That Somnath Chatterjee was one of India’s most distinguished politicians, with profound knowledge on a range of topics before rising to the position of speaker is well-known. What’s a little less known was that the man who rebelled against his own father’s

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Hindutva politics and his party’s non-compromising stand was also a great legal mind.  

Before he became active in politics, Barrister Chatterjee was an ace lawyer, practicing at the Calcutta High Court. In 1987, Chatterjee had been consulted by a host of lawyers and bank officers about an ongoing case. My father, Nishit Chandra Dutta, then working for the American Express Bank, was part of this team. Here are his recollections of the man who was binge-watching Feluda while listening to case arguments:

When I met legal whiz Somnath Chatterjee

The year was 1987, month of October. I was working in American Express Bank (now defunct) and had gone to meet Somnath Chatterjee, along with several other lawyers, solicitors and bank officers, to seek his expert opinion, on a legal case over a foreign letter of credit, opened by a foreign bank and endorsed by our bank, in favour of an Indian exporter, who was the bank’s client.

 The case was being heard in London, and the bank’s solicitors thought it worthwhile to seek opinion of Chatterjee on the matter, who was a Barrister from UK.

Our appointment was in the evening. When we entered his chamber, he asked us to take our seats on the rows of chairs, placed in front of his huge secretariat table –the type of table I found in the chambers of most eminent lawyers. On his table, however, apart from the usual litter of legal papers, I saw several pipe stands containing used pipes of a wide variety.

 But the most arresting feature of his table was a small portable TV, a rarity at that time, which he was watching with full concentration.  Though I could not see the pictures on the TV, from the sound it was clear that an episode of Feluda was being aired. For the uninitiated, Feluda was created by Satyajit Ray and was considered by many to be Bengal’s answer to Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories. 

At the time Feluda episodes directed by Sandip Roy, son of the maestro Satyajit, was quite popular in Kolkata.

This was the first time I was visiting such an eminent lawyer. So, I was quite surprised to note that he did not pay any attention to his visitors but was looking at the TV. However, he did ask us to present our case. I realised that the seasoned advocates and lawyers whom I had accompanied were quite used to his ways, and without any hesitation, they presented the entire matter with all its complications.  

(Image courtesy Zee 24 Ghanta)

Chatterjee did not ask any question throughout the presentation. He did not speak even after our side finished speaking. I realised he was still engrossed with the serial going on in the TV, binge-watching long before Netflix had grabbed our eyeballs.

Few minutes after the serial was over, he switched off the TV, and gave his opinion. I was stunned to witness that in a few clear and concise sentences, he analysed the entire case and gave his specific opinion that the bank will lose the case.

I still wonder how he could pay any attention to the intricacies of the legal issues involved when all the time he was watching the TV serial. Moreover the opinion he gave went against the opinion of other legal experts – solicitors and advocates – who were engaged by the bank on the case.

I resigned from the Bank after a few years, so did not know the outcome of the case first hand. Several years later I came to know that the legal case ran for several years and was finally concluded in 1990, and Somnath Chatterjee’s opinion was correct, the bank indeed lost the case. The outcome clearly showed that the man considered one of modern India’s greatest parliamentarians was also an extremely sharp lawyer.