From Kulbhushan Jadhav to Emergency: Cases where Harish Salve placed nation before himself

Amidst India's critical battle against COVID-19, the Supreme Court on Thursday stepped in to tackle the crisis by taking a suo moto cognizance of the distribution of oxygen, essential medicines and preparation of a national plan to fight the pandemic. The top court had appointed Queen's Counsel and former Solicitor General Harish Salve as its Amicus Curiae to aide the court in the matter. However, as the lobby resorted to mudslinging at Harish Salve, the legal eagle was forced to recuse himself from the matter with outgoing CJI SA Bodbe relieving Salve following his request. 

Led by former President of the Supreme Court of Bar Association (SCBA) Dushyant Dave, the lobby attempted to malign Harish Salve, the former Solicitor General, by questioning his appointment as the amicus curiae on social media. Questions were raised regarding his residence in the United Kingdom, unfamiliarity with the ground situation in India and Salve's personal relationship with outgoing CJI SA Bobde, taking a potshot at the top court-appointed amicus curaie at a time when India faces a critical challenge in the battle against COVID-19. While the lobby once again resorted to its low-blows aimed at Harish Salve, it certainly seems to have forgotten the countless times when the top legal eagle had put himself for service before the country whenever needed. 

In a reminder to the lobby, here are the instances when Harish Salve aided India's legal battles and placed the nation before anything else, irrespective of his residence: 

1. The Kulbhushan Jadhav Case

One of Harish Salve's most memorable cases, the former Solicitor General represented India at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and more significantly, emerged victorious against Pakistan. Salve busted Pakistan's judicial shambles at the global stage as he secured a win for India at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which had set aside Pak's kangaroo military court's death sentence awarded to Kulbhushan Jadhav in 2017.

"Jadhav has become a pawn and a convenient tool for Pakistan to try to unsuccessfully divert the attention of the world from its own conduct which is well documented in the public domain. These include state sponsorship of terrorism by including and allowing its territory to be used to train arms and finance and launch terrorist attacks on its neighbours," Salve had argued in the ICJ on February 21, 2019, just a week after the Pulwama terror attack, pulling no punches in exposing Pakistan for what it has become.

What stands out, is that Harish Salve had charged Re 1 as a fee for representing India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, late former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had memorably revealed. 

2. The Pro-Bono Offer

On November 24, the wife of a retired Army officer had appeared before the Supreme Court as a petitioner and pleaded for the appointment of an Amicus curiae citing that she didn't have money for a lawyer. She requested specifically for Senior Advocate Harish Salve, and in response, Salve agreed to appear for the petitioner not as an Amicus, but as a lawyer. When the Chief Justice of India asked Harish Salve about it, he responded by saying, "I will appear as the lawyer. Not amicus..don't worry about the fee. It's pro bono."

3. Salve to the rescue 

Often representing big-wigs in the top court, this one time in December last year, Harish Salve argued for a 94-year-old widow's petition seeking the proclamation of Emergency to be declared unconstitutional. Salve, who has now been appointed as the Queen's Counsel, had appeared pro bono for the 94-year-old petitioner seeking compensation of Rs.25 crore from the authorities who have participated in the same.  The Emergency imposed by former PM Indira Gandhi refers to a 21-month period from 1975-77 during which constitutional rights were suspended and thousands of people critical of the ruling regime were imprisoned. 

"If history is not corrected, it repeats itself. Please examine this issue," the Senior Advocate opined. Maintaining that this was a matter of constitutional debate, he emphasised that anyone irrespective of the high office one holds should be held accountable for committing fraud upon the Constitution. He noted, "I feel very strongly on this issue. If your lordships recall, we were students at the time of the proclamation of Emergency in 1975. This is why I am appearing in this matter," Salve had argued in the court. 

4. Harish Salve as the Solicitor General & Amicus Curiae

Harish Salve served the Indian government for nearly three years as he was appointed as the Solicitor General from November 1999 to November 2002. He had also worked with former Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee, from 1980–1986. Notably, Salve was appointed as Amicus Curiae by the Supreme Court in some cases, mostly relating to the preservation of the environment for nearly 10 years. In 2011, he had recused himself from this position during a hearing on illegal mining, on the grounds that he had previously appeared for one or more of the parties.