Priya Chaudhary & Amit Agarwal
Mr. Sanpreet Singh Ajmani is an alumnus of Law College, Dehradun. He started his practice in the year 2008 at the District and Sessions Court, Dehradun. Here’s Mr. Ajmani in conversation with Desi Kaanoon about YBAI, his career and more-
Q. How did YBAI come into being?
A. The vision behind YBAI has been a long-lived dream that I saw during my initial days of practice, looking into account the various difficulties being faced by the young lawyers. I discussed the idea with my few mentors but they did not endorse my idea then, though some had appreciated it. We laid down the foundation of this organization and got YBAI registered under the Societies of Registration Act, 1860 in the year 2016. The founding members were Mr. Saurabh Pandey, Ms. Anjali Chauhan, Ms. Niranjan Kaur, Mr. Baldeep Singh Gill, Mr. Nirpendra Singh Rautela, Mr. Manav Sanmotra, Mr. Sunitpal Singh Aulakh, and Mr. Lovekesh Choudhary Advocates.
In brief, it’s the hardwork, passion, and dream of many young budding lawyers that helped them in many ways. Youth Bar Association of India is an association of young and vigilant Advocates practicing law throughout the nation. The aims and objects of YBAI in nutshell are to promote legal awareness among the public, to provide the best legal aid to the underprivileged,and to fight for the legal cause on a pro bono basis.
Today, the body has its presence in almost 18 states being headed by young and energetic Presidents and other office-bearers. Since we always need seniors who could guide us and bless us with their presence, the body also has a body of Mentors or Advisors who keep guiding us to achieve the vision. YBAI has extremely wonderful mentors and advisors, a few among those are Mr. J. M. Sharma, Senior Advocate (Past Vice President of SCBA), Ms. Ashwarya Bhati, Senior Advocate (Past Hony. Secretary of SCBA and present ASGI), Mr. Rakesh Kumar Khanna, Senior Advocate (Past President of SCBA), Mr. Adish Agarwala, Senior Advocate (President of International Council of Jurists) and Mr. Nagendra Singh, Mr. Ranbir Singh Kundu, Mr. Aneesh Sharma, Mr. Shirish Mehrotra, Mr. Jugal Wadwa, Mr. Avi Singh, Mr. Ankur Sharma and many more.
YBAI is an institution where we are learning every day and trying to come to par with the expectations of all. As a head of YBAI, I focus that it may not deviate from its vision.
Q. You are known to be very supportive and amicable towards students. Have you encountered any student from whom you could draw inspiration?
A. Yes, I am amicable with students as they are in a developing stage and not, yet professionals and they are those eyes that are slowly opening to the sunshine and everybody learns from mistakes.
I have come across many such students from whom I draw inspiration. I cannot be precise as there isn’t just one name in my mind but many. The reason for this has been what I have mentioned earlier. Their updated knowledge, eloquence, research, and they are tech-savvy. I believe that there is so much to take away from students as well, as they are not just ones who will join hands with us one day but will also teach us many things in many ways. This pandemic is one such example where we have learned to be tech-savvy and that has come from the young students, who have been always so forthcoming to help all of us, that their approach is appreciable.
I as the President of the “Youth Bar Association of India” imagine myself as a student, guide, or may take the liberty to say as a teacher or professor. I try to motivate all the young budding advocates, who have great potential but they sometimes did not groom well due to lack of proper guidance and opportunities. And this belief has been a reason why I expanded YBAI to the students by carving out a YBAI, Student Wing, where young and energetic students, who aspire to make difference in the legal aroma can join us, learn from our experiences and equally teach us with their updated knowledge of the law, technology, etc.
I feel the best way to help students is to ‘not teach them in which direction to go but to teach them to make their way and select the direction.’
The young lawyers in our country don’t know the scope that is available in this profession due to a lack of exposure to students. Everybody tries to follow each other by an assembled multitude of other scopes being untouched.To keep them updated and make knowledge accessible to them, we have organized regular Seminars and Webinars.
The First Conference of YBAI was presided by the then Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Mr. Ranjan Gogoi, which was a resounding success on the topic – Social Engineering.
Even during these pandemic days,we had worked hard to get the process of learning continue, so that we may not only learn on specific subjects of law but also learn from the experiences of Judges, Senior Counsels, Counsels, and young litigators in the field, both nationally and internationally. Here, I must congratulate Mr. Rahul Kumar and his team, who had extended tremendous technical support in organizing various webinars. YBAI had also organized 10 days Summer School, where we learned from various scholars, judges, and international luminaries, which includes Senior Advocate Mr. Sriram Panchu also, who requires no introduction when we talk about Mediation.
We had also collaborated with the Supreme Court Mediators, Singapore International Mediation Center, and Common Wealth Lawyer’s Association, for organizing International Webinars on the topic of Mediation, which was presided by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Mrs. Indira Banerjee, Judges of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. The last webinar on sports mediation was presided by Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.K. Siri, Former Judge of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and sitting Judge of Singapore International Commercial Court. These webinars were resounding success, having more than 30000 views. These webinars are very informative and I must suggest every student must view them from our YouTube page. Soon, you will find all this material on our website also. Here I would like to express my sincere gratitude also to Mr. Santhana Krishnan, Advocate(Past President of Common Wealth Lawyer’s Association for giving this opportunity to the YBAI).
Q. As an alumnus of Law College Dehradun, you have certainly made it big in the legal field. What significance does your alma mater hold for you? Where do you see it in five years?
A. Miles to go. Whatever a person achieves in the life, alma mater plays a vital and important role. Law College Dehradun without doubt has played an important role in shaping me. Every interaction of mine with my peers and Professors has been an important learning for me and I cherish the same today when I preach their teachings in my practical day-to-day life. Today, when I look back, I just have so many reasons to visit my alma mater. Most importantly, I am happy that I can contribute back to my alma mater and my juniors in every possible way, and that acts as a bridge between me and my alma mater.
Considering the talent, I see in my juniors, I had interacted on several occasions, I see Law College Dehradun making much more impact in the coming 5 years in the legal aroma by giving some good litigators and judges. I also admire the vision of Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna, who has been one such person who has motivated me to break the barriers and make an impact. I am sure his presence and vision would further be instrumental to the students and the institution at large.
Q. The YBAI has filed many petitions in the Supreme Court and High Court alike. What is the one memorable feat that it achieved?
A. There are several Petitions that YBAI has filed and has received enormous praise and success over it. It very hard to mention one or two of them as most importantly, all of them have been able to create much impact in the legal profession. However, I will mention two petitions, one from the student perspective and the other from a professional perspective that can be a huge success that YBAI has made.
- One such petition is ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India’(2016) 9 SCC 473, which relates to very important legal development in Criminal law practice and procedure. In this petition, a writ of mandamus was issued by the Hon’ble Apex Court to the States/Police to upload all the FIRs within 24 hourson their official website, with certain riders. This is an important feather for YBAI as it contributed both to the practice and procedure of criminal law and the legal academia. In my view, this is the best use of technology and user friendly. The said decision was ranked no. 1 out of a total of 25 significant judgments rendered by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the year 2016 by a legal networking forum namely LIVELAW. Here, I must appreciate the hard work of Mr. Manaohar Pratap and Mr. Peeyush Bhatia, who helped in bringing this petition.
- The other one from a practitioner’s perspective is the current petition [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 849/2020 ‘Youth Bar Association v. Union of India] where we are contesting to make mandatory Pre-litigation Mediation across all courts of the country. The approach of the Hon’ble Apex Court and the seriousness is going to make another impact whereby, Mediation would get mandatory recognition and I am sure this will help both clients and practitioners, thereby contributing to speedy trial and justice. Here, I must appreciate the hard work of Mr. Varun Mishra and Ms. Jashmine Kolhi, who helped in bringing this petition.
- In Habib Khan v. State of Uttarakhand & Others‘[Civil Appeal No. 10805/2017], the Hon’ble Supreme Court held the work-charged employees entitle to pensionary benefits. This decision has, in fact, my biggest achievement because the degree of satisfaction is tremendous. The poor class four employees and their families are now getting pensions, which is their source of livelihood. I had witnessed these litigants, who were senior citizens; crying and I feel proud witnessing their happiness. Pension is not a bounty and the Government must pay it to the retiring employees. It must not be denied on mere technicalities. I must state here, the employees serving in the State of Uttarakhand were extended the benefit of this Judgment but the employees of the State of Uttar Pradesh are still deprived of the fruits of it, despite detailed adjudication by the larger bench of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of ‘Prem Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh’. I am fortunate to have an opportunity to espouse the cause of the employees for the State of U.P. also before the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court, where the President of UP Wing Mr. Shikhar Awasthi, Advocate is helping me.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. State of Uttarakhand & Ors.’ [Writ Petition (PIL) No. 212/2016] the Hon’ble Uttarakhand High Court directed the striking doctors to call off the strike immediately. A similar petition was also instituted by the YBAI before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.’, [Writ – PIL No. 36857/2017] wherein indulgence of the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court was sought in respect of the unfortunate Gorakhpur incident where several children died due to non-availability of oxygen cylinders.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. State of West Bengal & Ors.’, wherein the decision of the Government of West Bengal, imposing certain restrictions on Goddess Durga Immersion was put to challenge and the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court acceded the prayer. Here I must mention the sincere efforts of Mr. Kuldeep Rai, Advocate the President of West Bengal Wing, and his team, who took the uphill task in seeking the indulgence of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court on this very vital and important issue promptly.
- YBAI has also submitted its suggestion in the NJAC Case for bringing more transparency in the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Courts.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India’, [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 124/2019] was filed with the sole objective was to frame guidelines for the protection of the identity of the accused in the sexual harassment cases up till the investigation is complete. Notices were issued and the matter is sub-judice before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India’, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 21757/2019] wasfiled seeking raisingof upper age limit of the Judges of the Hon’ble High Courts at par with the Judges of Hon’ble Supreme Court i.e. from 62 to 65 years. The YBAI had suggested that it would deal with the menace of mounting of cases. The Hon’ble Supreme Court was pleased to direct the Government to decide on the representation of the YBAI. The representation is still pending.
- ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India’, was filed for seeking the indulgence of the Hon’ble Uttarakhand High Court to issues directions to the government to take some preventive measures to Stop Dengue as well as provide monetary compensation to the families that suffered the loss of life due to Dengue. Various directions were issued in the said matter and for its effective implementation;Contempt Petition No. 443/2020 is still pending.
- During this pandemic, ‘Sanpreet Singh Ajmani v. State of Uttarakhand’,[Writ Petition PIL No. 52/2020]indulgence of the Hon’ble Uttarakhand High Court was soughtconcerning various aspects emanating due lockdown imposed due to COVID-19. The Hon’ble High Court issued various directions.
- Recently, in ‘Sanpreet Singh Ajmani v. Union of India’, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 237/2021]the Hon’ble Supreme Court issued notices on various pleas emanating from the farmers protest, which includes the illegal shut down of Internet and deprivation of various amenities at the protest sites. The matter is still sub judice.
- In ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. The State of Maharastra’,[Diary No. 2218/2021], the observations relating to the modesty of a girl child were challenged. Subsequently, the AGI mentioned the matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the order of the High Court was stayed. The matter is still sub judice.
- In ‘Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India’,[Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1373/2020]a direction has been sought from the Hon’ble Supreme Court for implementation of the use of A4 size papers Pan India concerning all the proceedings citing environmental hazards. The matter is yet to be listed.
Q. What do you believe is the most required aspect of the legal profession?
A. The legal profession according to me is a very responsible and committed profession and every type of lawyer exists because it is a very wide course having different streams.
For all the young budding lawyers, I would like to mention some important aspects for a successful lawyer on which, they must start working immediately: –
- The skill of Teamwork – The first aspect or quality of a good lawyer or in any profession is the ‘skill of teamwork” which means they should have the skills of working as a team and should consider ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.
In my profession, I have seen many advocates who prefer to take the credit for themselves only and they feel that they are the best, but according to me they may be the best but if they cannot work as a team that means that they are lacking somewhere in their profession.
- Attention to Each Detail – Accuracy is parallel to your professional success. As even a minute error anywhere can change the whole meaning of the clause or contract, while the grammatical errors in the emails or documents can give a different meaning to your clients costing you their business.
I suggest it’s better to have a good command of the language.
- Information Analysis (research) – It is one of the most important qualities of a good lawyer.
A good lawyer must have the practice of reading lengthy documents, judgments, etc. He/she must grasp the facts and figures, analyze them and present them in a manageable form.
To improve this skill, one must practice reading lengthy articles and write as much as he/she can and if they master it, they would be able to draft the cases efficiently.
- Lamps of Advocacy: Lastly, I would suggest that every student or a young litigator must take into mind the ‘Seven Lamps of Advocacy’, a book by J. Abbot Parry where he discusses some 7 points and termed them as lamps of Advocacy. Having read it, I feel that every student and young litigator must abide by it to ace this profession.
Last but not the least, the source of my inspiration:-
My father – S. Bhupendra Singh, a practicing Advocate. He has been the Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand before the Hon’ble High Court for about a decade. He has expertise mainly in civil and arbitration cases. He had always shown me the correct path and helped me in developing my legal acumen. He is my friend, guide, and phosphor.
My wife – Harsheen Anand, a Chartered Accountant, and law graduate. I must share that she had played animportant role in giving a legal entity to the YBAI. She had prepared the draft of bye-laws and other related documents, which were required for the registration of the YBAI under the Societies of Registration Act, 1860.