Passionate about climate change initiatives and human rights, Ms. Kajal Rajput is an experienced Associate with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry. Here’s Ms. Rajput in conversation with Ms. Priya Chaudhary, the Editor-in-Chief of Desi Kaanoon-
Q1 From the very beginning you have played an integral role in organising various events during your college days, how has it shaped your personality?
A. From the very beginning, extracurricular activities were something that attracted my gaze as they opened doors for me to learn a lot of new things without any boredom. I started organising many events from the very first semester of my Law degree as a volunteer and was eventually designated as a core member of the Moot Court Society of Amity Law School and also headed the Judges committee in various events. That role particularly moulded my personality in many different ways, during that period I used to meet Judges of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and Hon’ble High Court, had many insightful conversations with them which broaden the horizon of my legal knowledge, simultaneously participated in moots, trial advocacy and quizzes which teaches you teamwork, disciplines and procedural aspects of laws.
During those events, I had to interact with hundreds of people including Judges, Lawyers, students from different colleges and my own collegemates who taught me so many things and most important of them, humility I would like to narrate an incident here I remember I once went to High Court of Delhi to meet one of the judges there. When I reached there, he was really caught up with his work and had just returned from courtroom hearing but he said that since I had given you an appointment, I will meet you. He called us (my faculty and me) in his chamber and we all had a good half an hour discussion, also agreed to attend the event. This incident had such a powerful impact on me. I learnt that no matter wherever you reach always stay humble and dedicated to your commitments because those things will take you to great heights. Those events sharpened my time management skills, communication skills, complex problem-solving skills which boosted my confidence and also made some wonderful relations for life.
Q2. Given that how important is it to participate in extracurricular activities during college?
A. The extracurricular activities are the exercise for your mind which allow you to think and act as you want, not how someone teaches you. These activities will boost your knowledge and confidence as no other thing could. It allows developing those skills which remain unexplored in the classrooms. It allows you to hone your social skills, interpersonal skills which eventually helps to shape your path.
However, I feel there is no bible to describe what is important and what is not, at the end of the day we all are marching to different drummers, so one should pave his or her own path and always keep exploring, you never know where you would find your calling.
Q3. Having pursued your B. Com from Delhi University, how did you come by pursuing Law?
A. I was very young when I had this dream of pursuing law as a profession. But I chose a little unconventional path to reach there. When I figured out that Delhi University only offers Law after graduation then I enrolled myself to complete B.com (Hons.) and had a plan to pursue law from DU after that. But like everyone says God always have different plans for you, so I landed in Amity Law School which I consider being purely an alignment of stars in my favour as what I am today as a person is the sheer product of Amity, it groomed me in many ways and acquainted me with marvy people who helped me to shape my career.
Q4. You have majorly interned at law firms and offices. Were you focused on doing litigation-based internships since the very start?
A. I would say litigation-based offices are something that captures my interest more but it was not on purpose that I got into such places, it kept happening organically and with time I coincidentally landed in litigation-based spaces only.
The original side of litigation teaches you the base of law which is very important to build the whole structure.
Q5. How did you secure an internship with Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Sahai? How was it different from your other internships?
A. I had an interaction with his office during an event and when I was looking for my summer internship, I have sent an application to his office and which got selected on a merit basis, and there I was, working in his office.
It was very different from other internships for the very basic reasons as you are on the other side i.e., Bench, you get to know the procedure in-depth and how the office of judge works. Recently, Justice Sahai got retired, he was considered to be one of the resilient judges if you need a favourable order as he was very particular about laws and facts, you could not appear underprepared in front of him but at the same time he was the gem of a person, he always made sure to meet interns and discuss cases with them, ask them about their workday and render them the intrinsic details of laws, all these things give you an extra punch to work hard during internships.
Q6. May we please know which areas you are most gravitated towards and why?
A. Initially, it was a criminal practice that made me inquisitive and stimulated but lately, I have developed an equal interest in capital markets as it is a very flourishing sector considering more people are inclined towards these markets and various rules and regulations which keep evolving with time, SEBI and RBI keep laying guidelines down the various resolution for their smooth performance.
Moreover, what I think is not just legal professionals but everyone should learn about human rights laws considering the kind of world we are approaching, everyday people are abused in one way or another because of various forms of exploitation, one should be aware of their rights.
Q7. Given that you possess a keen interest in Human Rights Laws. How do you intend to pursue a career in this?
A. Human Rights Laws are going to be a very important branch of law on the ground level in the coming years. What happened with Kashmir during the past year, recently happened with Meghalaya which got dusted under the carpet because of the bigger issue of Afghanistan, the visuals are alarming and heart-wrenching, these kinds of violations are beyond acceptable and more people have to work towards stabilisation of such activities. In the past also, I have worked with NGOs which are vocal about these issues including many others and even right now I am working with some and at the same time exploring opportunities to work with UN organisations which is a strong institution to bolster the voice against violation of human rights.
At the end of the day, we all must work towards ways that tackle poverty, unemployment & Climate Change at a small level which will eventually influence larger global economic models. It’s important for the world to shift towards a more “Selfless” model.