Today we live in a world what Charles Dicken, famous English social critic once said, ‘If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.’ Lawyers are the part of human race like that of any other human being. To the best of my knowledge, no spaceship landed from mars and left anyone thereby culminating a new breed of living creatures called lawyers. The legal profession in our country has crossed milestones and has ripened to a considerable level. The legal profession has not only given birth to various leaders, luminaries, excellent orators, and freedom fighters, it has contributed in shaping the structure of society thereby adding to the process of nation building. Lawyers were the precursor of the freedom movement and are therefore given a place of pride in our constitution. In the fundamental rights chapter itself, in Article 22(1), it is proclaimed that ‘no person who is arrested shall be denied the right to consult with and be defended by a lawyer of his choice.’ Thus, our constitution gives prime consideration to the role of a lawyer in the time of distress life of a person. As a lawyer, we can proudly proclaim, represent the most important enlightened and traditionally respected section of the society. In a democratic polity, the role of this noble profession has always been very significant. We are the watchdog of democracy and ever igilant in the matters concerning rule of law as guaranteed by the Constitution. The continuance of a free society where the rights guaranteed by the Constitution are duly honored by the State, and its subjects, and where everyone works for the common good depends, to a large measure, on the role of the legal community. After all, it is we who would pursue the matters of breaches. In the words of Hon’ble Justice S. B. Seth we are the guardian of Legal Field. [Ramon Services Pvt. Ltd. V. Subhash Kapoor (2001)1 SCC 118] The high status and respect that the lawyers generally command in our society burdens us with a corresponding duty that all of their actions or conduct would have the character of nobility imbued with the object of espousing the cause of general public good. The society expects the Bar to render professional services in the nature of legal aid, advice and advocacy, in a free and fearless manner, so as to bring about peace and prosperity for one and all. The judiciary, as one of the chief organs of the State, cannot discharge its duties in the administration of justice without the total commitment and participation of its main component, namely, the bar. It would not be wrong to say that the efficiency of judicial administration largely depends on the competence of the bar. However, the reality is not so pleasing as it appears. In his exhilarating Lectures, (The Hamlyn Lectures, 5 th Series, Freedom, Law and Justice, London.) Lord Justice Stephen Sedley reminds us that the ‘rule of law’ of which we in democracies speak so glibly, is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a decent society. There is more to a decent society than mere ‘rule of law’. For instance, judicial enforcements of rights by courts does not necessarily guarantee public understanding and support for those rights; such understanding and awareness needs to be inculcated and can only be achieved by education and only lawyers can be educators in this regard. Hence, we ourselves must be trendsetters to inspire public confidence. To summarize, the basic qualities that a legal professional must demonstrate include not only his knowledge of law but also analytical and intellectual ability coupled with a total commitment towards the obligations of the profession vis-à- vis the society. A legal professional represents an independent intellectual group, which has the capacity and the opportunity to change the societal trends. It inheres in this that a member of legal fraternity will always be scrupulous in abiding by the morals, the ethics and the high traditions of the system that he has adopted, not merely by way of inheritance from his forerunners but as a loan from the future generations that are to follow. One can be a partner or one can be a parasite. Partnership involves “giving” while parasitism involves “taking”. I envision legal fraternity as a partner in the progress of our society. All of us have a stake in developing a new generation of legal professionals who would be such partners in the future. Let us play our assigned parts with utmost sincerity. Rahul Kishnani.
