Court rooms are a fertile source of humour. Amidst the regular humdrum of daily court room proceedings, humour props up unexpectedly, sometimes on account of the wit of an Advocate or a Judge and sometimes on account of an innocent remark of a litigant or a witness.
'Humour in Court' is an endeavour of the Information Technology & Artificial Intelligence Committee of the High Court of Delhi to capture such moments and preserve them for posterity.
How to get your posts published?
Any litigant/Advocate desirous of getting his post published on this page is requested to send it to delhihighcourt@nic.in with the subject, 'Humour in Court'.
After screening by the designated committee of the High Court of Delhi, it will be posted here.
Justice Manmohan was born in Delhi on December 17, 1962. He did his schooling from Modern School, Barakhamba Road. He received his B.A. (Hons.) in History from Hindu College of University of Delhi. Attended Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi and received his LL.B. in 1987, and enrolled as an Advocate with Bar Council of Delhi in the same year. Practiced primarily in Supreme Court of India and High Court of Delhi in Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, Taxation, Arbitration, Trademark and Service litigation. Served as Senior Panel Advocate for the Government of India in High Court of Delhi and Supreme Court of India.
Designated as Senior Advocate by High Court of Delhi on January 18, 2003. In his private practice, handled various important cases including Dabhol Power Company, Hyderabad Nizam’s Jewellery Trust matter, Claridges Hotel dispute, Modi family as well as Gujarat Ambuja Cement’s sales tax and Fatehpur Sikri encroachment matter. Takes keen interest in extra judicial activities and has addressed and participated in various Seminars and Conferences of National and International repute.
Was appointed Additional Judge of High Court of Delhi on March 13, 2008 and as Permanent Judge on December 17, 2009.
Appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court w.e.f. 09.11.2023.
Appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court w.e.f. 29.09.2024.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru
Justice Vibhu Bakhru
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
* Justice Vibhu Bakhru was born in Nagpur in 1966.
* He did his schooling from Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi.
* After completing his schooling he enrolled as a student with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and commenced his articles with Thakur Vadiyanathaiyan & Company on 21.03.1985.
* He graduated from Delhi University in 1987, after completing the course of B.Com (Hon). He cleared his final examination for Chartered Accountancy, from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, in 1989.
* He received his LLB degree in 1990 and enrolled as an Advocate with Bar Council of Delhi in September, 1990.
* He practiced in the Supreme Court, High Court of Delhi, Company Law Board and various other Tribunals.
* He was designated as Senior Advocate by High Court of Delhi on 28th July, 2011.
* He was appointed as Additional Judge of High Court of Delhi on April 17, 2013 and as Permanent Judge on March 18, 2015 (F/N).
Justice Yashwant Varma
Justice Yashwant Varma
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Born on 6 January 1969 at Allahabad. Pursued the B.Com [Honours] degree course at Hansraj College Delhi University. Was awarded the LLB degree by Rewa University, M.P. and thereafter enrolled as an Advocate on 8 August 1992. As an advocate at the Allahabad High Court had a varied practice handling matters relating to constitutional, labour and industrial legislations, corporate laws, taxation and allied branches of law. Was the Special Counsel for the Allahabad High Court from 2006 till elevation. Held the office of the Chief Standing Counsel for the State of U.P. from 2012 till August 2013 when was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Court.
Was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on 13 October 2014. Took oath as a Permanent Judge of that Court on 01 February 2016. Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi on 11 October 2021.
Justice Rekha Palli
Justice Rekha Palli
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Justice Rekha Palli, an alumnus of the Hindu College, Delhi and topper of her batch, graduated in Science before obtaining her LLB Degree from Campus Law Center, University of Delhi in 1986. Commencing her legal journey, she registered as an Advocate on Record with the Supreme Court of India in 1991 and was later designated as Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in April 2015. Known for her unwavering advocacy for gender equality, particularly within the Armed Forces, she played an instrumental role in securing permanent commission for women in these services. Elevated as a permanent Judge of the High Court of Delhi on 15th May 2017, Justice Palli has authored numerous landmark judgments across a spectrum of legal disciplines, including Indian Constitutional law, Criminal law, Family law, Service law, Banking law, and Arbitration matters.
In April and May 2021, when the entire country was reeling under the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the surge in Covid infections inundated Delhi's medical infrastructure, Justice Palli, as part of the Bench addressing pleas concerning the government's pandemic response in the NCT of Delhi, issued directives to ensure equitable access to medical facilities for all residents.
A staunch advocate for amicable dispute resolution, Justice Rekha Palli has championed the utilization of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms. Serving as a member of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), she has always endeavored to streamline institutional arbitration by offering state-of-the-art infrastructure, established rules and procedures, equitable fees, and exceptional administrative support. She has also chaired the organizing Committee of the inaugural edition of the Delhi Arbitration Weekend (DAW) conducted under the aegis of DIAC, which witnessed the participation of 250 delegates from 14 nationalities to deliberate on various nuances of arbitration law and commercial dispute resolution. In April 2023, she represented India at the regional symposium on Forest and Protected Areas Legislation and Jurisprudence in Kathmandu, Nepal, where she shared her insights on the intricacies of forests and protected areas laws as also the challenges and opportunities in conserving forests and protected areas. She was also a member of the Indian Delegation at the Bilateral Judicial Dialogue held with the German Delegation at the Supreme Court of India, wherein she presented her views on concerns surrounding climate change and the role of Indian judiciary in addressing the issues relatable to the said discourse.
Justice Prathiba M. Singh
Justice Prathiba M. Singh
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Justice Prathiba M. Singh completed her 5-year law course from University Law College, Bangalore. She graduated as the 1st Rank holder from Bangalore University and represented India at the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court competition in Chicago, USA. After her graduation, she was offered the ODASSS scholarship by the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust to study LL.M. at the University of Cambridge (U.K.). She enrolled with the Bar in 1991.
Before being elevated to the Bench, she was a leading Intellectual Property lawyer in India. She had the distinction of handling landmark matters in all areas of IPR laws including patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, plant varieties, internet laws, etc. As the Managing Partner of Singh & Singh, she advised clients and handled cases relating to commercial disputes, arbitration, telecom, broadcasting laws, media laws, writs, regulatory issues, education, etc. During her years of practice, she regularly appeared before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, High Court of Delhi, TDSAT, IPAB, Trademark and Patent Offices.
She was appointed as Amicus Curiae by the High Court of Delhi to streamline the working of the Copyright Office. She was also appointed on a High-Level Committee for streamlining of Patent examinations. She was invited as an expert to present views to Parliamentary Committees considering amendments to the Patents Act in 2002, Copyright Amendment Act, 2012, Geographical Indications Act, etc. She was also a member of the CII National Steering Committee on IPRs.
Justice Singh was designated as a9 Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in December 2013.
The Prathiba M. Singh Scholarship for LL.M. students was instituted at the University of Cambridge in 2013 for students who have secured admission at Cambridge, for pursuing their LLM course.
She was a member of the IPR Think Tank which was entrusted with the momentous task of drafting India's first 'National IPR Policy’ which was released in May, 2015.
She was a member of various professional bodies including SCBA, DHCBA, INTA, APAA, AIPPI, IPAA, IPLPA, and Telecom Lawyers Association. During her tenure as the President of APAA (Indian Group), several important initiatives were taken including filing of a writ petition seeking constitution of the IPAB as also the creation of the Delhi court-room complex for the IPAB.
Various awards conferred to her include, ‘IP Litigator of the Year, 2012', the 'Asia Women in Business Law Award' given by Managing IP for excellence in Litigation, 'IP Lawyer of the Year, 2013' by Legal Era, 'Best IP Senior Counsel of the Year - 2014' by Legal Era, ‘Woman Lawyer of the Year, 2015' by the Indian National Bar Association, and ‘Most Powerful Women in Business, 2018’ by Business Today.
She was elevated as a Permanent Judge of the High Court of Delhi on 15th May 2017.
Justice Singh was the Chairperson of the Committee that recommended the constitution of the ‘Intellectual Property Division’ in the Delhi High Court, post the abolition of the IPAB. The Committee also drafted the “Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2022” which were notified on 24th February, 2022.
Justice Singh was also the Chairperson of the `Patent Committee’ of the Delhi High Court which drafted the “High Court of Delhi Rules Governing Patent Suits, 2022.”
Recognising her contribution to the development of IP law, Managing IP, a leading global publication, has rated Justice Singh amongst the ‘50 Most Influential People in IP’ for two consecutive years, i.e., 2021, and 2022.
Justice Singh is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Research in Intellectual Property, MNLU, Mumbai.
In the year 2022, Justice Singh became the first Indian judge to be elected as an Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
Justice Navin Chawla
Justice Navin Chawla
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Born in New Delhi on 07th August 1969. Did his schooling from Delhi Public School, Mathura Road and graduated from Delhi University in B.Com (Hons.) in 1990. Thereafter obtained degree of laws (LL.B) from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1993. Qualified as an Advocate-On-Record of the Supreme Court in 1999.
Practiced before the Delhi High Court, Supreme Court, and before various other judicial/quasi-judicial fora in various fields like Constitutional Laws, Civil Suits, Criminal Laws, specializing in Telecom and Broadcasting Laws, Arbitrations etc. Appointed as the Standing Counsel for the Union of India in the Delhi High Court in 2001.
Appointed as Permanent Judge of Delhi High Court on 15th May, 2017.
Justice C. Hari Shankar
Justice C. Hari Shankar
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Born in New Delhi on 4th May 1968, Justice C. Hari Shankar completed his schooling from St. Columba’s School and, thereafter, acquired B. Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from Kirori Mal College and LL.B. from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 1993. He has appeared, as arguing/senior counsel, before several judicial fora, including, but not limited to, the Supreme Court of India, High Courts of Delhi, Calcutta, Gujarat, Bombay, Allahabad, Punjab & Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Madras and Himachal Pradesh, the Central Administrative Tribunal, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, the Company Law Board, the AAIFR, the NCDRC, and the National Green Tribunal. His core areas of specialization were indirect taxes, along with allied subjects such as foreign exchange and COFEPOSA, and service law. He was on the Panel of Special Counsel representing the Central Government in the Supreme Court of India, and was also empaneled Counsel for the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping. He was regularly appearing on behalf of the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine before the CAT and before this Court. On 20th August 2014, he was designated Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court.
Justice Hari Shankar was appointed permanent Judge of this Court on 15th May 2017.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh
• Graduated in the Law from Delhi University in the year 1993.
• Enrolled as an advocate on July 20, 1994.
• Practised in the Supreme Court of India as an “Advocate-on Record”. Dealt in Original Side, Civil and Criminal matters in Delhi High Court, other High Courts, Trial Courts and before Tribunals and Commissions.
He dealt, conducted, pleaded in Service Law, Labour Laws, Electricity Laws, Excise and Custom related matters, Contractual Obligation, Suits, Complaint Cases under Negotiable Instrument Act, Arbitration Matters, Educational Matters and other Corporate and Industry related matters as counsel.
• He was appointed as Additional Advocate General for the State of Chhattisgarh, Standing Counsel for the State of Madhya Pradesh (since 2005 till elevation), Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh (since 2012 till elevation), Standing Counsel for the State of Jharkhand (since 2005 till 2007), Senior Panel Counsel for Union of India, Counsel for the University of Lucknow (since 2006 till elevation), Counsel for Steel Authority of India Ltd., Represented Supreme Court of India in several cases, Represented High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur) in the Supreme Court, Represented the High Court of Chhatisgarh in the Supreme Court of India, Represented Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Hindustan Copper Ltd., Indian Tourism Development Corporation, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Airport Authority, Coal India Ltd. in the Supreme Court.
Appeared before the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India in several cases (Jindal Stainless Ltd. Vs. State of Haryana and others, Modern Dental College and Research Centre Vs. State of M.P. and others, Supreme Court Advocate on record Association and others Vs. Union of India, Mohd. Arif Vs. The Registrar, Supreme Court of India, Hardeep Singh Etc. Vs. State of Punjab and others and Lalita Kumari Vs. Govt. of U.P. And others).
• He was elected Joint Secretary, SCBA and Honorary Secretary, SCAORA.
• Appointed as Additional Judge on September 22, 2017.
• Took oath as Permanent Judge on September 06, 2019.
• Transferred to Delhi High Court on October 11, 2021.
Justice Subramonium Prasad
Justice Subramonium Prasad
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Justice Subramonium Prasad graduated in B.Com. (Hons.) from Delhi University. He acquired his LLB degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in the year 1990. Justice Prasad cleared the Advocate-On–Record exam in 1996 and started his independent practice. He became the Standing Counsel for the State of Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court of India in 2003, a post he held till 2006. He was also the standing counsel for the custodian appointed under the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992, dealing with cases pertaining to the 1992 stock exchange scam. In October 2012, Justice Prasad was appointed as the Additional Advocate General for the State of Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court of India. Justice Prasad was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India in April 2015.
Over his career spanning 28 years, Justice Prasad has worked on several high profile matters, and has been involved in several reported judgements of the Supreme Court on various subjects like Constitutional Law, Tax, Corporate and Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Election Law, Service Law and Inter State River Water Disputes.
Justice Prasad was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court on 4.06.2018. He was transferred to Delhi High Court as an Additional Judge on 13.03.2020 and confirmed as a Permanent Judge of the Madras High Court on 17.03.2020.
Justice Jyoti Singh
Justice Jyoti Singh
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Born on 1.10.1966, graduated in Botany (Hons.) from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. Acquired L.L.B. degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.
Enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi.
Practiced before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, High Court of Delhi and Tribunals.
Held the following appointments:
• Senior Counsel for the Government of India in the High Court of Delhi
• Standing Counsel for UPSC
• Standing Counsel for DTC
• Standing Counsel for Delhi Government in Central Administrative Tribunal
• Additional Standing Counsel for NDMC
• Panel Counsel for Provident Fund, DDA and Canara Bank
Was a member of Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee and participated in Lok Adalats and workshops organised by the Committee.
Specialised in service matters, particularly Armed Forces and Para-Military Forces.
Was appointed as Amicus Curiae in a number of cases by the High Court of Delhi and the Armed Forces Tribunal.
Designated as Senior Advocate in 2011 by the High Court of Delhi.
Elevated as Judge of High Court of Delhi on 22.10.2018.
Justice Prateek Jalan
Justice Prateek Jalan
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Prateek Jalan was born in Calcutta, on April 4, 1970 and his school and college education were completed at Modern School, New Delhi, and Hindu College, University of Delhi. He thereafter studied law at Trinity College, University of Cambridge (as a Cambridge Nehru Centenary scholar) and the University of Michigan Law School (LL.M.). He enrolled as an Advocate in August 1992, and has been called to the English Bar from the Inner Temple, London. He commenced practice before the High Court of Calcutta. Since 1998, he practiced mostly before the Supreme Court (including on the panel of counsel for the Union of India), and the Delhi High Court. He was associated with the chambers of Mr.Bhaskar P.Gupta, Senior Advocate in Kolkata, and of Mr.Ashok H. Desai, former Attorney General for India from 1998 to 2003.
Publications include, as a co-author, “Review of Administrative Action” in Sujit Choudhry, Madhav Khosla and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, 2016, Oxford, and “Publishing Contracts” in Usha Rajagopalan (ed.), Get Published! A Handbook for Writers in India, 2001, Oxford.
Appointed as a Judge of the Delhi High Court with effect from October 22, 2018.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani
//echo $plan['JDesig'] ?>
Anup Jairam Bhambhani, a first generation lawyer, was born in 1965 in New Delhi. He completed his schooling from Springdales School, New Delhi in 1984 and attended St. Stephen's College, Delhi University to earn his Master's Degree in Physics in 1989 where he studied nuclear physics.
It was during his studies at college that Nani Palkhivala's book 'We, The People' received by him as a prize, evoked in him the interest to pursue legal studies. He then read for his LL.B. degree at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, which he completed in 1992.
Apart from his academic pursuits, he actively engaged in other activities in school, college and law-school, notably in elocution, debating and theatre.
He joined the Bar in 1992 and started practice with a senior lawyer. He went into independent practice soon after, setting-up his own chambers in 1994, with a large proportion of his practice being in media law and criminal law.
He practiced before the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi High Court and the subordinate courts, where he conducted matters relating to civil and criminal defamation, right to privacy, media regulation and self-regulation, breach of parliamentary privilege, broadcasting and telecom regulation, juvenile justice, copyright law, narcotics law, education law, constitutional validity of criminal defamation, contempt of court, death penalty and commercial disputes. He also argued matters in other High Courts across the country.
He was resource person at multiple national and regional conferences at the National Judicial Academy, Delhi Judicial Academy, Maharashtra Judicial Academy, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and at law school seminars on diverse subjects, including free speech, trial-by-media, sting-operations, regulation of social media, incarceration of juveniles, victim compensation, witness protection, hate speech and on-line extremism, to mention a few.
He served as panel lawyer of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee from 2009 to 2014 ; was the Nominated Member on the Statutory Committee of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee from 26th May 2014 and Member of the Monitoring Committee for legal-aid lawyers from 06th August 2016, till the date of his appointment as Judge.
He has done substantial legal-aid work before various courts for the indigent embroiled with the law, including in the field of juvenile justice and death penalty. He has assisted the Delhi High Court as amicus curiae in several cases involving issues of public significance, which have culminated in laying down of procedures for affording prompt relief to motor accident victims, settling of railway accident claims, employee compensation claims, compensation for electrocution deaths, guarding building construction workers' rights, waste disposal in Delhi, inspection and reform of juvenile homes, phasing-out of Blue-line buses in Delhi and other similar public interest matters.
He was designated Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court on 14th February 2014 ; and was appointed Judge of the Delhi High Court on 22nd October 2018.