Tushar Mehta Hasn't Forgotten His Past And Has Remained Grounded Even After Reaching Top Position: Justice MR Shah

Justice MR Shah of the Supreme Court on Friday hailed Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta for not forgetting his past and remaining grounded even after reaching the top position as a lawyer. Justice Shah was speaking at the felicitation of Senior Advocate Krishnakant Vakharia hosted by Tushar Mehta and his wife in Ahmedabad, on the occasion of the 90th birthday and completion of 65 years of practice by Krishnakant Vakharia in the Gujarat High Court.

Tushar Mehta hosted the felicitation ceremony to pay gratitude to Krishnakant Vakharia, under whom he started his practice as an Advocate at the Gujarat High Court. State Governor Acharya Devvrat presided over the function in which Justice Shah was the Chief Guest. They felicitated Vakharia with shawls.

"Even after reaching the top position, Tushar Mehta still remembers his past. Does good work in Delhi but doesn't forget his past. No person should forget his past, whatever the top position he holds. The person who doesn't forget his past, always remains grounded and Tushar Mehta is the best example," Justice Shah said while addressing legal luminaries of the state.

"The relation between a 'senior' and a 'junior' is a relation like a Guru and a Shishya, teacher and student. It is a matter of pride that Krishnakant Vakharia got the juniors like Tushar and other lawyers who contributed to the Gujarat High Court. He has not just organized a function on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Vakharia, but he has actually paid gratitude towards his Guru. He is paying off his debt," Justice Shah said.

"From this, we should learn," Justice said adding, "I wish to congratulate Tushar Mehta for showing such a gesture. Such gestures are seldom shown by others."

Senior Advocate Nirupam Nanavaty gave an introduction of Krishnakant Vakharia by saying that he started practice in Ahmedabad after Gujarat bifurcated from Bombay State in 1960 and that four lawyers who were juniors to him have become judges of the Gujarat High Court, while three have been designated as Senior Advocates.

The four judges are, Justice CK Thakkar (retired from Supreme Court), Justice Jayant Patel, Justice Harsha Devani and Justice (late) G. R. Udhwani. Vakharia was honoured with three awards including the Gujarat Gaurav Award at the hands of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2007.

"He did not just practice as a lawyer, but developed a good bar. Today I can see many people in the audience who have become good lawyers under his strict guidance. When we entered the profession we were not Advocates, Vakharia sir made us Advocates by giving us strict training. Perhaps the next generation would not be able to bear such hard training, but it is their loss," Tushar Mehta said during his brief speech.

"Vakharia sir is so kind, generous and a gentleman. He was deceived by so many people, but he never had any hostile feelings towards them. I have acquired many positive qualities from Vakharia sir. We never felt the absence of our father and mother under the care of Vakharia sir and his wife.", Mehta added.

Sitting and retired Judges of the High Court, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi and Additional Solicitor General of India Devang Vyas were among the dignitaries who attended the function.