack of success”, which he always said was different from failure.
So, mere pedigree is not enough, you have to toil and sweat it out in the open field to learn & master the rules of the game. My advice toall has been that previous generation can only get you an extra opportunity or some indulgence maybe, but thereafter it is your individual performance that alone matters.
Q. From where did you start your journey in litigation? How were your initial years of practice like?
A. I got the chance to argue before the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Venkatacheliah by default; very early in my career with Mr. Ramaswamy since neither the senior nor the Advocate on record had reached. I have yet to come across a more knowledgeable, humble and kind Judge than him. His active interaction with his juniors benefitted me and that experience hugely boosted my morale and confidence.
Just like any other junior in the profession, I also was made to fend for myself by my father, who felt that one should dabble in all fields of law and dip one’s hands in different pies, to realise one’s aptitude and interest. I had a good bunch of friends with whom I started a firm after our training with our respective seniors and that’s where my journey into litigation started.
Q. How was your experience working with Mr G. Ramaswamy?
A. As I said, I worked under the tutelage of Late Shri G. Ramaswamy, who had mentored people of the likes of Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar (Judge, P&H High Court, and Former Judge of Delhi High Court), G. Rajagopalan (Addl. Solicitor General of India, Chennai High Court), who made us read, read and read to prepare a case. He had a fantastic library, and all juniors were expected to refer the books each time. His office was an extension of his family, and we were all really cared and attended well. All the juniors were well knit, and credit for it goes to Mr. Sudhir Walia, who was eldest and the senior-most amongst us. When your teacher is good, environment is conducive for growth, then you see the result in us, as their products. I can never forget my time in that office.
Q. How did you go about after leaving the office of Mr. Ramaswamy?
A. After I had been in his chamber for around three four years, he fell very ill. He asked all of us to explore our available opportunities. Like I said earlier, I ventured to start a firm by the name ‘The Chambers of Law’ along with some of my friends from law school. Though each one thereafter went his own way, including me, we remained a close group of friends and today all are doing brilliantly in their own areas.
Q. What motivated you to take the leap of faith and start your firm?
A. You know after your initial training, you need to grow out the shadows of your seniors. We were a great group of friends from Law school,with each one associated with one or the other good seniors of that time. So around 1994-95, six of us decided to try our luck together as TCL. We had nothing to lose, and our families were also ok with same friends working together as we knew each other. It was a great experiment and has benefitted all of us.
Q. You have received a Presidential reference to address in the Inter-State Cauvery water dispute and have also fought many other prominent cases. What all challenges you faced and how did you overcome them during the hearings?
A. Presidential reference in In re Cauvery Water Inter-State dispute was my first case with Shri Ramaswamy who, being the Attorney General, had to present the matter before the Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court. It over an overwhelming experience. We were expected to prepare the brief for him while there was a battery of stalwarts for different states. Listening to Shri Fali Nariman, Shri Parasaran, Shri Venugopal and others was an experience which a young lawyer of that time would not miss for anything. We assisted him in various matters such as Anti-Defection Constitutional Amendment, Right to Speedy trial, Challenge to constitutional validity of retrenchment laws to name a few. We were expected help our senior to formulate the arguments, then search for material to support and substantiate it. It used to be crazy working hours, and the search had to encompass all the material available world over, and that too without the aid of the Google & other technology aided apps accessible today. We had to search the material from Office Library or outside and then use it.
During our initial days, we could not escape the fact of being juniors and thus being brushed aside. One such incident happened in the Court of Justice J.S. Verma (Former CJI), but my senior came to my rescue and similarly while arguing an appeal before Justice G.B. Pattnaik (former CJI), Late Shri Amrendra Sharan, (former Addl. Solicitor General of India) intervened and told the Court that merely because a junior is arguing he should not be taken lightly or mocked. These small incidents made a great impact in my life and approach in this profession.
Q. You had contested for the post of Hony. Secy. DHCBA for the first time in 2011 and won with good margin. What prompted you to participate in the Bar elections?
A. I was the President of the Students Union in my law college, but deliberately kept away from contesting any elections after joining the Bar. However, around 2010, some friends from law school insisted that I should prepare to contest for the post of the Secretary in the next elections of High Court Bar Association. I thought about it for a while and then after some deliberations with close associates and politically active lawyer colleagues,jumped in the fray.
Q. How was the experience of being the Secretaryof DHCBA like?
A. It was undoubtedly an enriching experience. I was lucky to have a very cohesive Executive Committee with a doyen of the Bar-Shri A.S. Chandhiok, leading us as the President. Shri J.P. Sengh, Sr. Advocate, was the Vice President, who treated me like a younger brother and would often guide me. Both of them would cover up my mistakes especially in protocols and other nuances in our High Court’s traditions, in the guise of ‘next generation style’. The other EC members also helped me immensely and taught me at different steps.
Q. You got designated as a Senior Advocate by Delhi High Court in the year 2015, which is one of the highest designations bestowed to advocates in our country. How do you feel about same?
A. I actually don’t feel that one should start bloating with the designation. Instead, I feel our responsibility towards the Court, Client and the institution increases.
Q. Designation of Senior Advocate comes with a lot of restrictions on one’s practice. How has this designation impacted your practice?
A. I feel that one should opt for becoming a Senior Advocate only if one intends doing pure counsel practice. I was clear about it and had stopped any drafting or filing from my office for some time even before my designation. In my case, the transition was not difficult for I was being briefed by counsels/ firms even prior to designation; sometimes as the second counsel and sometimes as lead counsel in the hearings. After designation, I had distributed the clients I had or trials which I had amongst my juniors, which made me feel a sort of a void in my initial few weeks, but it changed soon. God has been great and very kind.
Q. You contested for the post of President Delhi High Court Bar Association in 2019 and emerged victorious with humongous margin. How do you feel about it?
A. Margins are only a reflection of the love and blessings bestowed on you, and attaches the expectations people have from you. With every power comes additional responsibility. There are no free lunches. Even these days, when I could have sat in the safety of my home, I have to go along with the work of my EC alongside the High Court authorities for ensuring the institution is least impacted and the justice delivery system continues to work smoothly. At the same time, some of our members have been severely impacted by this pandemic, and we have tried to help them in whatever small way we can. I feel, if my friends and well-wishers have entrusted some responsibility on my shoulders, I must firstly be thankful that they considered me worthy. Secondly, I vow not betray their trust, even if that requires me towalk an extra mile.
Q.Is it correct that you are the youngest President Delhi High Court Bar ever had?
A. No, not at all. In fact it was my father, who became the President of this great institution DHCBA, at the young age of only 41.5 years. Besides there have been a couple of others also who held this post at an age younger than me.
Q.With a post like President, comes a lot of responsibilities and expectations. How are you dealing with same?
A. I am trying my best. It is for the others to assess and say whether I have proved true or not.
Q. With issues regarding Delhi High Court and its Bar making headlines and the news of your rising to all those occasions by taking stand for the Bar as well as the Court has indeed made your tenure quite eventful. What prompted you to take action in those situations?
A. We have had a really eventful term with all sorts of issues. I have always maintained my principles and stood for the dignity and glory of our Bar. I think the love and support of the members and guidance and blessings of the more experienced seniors at Bar has helped us rise and sail through in difficult times. I must say, my present EC has always backed me to the hilt, and this always presented a picture of a collected & unified Bar which projected immense strength and character required to face such challenges. And then, God has been very kind to me. My peers, youngsters and elders alike have supported me in all our causes.
Q.As president of DHCBA, what all have you done in past one year and what is your roadmap ahead?
A.We have been able to build another Consultation room in Chamber Block III which we are dedicating to being made available to the younger members of the Bar who do not have spaces for client interaction; at very reasonable charges. Unfortunately, it was started only on the 11th March, and had to be closed down on account of the COVID-19 lockdown. We have also been allotted space, which we are in process of developing, to open a crèche in the High Court for the mothers. We have already started a digital payment gateway for the DHCBA which allowed us to collect from and remit amounts to our members during this current shutdown. Besides, we have carried out a number of other activities which were felt necessary for the members.
Although a number of projects had been lined up for execution, future course will now have to be discussed keeping in mind the new normal, which shall emerge from this “Corona-manthan”.
Q. What would you like to convey to our readers who wish to take up litigation and how should they prepare for it?
A. I would say that first make up your mind to opt for litigation, because there is a long gestation period here. Once you are clear that this is whatyou want, just go for it.
We need fresh minds in litigation always. I feel that this is the real profession; rest only follow. Here you develop, create, and interpret Law; it is ever-changing. To prepare yourself, marshal your facts and understand the law. As I often repeat- ‘Learn to let go of what you learnt in the law schools’, as practice is a different ball-game. Open your vista, let your ideas free. That’s what keeps law dynamic.
There is ample room at the top, anyone who works diligently and sincerely can achieve success. Remember there is no substitute for hard work. I reiterate, It’s ABCD (Any Body Can Do it).
Thank you very much and wishing you and your readers all the very best.