And justice for all...

Who did Aamir Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Valentina Nayar and many other celebs —  who though not Lord Voldemort — cannot be named, consult (and continue to consult) in times when family foibles or marital mishaps, domestic disputes ruffle their personal peace? It is more often than not a woman who carries her long black robes with ease. And, if only the closet in her office could speak, it would tell the tale of the many cases that she has handled; many family feuds that she has been privy to.

The suburban office of lawyer Mrunalini Deshmukh has seen a variety of footfalls. Its precincts can speak of Page 3 clientele and the glitterati walking up the same steps that clients from other strata of society tread. For family woes — like IT — make for an equal playing field; they can strike the rich and the famous and those at the other end of the social spectrum too with equal indifference.

How has the girl, who comes from a middle-class background and has morphed into an established lawyer; who specialises in family law and deals with matrimonial cases, not let all the stress affect her? Luckily for her peace of mind, Mrunalini does not let all the almost daily drama in her professional sphere, vitiate her inner space, her mental balance and her views on marriage and society.

You could say that the black robes she dons every day to step into court come naturally to her. For, in her case, law was an inevitable career choice. The eldest offspring of the late TK Tope, she did not have to think twice before answering her calling.  

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Mrunalini recalls growing up in and around the legal world. “My father was an idealist of a kind. We are Tatya Tope’s descendants, and my father was part of the commission that drafted the Constitution,” she says.

And the year of her birth — 1957 which was exactly 100 years after the 1857 revolution in which her grandfather took part — she feels, “There is something to it, more than coincidence.”

It is but obvious that her father (who passed away a few years ago) has played an important role in her life, especially since she lost her mother Vinita when she was six. “He taught law at the Government Law College and subsequently became its principal.
He later became the vice-chancellor of Bombay University,” she says.

Though he remarried much later, ‘Baba’ as he was fondly and respectfully called, played the role of both father and mother to Mrunalini and her three siblings — Amol, Anjali and Swati. “I shared a close bond with him, perhaps because I was the eldest,” she states. “He would take me and my brother to all the functions he was invited to — and that social interaction stood us in good stead. We learnt the ins and outs of social behaviour.” 

After graduating from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, she started studying law at GLC — where else? — and got married when she was in her first year. “It was an arranged marriage with a doctor, Vijay Deshmukh,” she recalls. Her law degree was completed post-marriage. Later a sabbatical from work and her two kids — Vikram and Devika — ensued, during which time she completed her Masters in Law.

All work and no play may make Jill a very dull girl, but Mrunalini laughs out loud at the suggestion: “I was very sporting…and sporty. I used to play badminton at school and college level, and even much later took part in open tournaments at the senior level.”

Like other working women, she has had to juggle work and domestic duties that have affected her career in different ways. For one, she took a sabbatical for a decade or more. Interestingly, her choice of family and matrimonial law was governed by purely geographical considerations. At this very woman-like statement, she smiles, and says, “I had small kids who went to Bombay Scottish School and school gave out at 3.30pm. So, for me the family court at Bandra was very convenient, as we live in Bandra East and I could be home soon enough to take care of my kids.” 

Ask her if she is able to effectively lay down the law at home — as her father did with her and her siblings — and the answer is a definite no. “We had a dhak — to use a Marathi word — where he was concerned. It was not exactly fear, but we never crossed the line that he laid down. If we were to be home by 7.15 pm, we were given a leeway of 10 to 25 minutes and then the phone calls would start. I can’t be that much of a disciplinarian with my children. Can I stop them from going to pubs…? Today’s generation is completely different.”

To her father she owes her other major hobby: Reading. “While we were growing up, movies were a rare occasion,” she says. “We read a lot and discussed what we read. All of us were voracious readers.”

It is this reading that has not only given her a good leisure occupation, but has stood her in good stead in her profession too. “I found reading law tomes easy, and even now I make it a point to read before I go to sleep on a regular basis. It keeps your mind fresh and alert,” she says.

As a lawyer, she has functioned on her own, right through, not latching on to a bigger name to kick-start her career in the legal world. “Even though it would have been easier, I did not work with anyone. I did not know with whom I should go. I was always on my own and began small,” Mrunalini is not ashamed of confessing.
It is not just her career that has taken form as she went from strength to strength. There has been a distinct rise in the number of cases that are filed at the family court. “One reason is obviously the fact that women are now earning and if things go wrong, they can walk out and support themselves with ease,” she says. “It is amazing and distressful at the same time. Earlier women would say my friend has a problem, what should she do…. Now they come saying, ‘I have a problem, I need to address that’. What is also perturbing is the fact that while the women from the lower class often fight for their survival, as you go higher in the social hierarchy, greed often transcends other motives.”    

Mrunalini would like to clear one misconception: “Family matters are not only about divorce, they also deal with child custody, alimony, and maintenance. I feel that the father can also be given custody of the child if the court is convinced that he can make a great parent. In India, normally the mother is given custody. But if a father is willing to make the necessary changes in his work pattern and devote time to his child, he deserves to get custody — if not solo, then at least joint, and not just be a Sunday parent. I have seen such feelings at close quarters — I would advocate that even if the husband and wife have separated, they can both take on equal responsibility, on a day-to-day basis.”

An unusual seed in the corridors of Indian justice…but one that this lady lawyer has sown. As we leave, she is getting ready to put on her black robes that billow gently in the wind.