By Justice Markandey Katju
When I was a Judge in the Allahabad High Court (1991-2004), there was a lawyer named Dukh Haran Nath Wali, a Kashmiri Pandit like me, who used to practice on the criminal side in the High Court, and often appeared before me to argue cases.
He was a good lawyer, but fond of drinks (like me). He even got a mini-bar installed in his Ambassador car, which he used on evenings when he went out of his home on Elgin Road.
Often when he appeared before me to argue some case, before he could begin I would say to him (quoting Ghalib) :
''Tujhe hum wali samajhte
Jo na baadhakhwaar hota''
(तुझे हम वली समझते
जो न बादा-ख़्वार होता)
i.e.
''I would have regarded you a saint
If you were not addicted to drinking ''
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
