Another Day, Another Supreme Court

Last week, I attended proceedings at the Supreme Court of India, just a few months after my visit to the Supreme Court of the United States.  In the US, the Court heard two cases that day, argued for hours, and placed a high premium on formality.   The India experience was somewhat different.  The Indian courthouse has 15 courtrooms, each of which hears upwards of 50 cases a day.  There are LED boards all over the place, as in a DMV, to tell you what case is up for argument.  The judges dispose of each case in a matter of minutes – usually ruling for a delay or on some other technicality – while scores of advocates (lawyers) pack the courtroom, waiting for their turn.

The big news at the court that day was the dismissal of corruption charges against a state governor.   In their dismissal, the judges insisted that any charges should have come from the state police, which the governor runs, rather than the national police.  Many people at the court were not impressed with the decision.  

Only journalists and advocates can view court proceedings, so a journalist friend got me a pass.  You can spot the journalists because their blackberries are always on their ears.  (All the advocates wore long black robes – not so practical for India – and white bow-ties, and could usually be found smoking in the hallways underneath the “No Smoking” signs.)  At one point in the day, journalist friend had to make a live broadcast, so we walked out to a row of cameras on the front lawn.  He stood silently in the blistering mid-day heat with an earpiece for about 15 minutes, until suddenly, he piped up, “That’s right, and the most interesting thing about this decision is…”  Later he took me to the press lounge, where three of us ate lunch for less than $4 while the journalists gossiped about court politics.  Then they started asking me about the rules of baseball.  Around the time we got to the designated hitter rule, one of them said, “You’re not the right person to ask about this, are you?”

I know this is silly, but perhaps my favorite part of my visit to the court was how they spelled my name on my ID badge: “Jirdab Sanyek Verman.” 

Pictures: 1) The Supreme Court of India; 2) Waiting area for women-only metro car; 3) View from my balcony of horse-drawn fruit carts;  4) My neighborhood in monsoon.  (I haven’t yet caught the neighborhood monkeys on camera.  Next time.)