India’s First Festival of Law, Literature, and Culture at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, an event that over two days 16th -17th March, 2024, brought together a vibrant community of legal professionals, scholars, and students.
Chief Guest, Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Judge Delhi High Court inaugurated Vidhi Utsav – India’s First Festival of Law and Legal Literature and delivered an inspirational and insightful keynote address expressing his fascination with an event that amalgamates law and literature, an intriguing intersection with thought-provoking examples from western and Indian literature. Reflecting on Nani Palkhivala’s advice to aspiring lawyers to read everything but law, he highlighted the significance of broader knowledge, including history. Palkhivala’s mastery, despite stammering, exemplifies the transformative power of interdisciplinary learning, a legacy few can emulate. His courtroom prowess, notably during the Kesavananda Bharati case, remains unparalleled.
Held at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, this event, organized by OakBridge Publishing, celebrated the profound contributions of esteemed legal figures, including the Late Fali S Nariman (Sarvoch Vidhi Samman), Vishisht Vidhi Samman to Former Chief Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, and to Sr Advocates K.K. Venugopal and . K. Parasaran, and Vidhi Samman to eminent jurists Lalit Bhasin, V. Lakshmikumaran, and Amarjit Singh Chandhiok.
While the late . Fali S Nariman was posthumously honored with the Sarvoch Vidhi Samman. Retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice A.K. Patnaik, presented this esteemed recognition. Accepting the award on Nariman’s behalf was Lalit Bhasin, President Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) symbolizing his enduring legacy in the legal community and his fifty-year-old friendship with Fali Nariman. The awards were part of Vidhi Utsav 2024, an unprecedented and uniquely curated event that over two days brought together a vibrant community of eminent jurists, legal professionals, scholars, artists and students. Through discussions, workshops, and keynote addresses, poetry, musical performances, Dastangoi and Stand up comedy the festival aimed to spur innovation, celebration, camaraderie and collaboration within the legal sector. The inclusion of the VIDHI SAMMAN Awards in this year’s festival underscored OakBridge Publishing’s commitment to honoring individuals who have made a lasting impact on the practice and understanding of law in India thereby advancing the rule of law and enabling access to justice.
The first day covered a session on Career in Law, Personal Branding for Lawyers, and Author interviews was an endearing conversation between Anant Merathia, Corporate Litigator & Author of Defaulter’s Paradise Lost, and Lipika Bhushan, Founder of Market My Book.
Next was the conversation in Hall 3 with Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President, Society of Indian Law Firms, Ameya Kunte, Founder, Globeview Advisors LLP, Amit Kapur, Managing Partner, Jyoti Sagar Associates and Manish Lamba, General Counsel, DLF Limited on Foreign Law Firms in India: Opportunities & Challenges. The next sessions were on Transforming Role of GCs: From Custodians of Compliance to Business Leaders, Making the Ax Regime Les taxing: The Way Ahead, Bhasha Aur Vidhi, and many more.
A Gala Night was organized in the evening on 16th March 2024.
The VIDHI SAMMAN Awards, marking a new chapter in the Indian legal community’s recognition of excellence, made a memorable debut after Vidhi Utsav 2024 on March 17.
The awards were part of Vidhi Utsav 2024, The inclusion of the VIDHI SAMMAN Awards in this year’s festival underscored OakBridge Publishing’s commitment to honoring individuals who have made a lasting impact on the practice and understanding of law in India.
An interesting conversation between Sridhar Potaraju and Sudhir Mishra, Founder & Managing Partner of Trust Legal was a key highlight of the day, where Sridhar Potaraju shared how what we had to face as a faith, no other faith had, and that was to prove the existence of our faith after 500 years of desecration of the place of worship.
The event featured a host of notable sessions, such as “Opportunities in Disruption” by Rameesh Kailasam, CEO of Indiatech.org, and an examination of the Indian Constitution’s complexities with Jaipat Jain.
On the second day, the sessions started with a conversation with Justice Najmi Waziri, Former Judge, at Delhi High Court with Satvik Verma, Senior Advocate. An interesting conversation on Law in Cinema. Before the lunch, a remarkable conversation on How To Become An Effective Author between Abha Thapalyal Gandhi, Ramakrishnan Virrarghavan, Priya Talwar, Petal Chandhok, and Lipika Bhushan.
In Hall 1, the session was followed by a conversation on Advocates Who Are Judges’ Delight with Justice A. K. Sikri, Justice A. K. Patnaik, Justice Najmi Wajiri, and Tarun Nangia. The next session talked about Stand-up Comedy with Pratik Jain, a Consultant & Stand-up Comedian.
In Hall 3, the second day was started with the session Management & Operational Excellence in Law Firms – A Balancing Act. The next session was followed by a session with V. Lakshmikumaran and Malathi Lakshmikumaran on Power Couple.
The evening ended on 17th March with an instrumental Performance by Vidhisha Sharma, Musician and Plani.
