A great sense of humour is also part of art of great arguments skills. Not only lawyers but also judges which made the practice of the profession very enjoyable unlike what we see in the present day. Chander Kishan Daphtary one such example (April 1, 1893 – February 18, 1983) was an Indian lawyer and was the first Solicitor General of India from 1950 to 1963. He was the Attorney General for India ( March 2, 1963 – 30 October 1968). He even held the position of President of the Bar Association of India. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha the Upper House of Indian Parliament from 1972 to 1978. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1967.
In Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography of F.S Nariman writes that when he joined bar, C.K Daphthary was an Advocate General of Bombay and mentions about his forensic skill and irrepressible humor. The lighter veins of Daphtary finds mention in the book in several incidences.
Professionalism and Spontaneity
Daphtary never let his professionalism interfere with his good life and vice versa. He enjoyed the finer vices in life, the cigar being a particular favorite. His wit was spontaneous and exemplified. He was an automatic successor to the Bombay titans – he continued Setalvad’s forensic tradition. His logical acuteness matched that of Palkhivala and he was in demeanour British like Seervai.
C.K never cared much for matching their greatness as a jurist. He was content at being a very good advocate and in being tremendously affable. Successive personal tragedies, and resultant stoicism, eventually tempered but did not extinguish, his exuberant enjoyment of life. He never pretended he was the kind of lawyer who would burn the midnight oil and memorise all relevant citations and cases – he is disarmingly honest about his philosophy of minimum effort and maximum returns. Methodically and with sheer logic he would destroy the opposition’s case. He was unsurpassed in finding the most apt word or metaphor for a situation. It was notoriously difficult to surprise him. But he was quick to identify and admit to deficiencies in his own case.
He appeared for the Indian government in critical cases, starting with the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case. Godse refused to avail the service of any defense counsel and he himself argued his case. On the other side, Mr. C.K. Daphtary (then advocate general of Bombay) was the chief public prosecutor.
He played a significant role, along with NA Palkhivala and JM Thakore, in the considerable success at Geneva in the Rann of Kutch dispute.
His peers remember him to be a particularly dangerous opponent if he was briefed for a weak case. His flamboyant confidence of style or manner in court, remembers Soli Sorabjee, lead to the nickname “Chandu the Magician” in Bombay circles.
“Unwritten autobiographies are the best,” he told long-time friend Dr. LM Singhvi who was insisting him then as per various website to write a memoir.
Image: The Wire.in
