New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday speaking to lawyers recalled how as a young lawyer a client gifted him a saree in lieu of his legal fee. The Chief Justice while speaking at the felicitation ceremony of the newly registered advocate-on-record (AoR) recalled that he had appeared as a lawyer for a very important politician and he was very happy with him “as to how the case was handled by a junior like me”.
The Chief Justice, narrating the incident to the lawyers, said, “I was staying in a small flat in Som Vihar and the politician appeared at my door. The politician presented a nice saree to my mother”. Justice Chandrachud said when he went to the office the next morning, the senior told him that this was the fee — the saree. The Chief Justice said, “I was so disappointed how a junior cannot be appreciated and later on I came to know that this was really the fee…..”.
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He said the role of an AoR is most responsible, and he/she is also constant, and they are the first interface with the client and emphasised that this institution of the AoR is needed for the sustenance of this court. The Chief Justice narrated a second incident where a client offered the possibility of offering more cases instead of money.
He said, “When I came to this court as a lawyer for the first time. I was being assisted by the AoR Mr Ganpule….. The client made several trips to Delhi to instruct me and Mr Ganpule would file….”. He added that the client would tell him that he could give him many more cases. “Ganpule told me that when a client says this it means there are no fees to be paid in this particular case," said the Chief Justice.
