100 Legal Luminaries of India

In most of us, the word ‘law’ brings forth images of people standing on their guard, dictating right and wrong, stiff, perhaps a little harsh. In reality, law is nothing like this. Law is the ability to bring a balance in all things. It is what keeps all of us tied with strings of justice. The lady who holds the scales of justice, weighing the situations till they are balanced, is blindfolded. This is the image that conjures up when it comes to law. It is the ability to weigh facts, pros and cons, in an objective manner. Laws have been made by humans for humans. They are the rules which govern and influence society, and ensure that humans learn to accept the ways of each other in a harmonious way. And we are looking at these balance creators who have changed the society in their own way. They have dedicated their lives for the welfare of the people. There are many heroes in the legal world. We would like you to know about all of them, including those unsung. However, given our constraints, we have been able to cover only 100 legal luminaries. Initially this project was conceptualised as a book on lawyers for law firms, but it was the brain child of Dr Lalit Bhasin to include eminent senior counsel, inhouse counsel and the top law teachers of the country’s law schools. Dr Bhasin’s role as a mentor helped us immensely in completing the book. This book has tried to capture the person behind the black coat, the person with his strengths, weaknesses, family and friends. These legal luminaries have contributed in every sphere of the society. In their own ways, they continue to bring about a just, peaceful, prosperous, happy and contended society. The 100 great men and women featured in alphabetical sequence in this book have achieved pinnacles of success, not through comfort and shortcuts, but by setting goals and walking an arduous path, whether as eminent lawyers, heads of India’s topmost law firms, in-house counsel or as law teachers. Laws have been made for a civil, peaceful, happy and contented society. We felicitate these 100 law professionals for helping make the world a peaceful place to live in. We hope you enjoy reading the book as much as we enjoyed making it. We know and acknowledge that some of the great names have possibly been missed out. The omissions are not wilful, but could have occurred due to time and space constraints. Our research is ongoing and we hope to bring out another edition in the not-too-distant future.