The Hon’ble HC!

Hey readers, sup?

This blog is dedicated for the purpose I always wanted to share the story of one of the most precious months , I ever got to spend. The beauty of my profession, that I realize is that apart from the studies, you do, to become what you aspire to, you also periodically get to be exposed to your professional life, while you still remain a student… visiting the courts, the chambers of your seniors, with your bags filled with petition files and your screens full of legal researches, ranging from Manupatra, SCC Online and Indian Kanoon and long long citations, journals, research papers, having ample information so as to support your facts enough. These all stuffs are enough for you, to make you compromise with your sleeping hours and spend sleepless nights for sure, however those nights are really beautiful, they are beautiful indeed! A night that promises the next morning that the struggles are definitely gonna be worth it. I remember my seniors sitting in the chambers amidst the thickest books, I have ever seen, even in the midnight ,with full vigor, with the clients visiting the place in bulk.

I found myself privileged enough to find three internship opportunities in the Hon’ble High Court of Jharkhand. The third internship, that began soon after I was done with my semester number 6, marks to be a special one. I got to pursue it under the sincere guidance of one of the best Advocates, you will ever get to know- Adv. Indrajit Sinha. Jharkhand High Court is one of the newest High Courts in India, situated in Ranchi, the administrative capital of the state of Jharkhand – the land of forests, the land of minerals, the land of glory, the land of beauty ! It has its jurisdiction over the entire state of Jharkhand, with a sanctioned judge strength of twenty five. A building of dreams, covering a major area of 165 acres land, granted near HEC (HEAVY ENGINEERING CORPORATION), Industrial complex ~ the name of which you might have heard as the major contributor in the magnificent Mission Chandrayaan-3 of the ISRO. The place offers millions of opportunities to adore and feel proud of, how wouldn’t it? Afterall it has been marked as the largest High Court in the Entire India, enshrined amidst the beauty of greenery, in the spiritual atmosphere of the ecclesiastical Jagannath temple, having the Glorious JSCA Stadium of cricket , on the land of the captain cool ~ Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The beautiful place never fails to capture the eyes of the visitors upon it once they take a glimpse of it’s splendor.

The history of this place dates back to 1972…

When the circuit bench of the Patna High Court was established at Ranchi on 6 March 1972 under clause 36 of the letters patent of the Patna High Court. The circuit bench became the permanent bench of the Patna High Court, by the High Court at Patna (Establishment of Permanent Bench at Ranchi) Act 1976 (Act 57 of 1976) on 8 April 1976. This permanent bench finally became the Jharkhand High Court on reorganisation of Bihar state on 15 November, 2000! – says the Wikipedia. The Hon’ble HC started live proceedings of virtual hearings on YouTube on 15 December 2021. The Jharkhand High Court became sixth in the country to start live streaming of hearings on YouTube.

I remember capturing its view once at night, when fortunately my flight took off, facing this unforgettable beauty. It made me standstill and smile with pride. July 10, 2023 marks the first day of my internship at this place. Entering the place , at first made it appear like a great sophisticated place but sooner, it gave me homely vibes, with everyone around being so hospitable and cooperative as well. Watching the learned Advocates, never getting tired of discussing laws and the Hon’ble Judges hearing so patiently, handling several cases from various backgrounds so gently ,was simply impressive! The Court being the largest one, often caused trouble as well, I remember, when just to get my pass made I had to rush great distances ranging from the offices of the Registrar Genreral to the Court Officer. The days at here were quite pleasant. Entering the court sharply at 10:00 before the judges sat at 10:30 , positively was something that had to be done sincerely. The silence and the decorum maintained in the courtrooms was a thing to be captured forever.

I remember my first day at the court number 1,the court of the Hon’ble Chief Justice Mr. Sanjay Mishra, the debate was going around at 12:30 or so, regarding a matter of public interest litigation, a salient feature, providing opportunities to several to keep their thoughts and desires in the court of justice . The judge, being so hospitable, allowing each line and plea from both the sides to flow in a manner that was quite comprehensible. The beauty of the court was the judge, at times acting as a teacher of the advocates teaching them and guiding them so as to present themselves better. Visiting court room no. 11, was again a wonderful experience indeed, when Hon’ble Justice Aubha Rawat Chowdhary was addressing the issues so patiently in a serene way! Court number 2: Hon’ble Justice Chandrashekhar, a man of knowledge having all the information at his fingertips, writing judgements so patiently. I got to visit all the courts, atleast once!

In the courtrooms, you might get highly cooperative and helpful seniors, coming to help and guide you, on their own! This is the actual beauty, when you have extremely encouraging seniors around, guiding you enough, as they know, one day you also have to become literate enough to play the role of a responsible advocate! I came across many interactive people, all ready to share their experiences and thoughts, all ready to usher your path and do your career counseling obviously. In law, just doing law isn’t enough,

Kyuki fark isse bhi padta hai ki aap law mein kya karne wale ho.

There are various career opportunities you get in this field, there are several roles you might play after being in this profession. You might get inclined towards the criminal litigation or get into the service matters, you might be aspiring to crack the judicial services exams or may even have dreamt of joining the army as a learned legal employee, the lives of corporates are also fantastic that you might go for, but in every other field you pursue, you really need to work hard on your studies, which are way too vast and it’s a cumbersome task to get them completed. One of the illustrations being the fact that the Constitution of India being the lengthiest ever document to be published among the other Constitutions of the world. The place is a beautiful one, showing the people of all the ages, from the young practitioners to the most experienced and the oldest advocates, who in this field have excelled since so long, that they are well acquainted to the Judge, all dressed up in entire black and white uniform, wearing gowns of pride, expressing the power of knowledge and justice. I have seen myself getting obsessed and habituated over many things, but the desire to work consistently just the way, these advocates do, really tops the list. Returning home from work, was a great sigh, where after a full hectic day, you get to relax. And in the chambers, it’s really impressive watching your seniors consoling and counseling the clients, so well, with full hopes of being successful in getting a proper relief.

Earlier the petitions were tough to understand. Gradually, when the syllabus and the work at the practical fields got synchronized, it really got to attract a lot of fun, handling the files, reading and researching over them, thanks to all my seniors, who have rarely got tired of my never ending curiosities and questions. My immediate seniors, Adv. Sonal Jaisawal Ma’am, Adv. Prerna Ma’am, Adv. Aditee Ma’am, the best seniors I ever got to cherish, indeed, who had consistently been there supporting me, despite of their extremely busy schedules. A big thanks to the “ever ready to help attitude” of theirs. The toughest task of all was all about preparing the examination in chief and cross examination synopsis, not because of the hard terms it consisted, but because of the fact that it was written in Hindi. Ya it’s true guys ,some of you might find this relatable, who still gets confused when at the shops, the shopkeeper tell you the total money in hindi, and you ask them to dictate the same in english, this disease of being so comfy with English, that you don’t even understand the standard Hindi, must be cured in very near future.

And once I saw an advocate debating in front of Justice Rogon Mukhopadhyay . She came from the Bihar High Court, in Patna. She claimed that it was her first ever debate in the High Court of Jharkhand. She was an amazing advocate dealing with the matters of taxation, explaining sections 142 to 149, of the INCOME TAX ACT so fluently in front of the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, and apart from that, she praised the friendly environment of the High Court of Jharkhand and talked about the happiness of finding the people in High Court being so receptive and friendly. It was really a proud moment for all, as the High Court of Jharkhand doesn’t only appear beautiful by infrastructure, but it is indeed a more beautiful place to adore from inside. In the evenings, while visiting the office, I found myself lucky enough to handle and find the files on all the matters, ranging from Writ Petitions to Criminal Revision Petition, Criminal Miscellaneous Provisions and Letter Patent Appeal matters as well! All sorts of cases dealing with Bail Application and the Anticipatory Bail Application. My Advocate is one of the best and leading practitioners in this profession and so I was privileged enough to get exposed to all types of cases and petitions in the chambers .

And today it’s been four weeks, since I had started my third internship! And realizing the fact that I am visiting this Court for this last time, in internship has really made me emo!! I really am clueless about whether I will get an another chance of interning over here. The thing that makes me happy right now is the big present of memories and the great experiences I am gonna carry from here. This place will always be there in my heart, for the beauty it possesses, for the magic it creates and for the beautiful heart it has. I waited for the court to get over everyday, soon, but today it feels like stopping the time over here, now. The memories of the place is really gonna hit me hard but thanks to the great teachings I got over here and thanks for all the days that were found to be wonderful over here!

If you’re from the law background, I suggest interning over here as most of you find yourself comfortable interning over the Hindi and English speaking states, and this place is absolutely fantastic for this linguistic background. And the friends who aren’t from this background, must visit the place atleast once and feel proud of the fact that one of the leading projects of India, is in your state!!

जय हिन्द!