An American in Indian Court

When told that our meeting with Pravin Anand was pushed back because he was stuck in court, the law student that I am wondered aloud, quite loud, "Can we go to court?" Moments later the request was granted, and we were on our way to Delhi High Court. I must first thank my classmates for their patience and willingness to accompany me on one of the highlights of my trip. As with most of our adventures in Delhi before arriving at our destination there was a lot of waiting and looking for potential bathrooms on the part of the students and a lot of seeking out proper contacts, making arrangements, and herding us like cattle from one check point to another for our amazingly patient and amiable guide. Several checkpoints and one slightly uncomfortable pat down later we were granted access to the courthouse.  The door to the chambers opened and the similarities between the American and Indian systems were immediately apparent. Unlike an orderly American court, groups of lawyers in proper dress of what looked to be black robes with white, Mark Twain like collars flanked both sides of the small room saving space solely for the massive duffel bags stuffed with physical copies of documents and books of rules and law. Having been briefed on the particularities of the IP case I was able to follow along with part of the arguments, unfortunately my American ear was unable to decipher most of the dialogue as it was masked by the Delhi accents of the solicitors (appointed by the court to argue the case for the advocates) as well as the commentary from the advocates correcting and supplementing the statements.  Keeping with the Delhi I have come to know, the procedure for each team to state their argument was in place, however it was just as likely for that argument to be interrupted than for the statement to be finished. In a surprising lack of deference solicitors would also speak over and argue against the judges despite ending all sentences with the customary "M'Lord" (the Indian version of "Your Honor"). My experience in Indian Court is analogous to my experience in India in general; I wish I learned more about the procedure and substance of Indian Law to fully understand and adequately question the situation before me, unfortunately the breadth of the Indian Constitution alone is beyond the scope of which I can accomplish while in its country of origin and so I will continue to simply enjoy the opportunity before me as it is extraordinary.