The courts are places of worship where justice is served and truth protected. It is not very common when, albeit in a lighter vein, anything which is not true is welcome. But, the Supreme Court of India on May 28, had that rare moment to promulgate that ‘small white lies are permitted’ in its pious sanctorum of justice, although Justice PV Sanjay Kumar was speaking with a tongue in cheek, all in the name of court etiquettes.
It all happened because of the brazen honesty (yes not dishonesty but honesty) of a junior lawyer who was seeking to have the matter adjourned because his senior was not present in the court.
The senior lawyer was at the time busy arguing another case before a High Court. Rather than using some other description for the absence, the junior lawyer revealed that his senior had not joined the Supreme Court hearing because he was busy appearing in a case before a High Court.
Justice PV Sanjay Kumar immediately latched on the to the moment to advise the assisting counsel not to be too honest and to avoid freely disclosing such information to avoid offending the fragile egos of Supreme Court judges.
“You must not be so honest. Learn that in future – you should never say in the Supreme Court that your senior is busy in High Court … Our egos are very fragile. You don’t want to offend the ego of the judge. Your case will go out. Directly. Not on merits. Do not tell things like this. Small white lies are permitted,” Justice Kumar observed.
Justice Vikram Nath agreed, telling the junior counsel,
“Your senior should have taught you these things.”
The matter was adjourned to July 14.
A lesson for those who are preparing to learn the art of litigating matters in court, this candid exchange in the courtroom, reflects both the importance of understanding the court hierarchy and the courtroom conduct.
2022 precedence
In a similar 2022 instance, a junior lawyer had sought adjournment saying that the senior counsel “was busy elsewhere”. Leading the bench was Justice DY Chandrachud who smiled and reminded the junior lawyer about courtroom etiquette.
“You must learn how to present these things. Don’t say your senior is busy elsewhere — say he is on a Constitution Bench or before another bench. It sounds better.”