Jayant P. Mulgaonkar speaks about his experiences in the field of law, being designated ‘Senior Advocate’ and serving as President of the Goa High Court Bar Association
Early life and Education
A couple of events have left an indelible imprint on my early life. My father’s arrest in June 1954, due to his participation in the freedom struggle against the Portuguese colonial rule and the five-year incarceration at the Aguada Jail that followed, was the first. My father was initially practicing law at Bicholim. Later on, he moved with the family to Mapusa, where I was born. I do not remember the day of my father’s arrest. My earliest memories are of missing him and the family visits to Aguada for brief meetings with him.
I did my primary education in Marathi language at Shree Shantadurga Vidyalaya, Bicholim; followed by secondary education at New Goa High School, Mapusa. Thereafter, I joined St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa in the Arts stream to attain a B.A. degree; and later I attended Bombay University’s CPIR at Panaji to pursue my post graduation degree, M.A. (Economics). After this, I momentarily apprenticed with the daily Navhind Times for a short while for a brief brush with journalism.
What made you choose the law as your profession?
It was not a carefully thought out career choice. I had no particular liking or aptitude for the law. I drifted into the profession, so to say. My brother, who had been a student of Mumbai’s Government Law College, had already been practicing law with my father. So I belonged, as it were, to a family of lawyers, which I believe, determined my career choice. I was a bookish boy, reading indiscriminately anything that came my way, except the compulsorily prescribed textbooks, for which I had no liking.
Tell us about your early days in practice. Are there any highlights and cases etched in your memory you would like to mention?
My very first appearances as a lawyer was before Justice R. K. Batta who was then, the Junior Division Judge at Mapusa and Dr. Alvaro do Noronha Ferreira who was then, the Senior Division Civil Judge at Panaji. I practiced in the civil and revenue courts, mostly at Mapusa, Panaji and Bicholim. I regret, however, my lack of exposure to criminal law at the formative stage. I argued my first matter in the Judicial Commissioner’s (JC) Court, appearing for the respondent in a first civil appeal which was only partly allowed. So I can claim to have had partial success in my first case.
My rare foray into criminal law occurred when I was briefed to argue a bail application for an accused charged with the offence of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It was a good case for bail. The material did not make out a case for the charge of murder. At the highest, the accused could have been charged for culpable homicide. The main hurdle before me was that the earlier bail application had been rejected right up to the High Court. This was the second round and there was no change in circumstances. Fortunately, my bail application was heard by Justice Hosbet Suresh, a very fine, fair-minded and a just Judge. The bail was granted. I relished this success much more than my successes in civil cases.
Your thoughts on serving as the President of the Goa High Court Bar Association.
This is my second term as President of the Goa High Court Bar Association. The President is expected to lead. Last time, when I became President, I had shown no evident leadership qualities. I would like to believe that I am better prepared this time with the experience of the earlier term behind me. I was deeply touched and indeed overwhelmed and humbled by the trust reposed by all my colleagues who had assembled for the General Meeting of the Association. It is a great honour and privilege and also a huge responsibility to live up to the great expectations of the Bar.
What are the various initiatives and programs of the Association that have been held during your tenure?
My first term was a contentious one. We had quite a few issues with the High Court on the administrative side, as well as on the judicial side. I was lucky to have a team of young advocates by my side. They stood with me through thick and thin and from time to time, gave me level headed advice. They also spurred me to stand up to the High Court establishment. I also received consistent rock solid support from the then Advocate General, Subodh Kantak.
The issue that threatened to get contentious in this term though, was the fear of the denial of adequate space for the Bar in the upcoming new High Court building at Porvorim. This has largely been sorted out. Of course, much of the spadework was done by my predecessor Presidents.
We have also started holding functions to mark the Constitution Day on 26th November. For last year’s Constitution Day function, we got acclaimed legal scholar and writer Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, who addressed a full house on ‘Secularism and the Indian Constitution.’ Justice Mahesh Sonak has been very helpful with the GHCBA endeavours, and also gave a riveting talk on ‘Interface between U. S. and the Indian Constitution.’ There was a Master Class by Justice R. D. Dhanuka on Arbitration law; while Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, during his visit here, gave a motivational address to the Bar.
We also started ‘Law Conversations.’ So far, we have managed to have only a couple of Law Conversations wherein Senior Advocate M. B. da Costa and Senior Advocate S. D. Lotlikar were the participants in the first edition of ‘Law Conversation’. While Senior Advocate Subodh Kantak and our present Advocate General Devidas Pangam were participants in the second edition. We are hoping to continue with ‘Law Conversations’ with greater regularity.
We also intend to start continuing law education lecture series like the one conducted by the Bombay Bar Association. Unfortunately, the GHCBA activities have come to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I must mention here, the excellent support that I have been receiving from my committee members to carry out the activities listed above.
How do you feel being designated ‘Senior Advocate’ by the High Court?
The ‘senior’ designation is a great honour. It is a privilege conferred when the High Court forms an opinion that the Advocate concerned is deserving of such distinction. This carries certain restrictions and great responsibilities. The designation as a ‘Senior Advocate’ makes one to constantly conduct oneself with great sense of responsibility and in a manner worthy of the distinction conferred.
What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on practice?
The practice of law has been impacted very badly by the unprecedented COVID situation. We are on the horns of a dilemma. The re-opening of the courts for physical hearings all at once has huge potential of contributing to the exponential spread of the pandemic. We have been trying to cope with the situation by adapting to technology by resorting to the virtual hearings, only to realise how problematic and woefully inadequate they are. The limitations are obvious. To those who have no access to technology, this is downright unjust and unfair.
It militates against our basic system of the open court justice. The denial of access to justice for want of physical opening of the courts amounts to the denial of fundamental rights and human rights. These are huge questions for which there are no easy answers.
Your advice / message to the young practitioners.
I do not really like the idea of getting on to the pulpit to dispense advice or message to anyone. I will only share what I recollect of an interview of Ram Jethmalani who was known for his brilliance and flamboyance. He was asked what the key to success in the legal profession was, to which, his simple but startling answer was, “Industry, Industry and Industry!” The legendary Fali Nariman says that even today, when he has to wait for his turn, he sits in the court room and follows the cases that are being heard. You are likely to profit more by sitting in the court room rather than frittering away your time in corridor gossiping
